From Our Table: 2 Great Meals for Under $20

With the hardships the economy has brought upon us, it's crucial to save money where you can. However, it's also important to eat well and in the company of good friends and family. Here are two meals that meet all of the above requirements. Both recipes are delicious and can serve a group of four for under 20$.

Shopping List
1 lb box pasta of your choice 1.00$
11 oz log of goat cheese 4.99$
5 oz container of pre-washed arugula 2.99$
4 medium vine ripe tomatoes 2.50$ (or 2 tomatoes+1 pint cherry tomatoes, whatevers cheapest!)
8 oz bag of pizza cheese 1.69$
1 pre-made pizza dough 1.19$
Tomato sauce, canned or homemade 2.99$

Meal #1: Green, Red & White Pasta
In this dish, the Italian flag is represented in a trinity of cooking ingredients: The green color is provided by the arugula, which provides a nice peppery bite. The tomatoes, a staple in Italian cooking, are red and juicy, while the tangy white goat cheese sauce pulls the whole dish together.

Ingredients
1 lb pasta
2.5 oz arugula
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Large clove of garlic
1/3 Cup goat cheese
1/3 Cup mayonnaise
1/2 Tablespoon whole milk or cream
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch salt, pepper, Italian seasoning

Directions
Place the garlic, goat cheese, mayonnaise, milk and lemon juice in a small food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until the pasta is ready.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, about 7-8 minutes (yes, the pasta is under-cooked at this point, but you’ll see why in a minute!)

Just before the pasta is ready, in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften and release their juices. Season the tomatoes with red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

Ok here is the secret: Pasta is very absorbent. Cooking pasta in water is okay, but finishing the pasta in sauce is the best way to pack the most flavors into your dish. So drain your pasta and immerse it into the loose tomato sauce. Keeping the pan on medium heat, stir in the arugula and goat cheese sauce. Cook another minute or two, until the pasta is al dente. Serve warm.

Once the economy gets better and you have these ingredients on hand, finish the pasta with 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and 1 Tablespoon lemon oil.

Meal #2: Tomato, Goat cheese and Arugula Pizza
This recipe helps stretch your dollar by reusing ingredients from the shopping list. Getting double use from your ingredients is a plus, especially when it involves goat cheese.

Ingredients
1 store bought pizza dough
1 cup tomato sauce
4 oz pizza cheese
1/2 Cup crumbled goat cheese
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tomatoes, sliced
1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Large clove of garlic, minced
2.5 oz arugula
Pinch salt, pepper, Italian seasoning

Directions
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the sliced tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften. While the tomatoes cook, sprinkle on the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Roll out dough and place onto a pizza pan. Spoon tomato sauce over the dough, leaving ½-inch border. Sprinkle on the pizza cheese. Layer the sliced tomatoes, and crumbled goat cheese on top. Bake until the crust starts to brown and the cheese begins to melt, about 10-15 minutes.

At the last minute, scatter the arugula on top and bake 1-2 more minutes. (The arugula should not be cooked through, just slightly warmed). Cut and serve immediately.
And like the above recipe, best served with fresh parmesan cheese and a touch of lemon oil.

From Our Table: Spicy Vegetarian Stir-Fry

My wife is an amazing home cook and has agreed to let me post the recipes of our favorites meals on my blog.  I have done my best to recreate her recipes using common measurements, as she never uses anything but her natural talent and discerning senses to create our meals.  I hope I have done her justice and that you enjoy this recipe and the rest that are to follow.

 

Ingredients
1 Large Eggplant
1 Medium head of broccoli
2 Red bell peppers
½ lb Mushrooms
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
Pinch Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
Fresh ginger, 1-inch piece peeled and minced
3 Large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Cup low-sodium vegetable broth
6 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
¼ Teaspoon Sriracha Chili Sauce (feel free to use less or more depending on how spicy you like it!)
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and then slice crosswise into wedges, no more than 1-inch wide. Cut the broccoli into medium sized florets and slice the red bell peppers and mushrooms into bite size pieces.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high flame and add the oils. When you see a slight smoke, add a layer of eggplant, stir-fry until seared and sticky, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the eggplant to a side platter and cook the remaining eggplant in the same manner, adding more oil, if needed.

After all the eggplant is out of the pan, add the broccoli. Cook broccoli halfway through before adding the peppers and mushrooms to the wok, stir-fry until seared.

Once all the vegetables are cooked, add the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir fry for a minute until fragrant, do not brown. Add the broth and cook for another minute.

In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, and sriracha until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the wok and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Put the vegetables back in the pan, tossing quickly, until the sauce is absorbed. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4

Best served warm over a big bowl of sticky rice (basic sticky rice recipe below).

Ingredients
2 Cups Short-grain rice
4 Cups water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt

Directions
Wash rice until water runs clear; drain in a colander. Transfer rice to a pot or electric rice cooker and add water. Bring water to a boil. Simmer over low heat, allowing rice to steam for 15 minutes with the cover on at all times. Remove from heat and keep covered, allowing to steam for another 15 minutes.

Mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt over low heat in a saucepan. Heat until sugar dissolves. With a wooden spoon, delicately fold vinegar mixture into rice. Serve warm.

Makes approximately 4 cups of sticky rice.

Table Talk: The New, Dangerous Science of Food

In a recent article by Andrew Schneider, AOL News Senior Public Health Correspondent, a potentially dangerous trend of food science is explained and discussed.

Nano-particles are apparently being widely used by many food manufacturers and shippers to “extend shelf-life” as well as “protect the color and flavor” of all kinds of food.

These nano-particles may be protecting the foods, but “hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have shown that nano-particles pose potential risks to human health -- and, more specifically, that when ingested can cause DNA damage that can prefigure cancer and heart and brain disease.”

Table Talk: Join the Revolution!

The Food Revolution has begun here in the U.S. and it is being sparked by the same world renowned chef that inspired change in his home country England.

Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution chronicles the title chef’s endeavors as he attempts to bring healthy eating and living to Huntington, West Virginia. Oliver chose Huntington as the focus for this revolution because the city has recently been called the ‘unhealthiest city in America.’ The show debuted with a sneak peek, that aired on March 21, and continues with a 2-hour season premier on Friday, March 26 at 8 p.m. EST.

The idea for Food Revolution is a combination of Oliver’s U.K. series, Jaime’s Ministry of Food and Jaime’s School Dinners; Dinners saw Oliver’s grass-roots efforts to improve school lunches in communities in England and the impact from these shows resulted in a total overhaul of the school dinner program in the U.K. Food Revolution hopes to bring this great change to the U.S.

In 2002, Oliver created the Fifteen Foundation which annually chooses 15 young adults who have a disadvantaged background, criminal record, or history of drug abuse and trains them in the restaurant business. Fifteen restaurants have opened in London, Newquay, Amsterdam, and Melbourne.

Oliver hopes that Food Revolution will help bring a necessary change to the United States as a whole, even though his work starts at the school level.

“There’s an incredible community in Huntington, and I want this experience to be a celebration of what we can achieve when people come together,” says Oliver on ABC.com. “Wonderful stories will unfold in Huntington, and hopefully this will inspire the rest of the States.”

To pledge your support of Jaime's Food Revolution, follow this link to sign the petition.

Taste of the Town: Sushi with my Valentine..

Fugakyu is on Beacon Street in Brookline and has an amazing selection of traditional and specialty sushi. Steph got me into eating sushi a few years ago, when she took me to Asahi Japanese Restaurant in downtown Salem. I was skeptical of eating any fish, so she brought me there to try their Buffalo Chicken maki (classic seaweed-rice sushi rolls). I fell in love with that roll and have since gotten the courage to eat cooked and raw maki and nigiri (raw fish on rice). On this occasion, we got LOTS of sushi; each makimono consists of 8 pieces of sushi and the nigiri is 2 pieces. Steph ordered a Pine-tato maki (Fried sweet potato & grilled pineapple), a Louisiana maki (Fried crawfish, avocado, Cajun mayo & scallion), and a Spicy Tuna maki (Chopped tuna, tempura crumb, spicy mayo & scallion). She enjoyed the Spicy Tuna the most, though the Crawfish was very interesting and something that we had never seen at another sushi bar. I also ordered a Pine-tato (which may be my new favorite makimono), as well as an Amai Ocean maki (Grilled pineapple, snow crab, cucumber, spicy katsu sauce with black sesame) and a Maguro nigiri (raw Tuna on rice).

Top: Steph and I at our table. The decor is all bamboo shoots, which is beautiful

Right: This was Steph's plate. The Tuna is back left, the Pine-tato is back right, and the Louisiana is front center.

Overall it was a wonderful dinner and we will surely go back to Fugakyu very soon. I would recommend it to anyone that likes sushi, or wants to try this curious cuisine.

College Cuisine: Microwave Chicken Parm

When you come to college, you realize two facts:

1. This is nothing like High School, and
2. You have to feed yourself everyday.

Overcoming College's differences from High School are going to be a tough obstacle, but feeding yourself shouldn't be. Now you could always just go down to the cafeteria every meal for the next couple of years, you can live off of Top-Ramen, or you can utilize this amazing Chicken Parmesan recipe that only requires a couple bucks and a microwave.

Ingredients
1 package Perdue Italian Style Chicken Cutlets
1 jar of sauce; your choice. I went with Frencesco Rinaldi Eggplant and Parmesan Sauce.
1 bag shredded cheese. Sargento 6 cheese Italian works very well with this recipe.

Directions (only 3 easy steps!)
1. Uncover Perdue chicken cutlets. Microwave cutlets in provided packaging for one minute.
2. Cover cutlets with sauce. Microwave for one minute.
3. Cover cutlets and sauce with shredded cheese. Microwave an additional two minutes. Remove from microwave, be careful- container and cheese will be extremely hot. Let stand for one minute before serving.

In the end, this is a home-style meal cooked in under ten minutes for under ten bucks. What more could a college student ask for?

Taste of the Town: Emma's Pizza

If you're craving pizza, but are sick and tired of delivery chains and local grease, then set aside an evening and get a taste of Emma's Pizza.

A few blocks walk from the Kendall Square Red Line station, at 40 Hampshire Street in Cambridge, Emma's lives up to their website's claim; "Eat here and you'll be happy."

This small open-kitchen pizzeria's menu offers more sauce, cheese and toppings options than most other pizza places. With three sauces; traditional red, spicy-rosemary red, and garlic-infused olive oil. Six cheeses; mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, feta, ricotta, Gorgonzola, and goat cheese.

And a staggering 32 toppings, which offer a balance of classic and avant-garde options. There are your everyday pepperoni and broccoli toppings but Yukon gold potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, Italian-sweet sausage, and thyme roasted mushrooms allow you to create much more than a pizza, it is a gourmet meal.

If you're having a hard time pairing these toppings for the first time, Emma's offers 25 pizza suggestions; which can be served half & half. I would have to recommend the 3 & 21.

The baby spinach, roasted sweet potato, caramelized onions, garlic-rosemary sauce, mozzarella, and goat cheeses of the 3 complement the 21's hot sausage, house-roasted tomatoes, scallions, traditional sauce, mozzarella, and goat cheeses.


This piece can also be viewed on Red Skies- Salem State's online E-Zine.