tinywhitecottage

pink coleslaw

June 19, 2013 § 31 Comments

I made cole slaw twice this week. I love the creamy dressing and the crispiness of the cabbage. So fresh and raw. The first time I made it I followed a recipe from WILL DO THE DISHES blog. It was a fantastic recipe and if you haven’t yet, you must go visit this wonderful blog.

Today I am posting the second cole slaw I made. WILL DO THE DISHES cole slaw was to “write home about” so I decided to make a second batch. I remembered we had a little leftover shredded beetroot salad in the refrigerator. I tossed it in and was so pleased with the resulting pink hue! The beetroot salad was already lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette and contained sunflower seeds. A nice fresh slaw to place on the side with your barbecue chicken and potato salad.

I n g r e d i e n t s

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded
1 large beet root, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
1 large carrot, julienned
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

M e t h o d

Shred, chop and julienne your vegetables and place in a large bowl and mix well with your hands. In a medium size bowl mix together parsley, mayonnaise, dijon, black pepper, sugar and vinegar and set aside. Place sunflower seeds in a non stick skillet over medium high heat, shake the pan occasionally to toast both sides. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Combine the dressing with the vegetables and mix well. Add the sunflower seed and continue to toss until well combined. Chill before serving.

Serves 4-6 as a grilling side dish

buon appetite.

spaghetti carbonara

June 17, 2013 § 36 Comments

And yet, another pasta recipe. You see I have a thing about pasta. I would eat it everyday if I wasn’t thinking too hard about all the carbs I don’t need. After an extra long commute home the other day, I arrived, said my hello’s and headed to the kitchen. I didn’t have a dinner plan whatsoever. Looking through the refrigerator I found a little log of chavrie goat cheese, a little pancetta, a handful of parsley, a shallot and by this time a pasta sauce was formulating in my mind. I thought if I had Parmesan instead of goat cheese I could make Carbonara. Then I remembered I do have some Grana Padano! Realizing I have never made carbonara I took my copy of Marcella Hazen’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking off the shelf.

Now let just say when I was “with child” spaghetti carbonara was “my dish”. I craved it everyday and dined on it at least once a week for a good six months! And to imagine I have never made carbonara is quite nonsensical. I left it up to the chef at my favorite trattoria. I didn’t even want to try to prepare it because I knew I could never match the quality of La Trattoria’s carbonara. Well…Eureka! Success in the kitchen. Here it is, in my humble opinion, a most delicious carbonara. Of course in the spirit of improv I made a few very minor adjustments to Marcella’s recipe due to not having all of her listed ingredients. In place of the Grana Padana you could use a good quality Parmesan.

I n g r e d i e n t s

4 ounces of diced pancetta
1 shallot, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3/4 pound spaghetti

M e t h o d

Place a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. Cook until al dente, spaghetti cooking time is approximately 9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile…

Put the garlic and olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté until the garlic is golden. Remove and discard garlic. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook until crispy, then add the shallot. Continue to cook until shallots are soft and turn off the heat.

Using a fork lightly beat two eggs in a medium size bowl. Add 1/2 cup grated Grana Padano, a grinding of black pepper and the chopped parsley. Once the spaghetti is cooked, slowly drizzle in reserved pasta water until smooth. Mix thoroughly, using something like these!

Briefly reheat the pancetta over medium high heat, turn off the pan and add spaghetti, toss to combine well. Add the egg mixture and continue to toss to combine and allow the egg to set without scrambling. Serve right away with freshly grated Grana Padano cheese.

Serves 4.

buon appetite.

baked zucchini and caramelized onion dip

June 14, 2013 § 38 Comments

Recently I saw a post on Reclaiming your Castle for baked zucchini. Her post struck a cord with me because when I was 18 years old living in my first apartment and not knowing much about cooking, I would go to the market and bring home random vegetables not knowing what in the world I was going to do with them. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with zucchini. As a little girl I loved zucchini. I remember walking through my dad’s garden and selecting one zucchini and asking my mom to cook it for me. Kindly and patiently she sliced it into rounds, boiled and put a pat of butter on it. I sat at the dining room table all alone enjoying my little bowl of comfort. There was a time when boiling vegetables (a little too much) was the default recipe for getting them on the table for a houseful of hungry folks. Therefore, at 18 years old when I discovered a breaded and baked zucchini recipe I was intrigued and knew it was going to be the first vegetable I wanted to learn to cook, rather than boil. And I remember cooking it over and over again. I used an egg dip, seasoned italian bread crumbs and dotted each one of them with butter before baking in a preheated 425° oven for approximately 25 minutes until nice and crispy. Revisiting this recipe after two decades (or so!) was like walking back into that little apartment kitchen.

This is a great side dish for the little ones around your table. Please visit Sara’s site for a more detailed recipe!

What really made these delicious was the caramelized onion dip. I followed Sara’s recipe with one minor change. I used greek yogurt rather than mayonnaise. Don’t get me wrong, I love mayonnaise. I didn’t have enough in house and I happened to have a full tub of yogurt. Honestly, this is the same recipe I make for our potato chips while we are watching games during football season.

c a r a m e l i z e d o n i o n d i p

1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 cup greek yogurt

Melt the butter in a non stick pan over moderate heat. Add the sweet onion slices and cook stirring occasionally until the onion softens and caramelizes. This should take between 20 and 25 minutes, on medium-low heat. When the onions are a nice brown hue and caramelized remove from heat and cool.

Place the onions, vinegar, honey and mustard in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Place in a serving bowl and stir in the yogurt.

Serves 4.

buon appetite.

fettuccine with roast fennel, zucchini and olive

June 12, 2013 § 43 Comments

Roasting vegetables in the oven makes simple work of a pasta sauce. The vegetables soften nicely and sweeten while they cook. No need to constantly stir as you would with stove top cooking. You can use whatever vegetables you would like, however, I would recommend you use plenty of garlic.

I n g r e d i e n t s :

1 pound good quality fettuccine
2 fennel bulbs, thickly sliced
1 red onion, cut into wedges
4 small zucchini, thickly sliced
3 roma tomatoes, sliced (not pictured)
2 or 3 shallots, thinly sliced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
salt and pepper
1/3 cup black olives, pitted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
grated Manchego, to serve

M e t h o d :

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil.

Put the olive oil in a roasting pan and place it in the oven for a few minutes until you heat activity.

Add all the vegetables and the garlic to the hot roasting pan and sprinkle over the paprika. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for approximate 20 minutes, giving the pan a shake now and again. Continue roasting until vegetables are soft, roasted and slightly browned. Add the tomatoes and olives and stir to coat well, roast additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let sit while you cook the fettuccine.

Cook the fettuccine according to the package instructions, typically 9 – 11 minutes. Drain well and return to the warm pot. Add the butter and toss well. Add the roasted vegetables and toss gently to combine everything. Sprinkle with grated Manchego and serve right away.

Serves 4+

buon appetite.

roasted garlic scapes

June 10, 2013 § 47 Comments

flower tops from elephant garlic

When cooked, garlic scapes have a very mild garlic flavor with a texture and taste somewhere between asparagus and artichoke. The whole spear may be eaten, as is. The previous statement was copied from the little piece of paper stuck in the rubber band of the bunch of scapes I acquired at Whole Foods. I brought them home because I loved how they looked. Even if I didn’t cook them I could put them in a vase! The little paper from the rubber band said to steam, sauté or puree’ into a wonderfully mild garlic soup. Or chopped raw they are very hot and will spice up your baked potatoes, salads or dips. I decided to roast them. A few years ago I had planted garlic and amateur as I am as a gardener when the tops popped up looking somewhat similar to these…they were very curly actually…I didn’t do anything with them other than be amused when I visited the garden bed. The buds did open up, flower and go to seed.

A drizzle of olive oil, coarse sea salt and ground pepper. Roast in a 425° oven for roughly 25-30 minutes. These were so unique and delicious. I roasted them until the tops were crispy. We especially enjoyed the crunchy tops.

roasted garlic scapes

buon appetite.

chicken and parsley

June 8, 2013 § 25 Comments

A new look for COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE! I have been wanting to make a theme change and spring seems like the perfect time to do it. I do prefer this theme…

Finally, a complete herb garden is growing out back! When we moved into the Cottage Grove House I was delighted a small herb garden was established with mature thyme, rosemary, mint and chives. Then it occurred to me one day while at the market purchasing basil, cilantro and parsley, I needed to expand my garden! Here we are four years later and I have succeeded. We have nine herbs living happily ever after in my garden. I chose herbs we use regularly and I am learning how to take cuttings from the plants to help promote growth. So far they are producing and thriving. We built these little boxes and strategically placed them here and there in close proximity to the kitchen door.

thyme, sage and chives

Chicken and parsley

Originally I was going to make this chicken with chives. I chopped parsley for the boiled baby potatoes and chives for the chicken. Then I accidentally tossed all of the parsley into the chicken pan! I stood there a minute looking at it wondering how I could so quickly change the outcome of my plan by one simple movement. In the end it didn’t matter. The chicken was delicious and you really can not mess up simple boiled potatoes, right? So if you would like to try this chicken with chives instead of parsley let me know how it turned out!

I n g r e d i e n t s

4 large boneless chicken cutlets
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup parsley

M e t h o d

I have been purchasing cutlets form the market. They are thin sliced breasts without skin. If you are using whole chicken breasts, place them one at a time between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and lightly pound with a mallet until 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan. Add the chicken breasts arranging them in one layer. Cook over medium high heat, turning once until the centers are cooked, but still moist, no more than 8 minutes. Transfer the breasts to a serving platter and keep warm.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and stir to mix. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken a little. Pour over the breasts and serve right away.

Serves 4.

buon appetite.

simple blueberry crostata

June 6, 2013 § 63 Comments

I can not express how much I enjoy reading all of the amazing food blogs I am conversant with! I started my little blog a few months ago and the myriad of information I have acquired in this short time is genuinely treasured. I realized right away I was overwhelmed because I want to cook so many of the delicious dishes and desserts I delight in everyday. My bookmark bar is out of control! I sincerely appreciate the inspiration and enlightenment from all of my new found internet friends.

Last week I saw this sweet post from The Suburban Soapbox. I loved reading this because while celebrating her 100th post, she fired up her oven when it was 95° to make this crostata! Bookmarking the page I decided right then I was going to make the crostata too. The next day when I stopped by Whole Foods I noticed they were having a one day sale on blueberries. Instantly I thought “Crostata”! $1.99 a tub for organic blueberries from California. I bought three tubs and over the course of the weekend I made two crostata’s! They were sensational! I think I ate 1/2 of the second one all by myself!

Here’s the recipe exactly as Kellie posted it. However, I know you would enjoy a visit to her blog.

I n g r e d i e n t s

3 1/2 cups blueberries, washed and drained throughly
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
zest and juice from one large lemon
1 ready-made pie crust rolled out into a circle

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons salted butter

M e t h o d

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, flour, sugar, lemon zest and juice thoroughly. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roll out the dough. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and butter together for the topping using a pastry blender or fork until large clumps form. Pour the blueberry mixture into the center of the dough making a mound and leaving a one inch border around the edge of the crust. Crumble the topping mixture over the blueberries evenly. Fold the crust up over the edge of the blueberries pinching to create pleats. Repeat the process until all the edges have been folded up over the blueberries.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Can be served warm or at room temperature.

linguine with chicken sausage (linguine con salsiccia di pollo)

June 4, 2013 § 40 Comments

Pasta with a parsley pesto is sufficient for a midweek dinner. However, with a strapping young lad at the dinner table I decided to add chicken sausage to give it a little substance. Dinner does not get any easier than this. Dinner is ready in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. For us, a one dish meal.

I n g r e d i e n t s

1 pound of good quality linguine
1 pound of italian chicken sausage
1 large bunch of parsley
4 scallions
5 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
a shake or two of red pepper flakes

Place a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Cook the sausage and prepare the pesto while you are waiting for the water to boil.

If the sausage is in casings, remove the casing and break up the ground chicken in a skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 smashed garlic cloves to the skillet. Continue to cook until nice and brown. Lower heat to keep warm.

For the parsley pesto, place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until blended. If you are not using a food processor, finely chop the parsley, scallions and garlic, place in a bowl with pecorino, olive oil and pepper flakes and stir well.

Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. Cook until al dente, linguine cooking time is approximately 9 minutes.

Drain pasta, return it to the pan (off the heat) and toss with pesto and sausage.

Divide into serving bowls and serve with freshly grated pecorino.

Serves 4

buon appetite.

clean out the fridge challenge “stew” !

June 1, 2013 § 46 Comments

My blog friend Dolly Rubiano has challenged me and mumandleahcook to a little clean out the fridge recipe posting. How fun! Well, this did present a challenge for me because, you see, it is a bit rare for me to over purchase at the market. I am very precise when it come to shopping and using everything I bring home. I always have the regular items such as, milk, eggs, cheeses, a little lettuce of some sort, and usually a few beers and maybe some chilled wine. What do you do with all that? I could make a salad and put an egg on it! I already posted that here. I stood at the refrigerator looking at some carrots and two large parsnips. Then I knew I had to raid the freezer too. Again, I do not usually have too much stored in our freezer, typically buy fresh and use right away. I did have some stewing beef. I decided then I would make a beef stew, smashed potatoes and caramelized parsnips. I had brought the carrots and parsnips home a few weeks ago thinking I would use them in a soup. I have to admit I did have to peel them, they were looking a little “over ripe”. This caramelized parsnip recipe is like eating a delicious coconut!

Not much in the fridge!

I n g r e d i e n t s

1 pound stew beef
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, diced into very fine bits
4 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 cup rose’ wine
1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
3 cup hot water
6 carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the beef and brown it over high heat until it is nice and brown on all sides. Salt the beef as you go. Add the onions and fry until it has softened. Add the butter, garlic and thyme and cook until butter is melted and the garlic is aromatic. Add the wine, cook until it has evaporated and add the tomato sauce. Stir well. Add 3 cups of boiling water, cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for 2 -3 hours stirring occasionally. The meat should be very soft and tender after 2 – 3 hours. Thirty minutes before you are ready to serve add the carrots, cook uncovered until tender. Sauce should be fairly thickened when done. Turn off heat and allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

c a r a m e l i z e d p a r s n i p s

I n g r e d i e n t s

2 large parsnips, peeled and cut
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons turbinado raw cane sugar
snipped chives
salt

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place cut parsnips in a baking dish, drizzle melted butter and sugar on top. Toss to mix well. Add snipped chives and a little sprinkling of salt, cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until tender.

My “clean out the fridge” dinner was fantastic! It helped that it was 50° and raining all day so when the stew was simmering the aroma was as good as a warm blanket. I was very happy to top the dish off with fresh herbs from my garden. Basil on the smashed potatoes, chives on the the parsnips and thyme on the stew.

Thank you Dolly and Sandra for a fun little blogging experience!

Serves 4.

buon appetite!

simple midweek baked cod

May 30, 2013 § 45 Comments

An easy baked cod recipe. I made this fish on a evening after a long day at work and it was perfect. I realize how important a simple midweek dinner recipe is when I get home ready to drop. These cod filets went together easily. I served them with dill mashed potatoes and an arugula salad.

I n g r e d i e n t s

4 cod fish filets
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
salt
1 lemon, sliced thinly into rounds
1/2 cup olive oil
12 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
several sprigs of thyme

M e t h o d

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lay out 4 large pieces of parchment paper on your counter. Coat both sides of your fish with panko bread crumbs, sprinkle with salt and place one filet on each piece of parchment paper. Place a few lemon slices onto fish, a sprig or two of thyme, 3 smashed garlic cloves and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on each. Close up the parchment by meeting the tops together and rolling them down. Fold the end underneath to seal. Place the fish in a baking dish and bake for approximately 20 minutes. You may check one by carefully unfolding to make sure it is done and seal it up again.

Serve right away, allowing your dinner companions to open their own parchments!

dill mashed potatoes

I n g r e d i e n t s

3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
handful of fresh dill, stems removed
3 tablespoons butter
salt / pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add diced potatoes and fresh dill. Boil until potatoes are fork tender, approximately 10 minutes. Drain and return to the pot over a medium low heat and allow the additional water to steam out. Turn off the heat, add butter and smash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper according to your liking.

Serves 4.

buon appetite.