Winter Warm-Up

Italian Peasant Soup with Sausage & Pesto

From: Original recipe was from a friend, but it has morphed tremendously over the years—in fact this is the first time I've actually written it down.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Perfect pairings: Parmesan crostini toasts; I especially like it with Ina Garten's version (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-crisps-recipe/index.html).

This is a recipe born out of necessity: For years, I searched for the perfect minestrone recipe and none ever quite fit the bill. I wanted noodles in mine, but I also wanted an extra dose of depth and flavor that only a shocking amount of cheese could deliver.

Finally, with two cookbooks open to a classic minestrone, and classic peasant soup recipe, I started to play around and throwing in the best parts of each to create what has become a wintertime staple in our house. And yes, it does have everything but the kitchen sink in it. Sausage? Check. Squash? Check. Spinach leaves? Check. But the real secret here is the final step: Stirring in a giant spoonful (or four) of pesto gives the soup a deeply satisfying finish.

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 yellow squash, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 zucchini squash, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 15 oz. can cannellini or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans (14-1/2 oz. each) diced Italian-style tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

6 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped

1 cup dried spiral pasta

Prepared pesto sauce

Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, crumble and cook sausage over medium hear until no longer pink; drain all but 1 teaspoon of the oil and put the meat aside on a plate. In same pot, saute onions and garlic in the excess oil until tender. Stir in squash and saute for 1-2 minutes. Stir in beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, basil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook until pasta is al dente. Add spinach and heat until just wilted. Turn off heat, and stir in a heaping dollap (technical term, of course) of pesto. Ladle into bowls and grate a heap of cheese over each serving.

Eat Your Veggies

Superfoods Saute

From: Robin Wiper, dear friend of my mother

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Perfect pairings: Grilled salmon; roasted chicken; Thanksgiving side dish

Fun fact: These veggies are all considered "superfoods" for their powerhouse anti-oxidant properties and cancer-fighting components. 

In the summer, I feel like eating my vegetables comes naturally—peppers and onions freshly-charred on the grill; tomato-mozzarella caprese salad dotted with olive oil and fresh basil; salad greens topped with fresh peapods. And then January comes, and I get stuck in a potato-induced coma, because let's be honest: It's slim-pickings in the produce department.

But this Thanksgiving, I was given a gift amidst the plethora of side dishes on the table—a fragrant, comforting roasted vegetable dish with butternut squash, perfectly-charred cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Withhold your judgment for a second, this will convert any sprouts-hater; this recipe just uses the tender leaves, not the bitter heads most people loathe from childhood.

While this dish would be fantastic alongside grilled fish or meat, I let stand on its own, with just some crostini on the side. It totally satisfied my cravings—for both some healthier fare after consuming an entire pan of the Pioneer Woman's enchiladas last weekend, and for a comforting, weekday night meal.

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1 1/2 cups cubed butternut squash

4 T extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (1 head)

3 cups Brussels sprouts (1 bag)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup of wine

2 T unsalted butter

2 T chopped parsley

Grated Pecorino cheese

Sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To toast nuts, spread them in a small dry skillet and heat over medium heat, shaking occasionally, until nuts are fragrant and toasted. Set aside

To roast butter squash, peel and slice the squash into 1-inch cubes, Toss with about 2 T of olive oil, salt and pepper and spread into a sheet pan. Bake in oven for about 30-40 minutes or until soft and golden on the edges. While squash starts to cook, chop cauliflower into bite-sized pieces, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. About 30 minutes after squash has gone in, add cauliflower to the pan; roast for about 12 more minutes, until squash is done and cauliflower is browned on the edges. (This can also be done on separate cookie sheets if you are short on space.)

Rinse and trim Brussels sprouts. Separate the leaves from the heads until there are three cups of leaves. In a large saute pan, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat; add Brussels sprout petals. Toss and cook for a minute until hot. Add cauliflower, cranberries and nuts; stir and cook for another minute. Add wine and cook until wine also evaporates. Add butternut squash, toss to coat. Finish with butter and parsley, cook until butter melts. Season with S+P as needed, then grate a generous serving of Pecorino cheese over each plated serving.

What's In a Name?

Whether your love or loathe your own, there's no shaking a name. From our first moments on earth to our last, we are called by it, loved by it and defined by it. Which is why, when it comes to naming my brand-new blog chronicling adventures and mis-adventures in cooking, the name was a conundrum. (So much a conundrum, in fact, that a draft just sat in my email for weeks, the more weeks and perhaps then months, piling up with name ideas; I now predict my first-born child will be nameless for at least 3 months.) 

So, as much as I believe 'Fork It Over' will be a fitting standard-bearer for what's to come here (more on that in a minute), perhaps the rejected and cast-aside names can also help tell the story of who I am—in both the kitchen and in life.

Everything In the Kitchen Sink

As a cook, I apply to the theory that the better the meal, most likely the messier the kitchen. In other words, my kitchen sink often looks like batter-strewn battleground. Cooking, like life, is often messy—and all the more beautiful for it. Part of my goal with 'Fork it Over' is to share simple, satisfying recipes, not perfect ones.  I often make mistakes when cooking, but I hope to instill in both you and myself a fearless abandon to at least try new recipes, even if sometimes goes wrong.

Kitchen Comforts

My husband and I live in Seattle, one of the most beautiful, yet wet places in the country to call home. This climate lends to frequent cravings for comfort food, dishes that warm the soul and act as a cure-all after stressful workdays: Slow-cooked, braised meats; simply perfect chicken chili; and revamped Italian staples like rosemary white chicken lasagna or homemade butternut squash ravioli. From easy, 15-minute recipes to weekend projects, cozy, heartening fare reigns in our house.

Eat Your Heart Out

Okay, don't laugh, but I think cooking a meal for someone is one of the greatest ways to say, 'I love you.' I am infatuated by the connections that happen over a dinner table; food truly brings us together in a way that almost nothing else can (okay, perhaps alcohol, but that is a different kind of bonding that usually ends after a hefty dose of TMI with a perfect stranger).  I love entertaining, feeding and making new friends over food; it is truly where my heart lies.

Big Mouth

What I wrote above was actually very sweet, wasn't it? Yeah, don't expect too much of that, because most of my dishes will also be served with a side of sass. If I burn my arm trying to make caramel (again), I'll have a story to tell about that and perhaps a practical checklist for you on how to avoid that yourself (don't dip your finger into it to check the temperature). If I spend an entire day to hand-cutting ravioli only to discover I sugared, instead of salted it (again), there will be some ranting. My rampant sarcasm is hard to contain.

So, why 'Fork It Over', then? 

Outside of the fact that I love a good double entendre, this name seemed to encompass all the ideas above—a couple parts sassy and spicy, another part, savory and sweet; with an over-arching goal to just share it all with you. So, I invite you to pull up a proverbial chair, grab a fork and dig in.