Provençal Greens Soup

Provençal Greens Soup is my get rid of leftovers meal. And it is awesome! I always manage to buy the wrong amounts of kale, or spinach, leeks, or some other green for my recipes and they sit there staring at me from the fridge. I combine them together to create this soup. A couple of eggs help to thicken and bring heartiness to the dish.

Braised Oxtail Stew with Polenta

I have been holding onto a few pounds of oxtails in the freezer, waiting for a good recipe to turn them into. The time has finally come! I decided to cook my oxtails down into a beautiful stew with some leeks and onions.

I like to dredge any kind of shanks or boned meat in flour before browning it, I feel like it browns better and serves to thicken the stew as it cooks. This is almost a Bourgignion of sorts, but not quite. I de-glaze the vegetables with brandy and cook the stew with red wine, but I like the addition of leeks to the standard onion and carrots.

Squid Rice with Shrimp and Aioli

I have been particularly interested in squid ink. I love the idea of it and have wanted to use it for a very long time, I figured this would be my opportunity. Here, we combine squid ink and calamari to create a wonderful tinny, “oceany” flavor. The black rice is enlivened with coral shrimp or prawns (I didn’t have prawns on hand but believe it would be a more delicious flavor/presentation) and a garlicky aioli. Find my Aioli recipe here.

French Onion Soup

I had my first bowl of French Onion Soup during a high school trip to France. It was unexpectedly delicious! I made plans of figuring it out myself one day. As I grew older, I realized it was fantastic for more than it’s flavor. It is a great way to keep from throwing away old produce. What a great way to use up a bunch of onions that are close to death! This recipe also happens to be a good way to use up bread that is a bit too stale and cheese that isn’t large enough for a cheese plate.

Whole-Wheat Baguettes with Sunflower Seeds

Today, I wanted to try out a whole-wheat loaf. I have been tasting some amazing breads during our travels and have been feeling like switching up from white breads to something a bit “healthier”. I saw some gorgeous loaves of sunflower seed baguettes in a shop and wanted to replicate the look and flavor. Most of the seeds fall off as you eat it, I am thinking an egg glaze would do the trick if you want to have them stick a bit better.

Couscous and Halloumi Salad with Kale and Roast Winter Veggies

This dinner was inspired by Blue Apron. Or rather, the occasional inefficiency of the shipper they use Laser Ship. Laser Ship insisted that they delivered my box on Tuesday as usual, but it was not on my porch when I looked, and the “3:31 pm” delivery time that they quoted was actually when I was scraping ice off of my front stoop. Wouldn’t you know it, my groceries “appeared” on my step on Friday evening.

Spinach Catalana with Polenta and Soft Boiled Eggs

Spinach Catalana with Polenta and Soft Boiled Egg Daria Souvorova 20 minutes serves: 5-6 We have been eating less meat of late, and when I realized I forgot a few pounds of spinach in the back of the fridge, I decided to salvage it by cooking it. I have been reading about Catalan Spinach, which…

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Creamy Semolina Polenta

I posted my Civet of Venison recipe yesterday and hinted at a beautiful polenta for it to sit on, so I wanted to share my new polenta recipe today! Polenta is so filling in the winter and so incredibly easy to make, I am obsessed! You can buy “polenta” in beautifully decorated baggies or boxes for $6 to serve four, or you can stroll to the international market and buy a couple pounds of Semolina for a dollar or two. I choose the latter.