Happy Halloween!

We're Off!

We're headed to Ireland for 10 days.  I spent all day yesterday packing and getting ready for our housesitter, but we're finally ready to go!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Hopefully everyone is staying healthy during the cold season this year.  Just in case you start to feel a little under the weather, here is an easy recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup.

Ingredients:

- 8c homemade chicken stock

- 1T canola oil

- Salt and pepper

- 1t dried oregano

- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced

- 1 small white or yellow onion, diced

- 3 ribs celery, diced

- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced

- 1c riso pasta (looks like rice, but is in the pasta aisle)

- 2 chicken legs and thighs, cooked and cut up

Heat your oil in a soup pot.  When it is hot, add your onion, carrots, and celery.  Cook until just starting to soften. 

Add your riso and oregano.  (I use the riso as an alternative to the more traditional larger noodles.  I think it works well with the diced up vegetables, but feel free to substitute any kind of noodles that you like.) 

 

Add the chicken stock, potato, and chicken let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice and potato are fully cooked.  You can keep it on the stove longer if needed, just turn the heat down.

Serve hot!

Grandma's Pork Chops, with Potato Squash Medley and Green Beans

The joke in my family is that I cannot make a good pork chop.  Okay, it's not so much a joke as a cruel irony.  One of my favorite dishes growing up was my mom's pork chops.  They were just so tender and juicy.  I have tried many times to replicate this wonderful, seemingly easy home-cooked meal.  Usually it results in a pork chop that is so tough that we need to use the steak knives. 

Well, this weekend, after detailed discussion with my mom about everything from what to look for in the chops at the grocery to the amount of water to put in the pan, I finally made a pork chop that was falling off the bone and tender enough to be cut with a fork!  A major accomplishment!

First, it turns out that selecting a tender pork chop is easier said than done.  My grandmother used the thin-cut chops on the bone.  My mom speculates it is probably because they couldn't afford the thick-cut kind.  In any case, I think this is key to the success of these chops.  Also, slowcooking the meat on the bone probably adds to the great savory flavor of the resulting gravy or sauce.  You should look for a chop that looks "floppy" or "flimsy."  There should be some veining.  Basically, it should look like when you take the pork chop out of the packaging that it won't stand up on its own.

When you're ready to cook your pork chops, season both sides and then lightly flour it.  Too much flour will result in a slimy coating at the end (a mistake I have made before).  Just a dusting is really enough.  Then get the oil in your pot hot and sear both sides of the pork chops. 

When they are seared, add some water - just enough so that it is nearly covering (but not covering) the pork chops.  If you need to, "shingle" stack your pork chops in the pan so that they are leaning against each other.  (Think fallen over dominos.)

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least an hour and fifteen minutes, or more.  I cooked mine for an hour and a half, and they could have maybe gone even a little longer.  Note that the pork chops are not done when the meat is "done."  You are going to cook these until they are cooked, and then keep cooking them until they are tender.  This is my other cardinal mistake that I have made in the past.  I thought that when the meat was cooked that the pork chops were done.  Not so.

When the pork chops are tender, you can transfer them to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep hot.

Make your sauce.

I served this with a mixture of russet potatos, sweet potatos, and butternut squash, all cut into about one-inch cubes and roasted in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes with butter, salt, and pepper; and steamed green beans.

Bon appetite!

Featured Ingredient: Squash

Squash, squash everywhere . . . but what kind should I use?

I have been talking a lot lately on this blog about cooking with squash.  Last night my mom was describing the various types of squash and gourds she had bought, largely for their ornamental value in her ever-changing seasonal center-island display and quizzing me on what kinds I thought they were.  I have to say, I did not do very well identifying types of squash over the phone!  Here's my chance to redeem myself.  I thought I would post pictures of the various types of squash, along with simple descriptions of the flavors/uses of a few favorite types.

Butternut Squash:

This is my favorite type of squash to cook with.  It has a sweet mild flavor, and is great roasted, mashed, or as the base for soups.  The smooth skin also makes it relatively easy to peel, although the flesh is very hard and thick, making chopping a bit precarious at times.

Acorn Squash:

This is another fall classic.  It is very flavorful and can be easier to cut up than the butternut squash.  Another nice feature of this squash is that you can actually place it whole in your slow cooker, turn it on low, and let it slowly cook all day.  When you get home, you'll have nicely cooked squash.  Just cut it in half and then in slivered sections (like an orange) and serve!  You can eat the skin, although I usually skip it.  The flesh will be soft enough to just cut away from the skins.

Spaghetti Squash:

I can only assume that the name of this squash comes from the appearance of the flesh when you cut it open.  It is very stringy and almost the color of spaghetti noodles. 

Unlike other squash, where you remove the stringy parts along with the seeds, you don't want to remove the stringy parts of this squash, or you'll be left with just the rind!  The only way I've ever cooked this squash is to cut it in half vertically, scoop out the seeds, and then lay it cut-side down on a cookie sheet and cook at 400 degrees until soft (up to an hour).  Scoop out the cooked stringy flesh, season, and serve.

Here are some other kinds of squash that I am less familiar with:



Ambercup Squash

Autumn Cup Squash

Banana Squash

Buttercup Squash

Carnival Squash

Delicata Squash

Fairytale Pumpkin Squash

Gold Nugget Squash

Hubbard Squash

Kabocha Squash

Sweet Dumpling Squash

Turban Squash

 

Photos found at: http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm.  



Steak with Rosemary Madeira Pan Sauce

This is a quick but very flavorful dinner that is perfect for mid-week when you need something substantial.  The weather is oscillating between cold and damp and warm and sunny in D.C., and last night was a cold night perfect for steak and potatoes. 

Ingredients:
- Your favorite cut of steak, I used New York Strip
- Seasoning, I love the McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak
- Madeira wine
- Fresh rosemary, about 1t minced
- Chicken stock (can use beef or vegetable too)

You should take your steaks out of the fridge well before you're ready to start cooking dinner so that they can come to room temperature.  Once the chill is off of them, pat them dry and then season liberally and pat into the meat.  Depending on the thickness of your steak, adjust your seasoning.  For steaks over an inch thick, I put as much seasoning on each side of the steak as will stay on it, basically coating the meat.  Remember this seasoning has to flavor entire thickness of the meat.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Heat about 1/2T butter in a frying pan over medium high heat.  When the butter is melted, add the steak.  Cook about 5 mintues on each side.  Transfer to an oven-safe pan or plate and put into the oven.  Depending on the thickness of your steaks, you could choose to decrees the temperature of your oven.  For thin steaks, you could go as low as 200 degrees, just to keep your steak hot.

Deglaze your frying pan with about 1/2 cup madeira wine.  When this has reduced by about half, add about 1/2 cup stock and rosemary.  Cook at a simmer until this is reduced by at least half, and is a sauce consistency.

Remove your steak from the oven and pour any juices into the sauce.  Slice the steak on an angle.

I ran my sauce through a screen directly onto the sliced steak.  Enjoy!

I served the steak with roasted garlic mashed potatoes.  This is a great use of roasted garlic and can be made ahead of time before you start the steak. 

Ingredients:
- Red potatoes (I made about 2lbs, but we go through a lot of potatoes)
- Roasted garlic, about 1T
- 2-3T butter
- Salt and Pepper

Clean and quarter the potatoes.  I leave the skins on, I think it adds texture and flavor.  Submerge in cold water in a stock pot.  Heat over medium high heat to a boil, then reduce heat and keep at a low boil until potatoes are cooked, about 15 minutes.

Drain water out of the pot.  Coarsely mash the potatoes.  Mash in the butter and roasted garlic.  When the steak is done, transfer the potatoes to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Serve with the steak.

Healthy Tacos

I love tacos.  There is something so great about blending all of the flavors of tacos together and putting your whole meal into a tortilla that you can pick up and eat (although I usually overstuff mine and end up eating them with a fork anyways)!

This is our take on tacos.  I've amped up some of the healthy ingredients to really make this taco sing.  The mango is a great addition to the traditional taco fixings because it brings out the sweetness in the tomatos and avocados, and is a good counterpoint to the saltiness of the beef.  We usually don't put taco sauce on our tacos, but there's no reason why you couldn't add that or some salsa to your tacos. 

Ingredients:

- Soft taco shells

- 1lb ground beef

- 1 package taco seasoning

- 1 can vegetarian refried beans

- 1c brown rice

- 1c finely diced tomatos

- 1 mango, cut into slices

- 1 avocado, cut into slices

- 1c sprouts

- Sour cream

Cook the beef in a skillet, drain the fat, and then add the taco seasoning and water, according to the directions on the package.

Cook the brown rice.

Heat the refried beans.

Cut up the tomatos, avocado, and mango.

I usually put all of the ingredients out and let everyone build their own tacos.  The left overs are great as a taco salad for lunch the next day.

Bon appetite!

Caramel Apple Pork Chops and Sweet Potatos

Caramel Apple Pork Chops Ingredients:
- 1T butter
- Flour, salt and pepper
- Thick-cut pork chops
- 1/2c white wine
- 1/4c apple cider vinegar
- 1T + 1T brown sugar
- 1/2c + 1/4c applesauce
- 1t + 1Tcinnamon
- 1t allspice
- 4 large sweet potatos


Cook your sweet potatos in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until soft.  (Note:  you could also cook these in the microwave.)  When they are cooked you should be able to cut the tip of the potato skin and then pull the skins off. 

While your sweet potatos are cooking, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Liberally season pork chops with salt and pepper and then dredge in the flour.  When the butter is hot, add the pork chops to the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side, or until the pork chops are golden brown on each side but uncooked in the middle.

Add white wine and vinegar to your frying pan.  It will bubble up a little, reduce the heat to a low simmer.  Cover and cook chops for about 30 minutes, until done.

When pork chops are done, transfer to a cookie sheet and put in a 200 degree oven to keep warm. 

You will probably have a lot of cooking liquid in your frying pan.  Increase the heat and simmer to reduce by at least half.  Add 1T brown sugar, 1/4c applesauce, and 1t cinnamon.  Cook to heat through.  This sauce is a Show Stopper; it is so sweet and savory, and compliments the pork chops perfectly.  It would probably be good on short ribs or other slow cooked meat.

Finish the sweet potatos by mashing, add 1/2c applesauce, 1T cinnamon, and 1t allspice.  Make sure everyting is mashed well.

Serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Chili

With fall and winter fast approaching, I decided to make chili over the weekend.  I also was persuaded to try to incorporate pumpking into my chili recipe.  I have to admit the results were mixed.  I will post my standard chili recipe soon, and still have yet to find a better version.

Ingredients:

- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced

- 1 jalapeno, finely minced

- 1 large onion, diced

- 2 green peppers, diced

- 4T chili powder

- 1T cumin

- 2t dried oregano

- 8 cups chicken stock

- 1T worscestershire sauce

- 2T dijon mustard

- Large can diced tomatos, undrained

- 1 package dried great northern beans, cooked

- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Heat 1T vegetable oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  When hot, add garlic, jalapeno, onion, and green pepper.  Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. 

Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano.  Cook an additional 2 minutes.

Add chicken stock, worcestershire, dijon, pumpkin, tomatos, and beans.  Bring to a boil and gently simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add the chicken breasts.  You can keep the chili hot over low heat, covered, as long as needed until you're ready to eat.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and corn bread.

Note:  For my standard recipe, omit the pumpkin and add 1 jar chili sauce, found in near the katchup in the grocery.

Quilt for K.I.F. - Selecting the Pattern and Fabric: Irish Crosses in Pink and Purple

A while ago I posted about the baby quilt I made for our niece.  She has now moved into a very big big-girl bed and it's time to make her a new quilt!  After much deliberation and consultation with various quilting mentors, I decided on Irish Crosses in pinks and purples. 

Here is a picture from my pattern book.  Just imagine the dark green areas in dark purple small prints and the light green areas in light pink batiques.  I have also modified it so that each "cross" has two rows of triangles instead of four.  One of these days, I promise to make a quilt where I just follow the instructions.

Each block consists of one center square in the theme fabric, with a row of light pink triangles and a row of dark purple triangles.

After hemming and hawing over dozens of fabrics, we decided on these:

The purple print fabric in the middle will make up the "theme" squares, with the dark purples and light pinks making up the triangles for the croses.  The pink print fabric at the top will be the borders. 

And this fabric is for the back:

I just hope that it is girly enough for our little princess niece!

Eggs with leftover vegetables and fresh herbs

Eggs are one of the best breakfasts - high in protein, low in calories and fat, you can add all kinds of good vegetables and herbs to them, and they're cheap and fast to cook in the morning!  Who could ask for more? 

This morning, when I realized that we are out of all my normal breakfast foods (i.e. eggo waffles), I had to scrounge around to find a substitute.  I have never been someone who can skip breakfast.  Maybe this is a result of growing up in Minnesota and being treated to a hot breakfast each morning in the middle of winter when it was still dark and bitterly cold outside.  But whatever the reason, it resulted in a great concoction this morning.

You really can add just about anything to eggs.  I just used the few things I had around the kitchen this morning:

- 4 eggs
- 1 finely chopped yellow bell pepper
- Finely chopped red onion (about 3T)
- 5 cherry tomatos, quartered
- Finely chopped basil, oregano, and rosemary
- Salt & Pepper
- Chevre

Saute your vegetables in a little Pam for about 3 minutes.  Add your eggs into the pan.  Break them directly into the pan and then break the yolks in the pan.  I heard once that this helps retain the beneficial proteins of the egg instead of breaking them up by whisking.  Then add in your herbs, salt, and pepper and cook until eggs are done, ocassionally scraping up the done eggs from the bottom of the pan and folding them back into the mixture.  When the eggs are cooked, turn off the burner and add the chevre. 

Meanwhile, toast a piece of whole-wheat bread.  Top with the egg mixture. 

Voila, a hearty healthy breakfast!

Pumpkin Rum Cake (or Coffee Cake)

Seeing as how we have seemingly really entered the fall season here in D.C., I made a number of pumpkin dishes over the weekend to test various uses of the ubiquitous can of Libby's.  I made a pumpkin chili and pumpkin rum cake.  My conclusion is that pumpkin can be added to nearly anything without really changing the flavor.

This pumpkin rum cake recipe comes from the recipe book from a "Chunkin' Punkin'" festival in Delaware. This recipe is extremely easy, but I will warn you that the end result is very sugary.  I actually much preferred it as a coffee cake with some bitter black coffee as opposed to a dessert.  To each his own though.

Ingredients:
- 1 box of yellow cake mix
- 1 box of vanilla pudding mix (about 3.4oz)
- 4 eggs
- 3/4c white rum, divided
- 1c butter, divided
- 1/2c walnuts
- 1 can pumpkin
- 1c sugar

Preheat your oven to 325.

To make the cake, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, 1/2 cup of the rum, 1/2 cup butter (melted), and the can of pumpkin.  Mix well.  Pour into a cake pan.  I used a 8x13 pan, but the recipe actually calls for a bundt pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-60 minutes (30 minutes for the 8x13 pan, longer for the bundt pan).

When the cake is done, combine the remaining 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup rum, and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat.  Cook until the butter is melted and the sugar totally dissolved, then cook about 2 minutes longer, or until the mixture gets thick and syrupy.  Pour the glaze over the top of the cake.  Serve!

Homemade Chicken Stock

I am convinced that homemade chicken stock is one of the best kept secrets in cooking.  I have to admit that I am a recent convert.  When I first learned how to debone a chicken, I really did not believe that I would have the time and energy to make my own stock on a regular basis.  Now I make stock nearly every weekend.  My husband calls it the "magic stock" because all of my recipes are so much improved just by using it.  The best part, is that it is extremely simple. 

Stock is basically made of just raw bones and water.  The other ingredients are for added savory flavor.  If you have tried to make stock out of cooked bones (like a roast chicken carcass), you were probably disappointed by the result.  This is because cooked chicken bones no longer contain collagen, the ingredient needed to make stock.  For those chemistry buffs out there - stock is made by covering bones with collagen in them with cold water, then bringing to a boil to convert the collagen to gelatin.  It is the presence of gelatin in stock that allows the flavors to linger in your mouth when you're eating.  It also gives it a tiny bit of body.  Not much, but just enough to notice.

My last post described how to debone a chicken to give you the bones needed for your stock.  You may be wondering where to get enough vegetable bits.  My sauces teacher advised us to keep a freezer baggie in the freezer and when you're cutting up onions, carrots, or celery, just throw the unusable ends and other bits into that bag.  Keep it in the freezer until you're ready to make stock.  Voila! 

You may also use herbs to flavor your stock.  A very classic combination is parsley stems, dried thyme, and/or a bay leaf.  You can apply the same theory from saving unuseable bits of vegetables to your herbs - just throw the woody stems or other undesirable bits into the freezer bag as you go.  You'll add great flavor to your stock with the added bonus of using all of the herbs you pay so much for at the grocery.

So, to make the stock, you will need raw bones, vegetable pieces (onion, celery, and carrot work best), and any herbs you want to use (parsley stems and a bay leaf are classics). 

- Combine everything in a stock pot and cover with enough cold water that the bones and vegetables are submerged by a couple of inches. 

- Turn on the stove top and bring the water to a boil.  Leave uncovered to gently simmer or boil very softly for several hours.  Taste your stock periodically; you will be able to tell when it is condensing and developing.  If it seems too watery after a few hours, you can turn up the heat to boil off more of the water, further condensing the stock flavors.

- When your stock is done, pour through a sieve into a bowl.  You'll notice the vegetable bits are mushy and the bones are brittle (this is because there is no collagen left in them).  Make sure to press down on your mushy vegetables and brittle bones to get all of the flavorful stock out.  Throw away the used ingredients in the strainer.

- Season your stock with a little salt and pepper to taste.  You can either use your stock right away or let cool.  If you let it cool, the fat will rise to the top and solidify.  Just skim it off when you go to use your stock. 

What could be easier?  Just leave your simmering stock on and go about your morning or afternoon.  It is really hard to screw this up.  If you over-cook it, just add a little more water to dilute.  If it isn't condensed enough, keep boiling. 

And trust me, you'll be happy you have homemade stock during the week to add that extra TLC to your meals.  Happy cooking!

Deboning a Chicken

If you haven't tried making your own chicken stock, you should definitely start!  It is very easy, and really enhances all of the dishes you make with it.  Plus you control the amount of salt you add, so you can cut your sodium intake.  Those store-bought chicken stocks use lots of salt to make up for cutting other ingredients.  I promise, it is very easy.  All you need is chicken bones and the spare clippings off of the vegetables you've used the week before. 

I like to start with a whole chicken, remove the meat and save for cooking during the week, and use the carcass and internal organs for making the stock.  This post will cover how to debone your chicken.


Step 1:  Get to know your chicken
- Take your chicken out of the plastic and look inside the opening and pull out any internal organs or the neck that are usually sold with the chicken. Orient your chicken so that you could shake its "hand" and then lay it back on its back.  Now your chicken is ready to start cutting.

Step 2:  Remove the legs
 - You are going to cut the legs off first.  Start by slicing the skin right where the leg meets the body of the chicken.  A shallow cut here should expose the hip joint.
 

- Complete the cut by continuing to cut up towards the wings, continuing to expose the hip joint.   Then turn your chicken over.  Continue your cut up around the top of the hip.  You should use the tip portion of your knife and feel your way.  Don't cut through any ribs or any bones at this point.  There is a tender meaty portion on the back of the chicken known as "the oyster."  Make sure you get this in the leg piece you are cutting off.  In the picture below you can see that I've just cut around the oyster. 

- Continue your cut down, getting all of the thigh meat.  Turn your chicken back over on his back.  At this point the leg should be mostly cut off, with just the bone holding it together.  Pull the leg back towards the back of the chicken, fully exposing the joint.  You may hear a pop as the hip dislocates.  Find the space between the two bones with the tip of your knife.  It should be easy to cut through this joint.  Now your leg is free. 

- Repeat on the other side.  

Step 3:  Remove the wings
- Next you are going to remove the wings.  First, find the very last joint on your chicken's wing.  Place the part of your knife closest to the handle on this joint and then firmly push down with the heel of your left hand.  The tip of the wing should cut off very easily.  This part of the wing has very very little meat and is best used in your stock.  Reserve these bits.

- Now bend your chicken's wing back to find the shoulder joint.  When you've found it, cut through the joint, removing the wing.

 Step 4: Remove the breasts
- To remove the breasts, start by laying your now legless and wingless chicken on its back.  Find the point of the breastbone and make a shallow slice on top of it, making sure not to cut into the bone.  

- Next cut off one of the breasts by following the rib cage down, making small slices as you go and pulling the breast meat away as you go.  This will help you get all of the meat on the breast and not on your carcass.

- Repeat on the other side.

Step 5:  Finishing
- Now that you have deboned your chicken, make sure to set aside the carcass, wing tips, and inner organs + neck for your stock.  

- You should have two legs, wings, and breasts for cooking.  I like to store my chicken pieces in a plastic bag (like the type you get in the produce department) and then inside a large Tupperware container in the fridge for use during the week.  

I like to debone my chicken(s) and get the stock going first thing Saturday or Sunday morning.  This way you'll have chicken pieces and fresh stock for the week, plus your house will smell delicious all weekend.

If you've never deboned your own chicken and made stock from scratch, I totally understand that it can be very intimidating at first.  But rest assured, after you've cut up a few chickens, you'll be able to do this in under 5 minutes easily; you will have fresh home-made stock to use, which is worlds better than the store-bought stuff; and you will save money as whole chickens are cheaper than chicken parts and stock.  It is definitely worth the effort (which is minimal)!

Happy Friday!

Get Fuzzy

Equipment Review - Serrated Peeler

Last week when I was at my local Sur La Table buying new metal bowls, I overheard the sales clerk explaining the difference between a regular peeler and serrated peeler to another customer.  Since they were on sale I decided to give it a try.  It is fabulous!  Since buying it, I have used it on several squash and a mango.  The serrated teeth of the peeler "bite" into fleshy fruits and vegetables amazingly well.  It also will grip tough skins like that on the squash. 

All colors of peelers are on sale at Sur La Table, available on their website.  This tool is definitely worth the $2 investment, especially this time of year when you might be cooking with pumpins and squashes and other stubborn hard vegetables.



French Salade Superb

My mom and I made this salad for a bridal shower we hosted about 2 years ago.  The recipe is adapted from one found in Rachel Ray's 365 30-Minute Meals.  My mom is hosting another shower next month and asked for this recipe.  So in a shameless attempt to get her to read my blog, I've posted it here.  This salad is very flavorful and substantive, and can be a good alternative to a standard lettuce salad, or can stand beside a regular letuce salad without seeming redundant.


Ingredients:
- 2.5 lbs red-skinned potatos
- 8 sliced bacon
- 3T olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 4c coarsely chopped kale (1 bunch)
- 3T red wine vinegar
- 1c stock (I have always omitted this ingredient)
- 1/4c finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- Large package of spinach leaves (can also use mixed greens or frissee)

Directions:

Put the potatos in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil, salt the water, and add potatos.  Boil until cooked, about 15-18 minutes.  Drain potatos and when cooled enough to handle, cut into quarters.

Cook the green beans until just cooked but still crisp.

Crisp the bacon.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add about 2T olive oil.  Add the red onion slices and saute until just tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the kale in small bunches until all is wilted down.  Add the vinegar (and broth, if desired) and remove from heat.

Toss the potatos, green beans, kale mixture, bacon, and spinach together.  If you are making this salad ahead of time, combine all ingredients except spinach and toss with spinach at the end.

Enjoy!

Ten Minute Dinner - Ravioli with Brown Butter Balsamic Sauce

Usually I avoid the "easy" recipes because they often leave me feeling like something is missing.  This recipe definitely does not!  It is quick just because of the nature of the prep methods, not because something is being dumbed down or left out.  And the result is oh so wonderful.

Ingredients:

- Store-bought ravioli (~18 ounces)

- 6oz unsalter butter (if you only have salted, you can make it work)

- 2-3T balsamic vinegar

- Salt & Pepper

- Sage (optional)

Instructions:

- Brown your butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  If you've never made brown butter before, it can be a little intimidating, but once you've done it once you'll wonder why you'd ever use regular butter again!

- Put the butter in your pan and heat over medium heat.  The butter will start to foam and bubble.  This is the water being released from the butter.  You can swirl or stir your saucepan occassionally as this progresses.  Once the foaming subsides, the fat solids in the butter will start to cook and toast.  You'll notice little brown toasty bits in the bottom of your butter, as well as the liquid butter fat starting to take on a nutty color and flavor.  The pictures below show first the butter in the initial bubbly/foamy stage and then nearly cooked.

- Once the butter smells nice and toasty/nutty, remove it from the heat.  I usually transfer it to a bowl at this point to make sure the cooking stops.  The last thing you want is bitter burnt butter.

- Put your balsamic vinegar in a blender (or if you are very good at emulsifying with a whisk, you can leave it in the bowl), turn it on, and slowly drizzle your brown butter into the vinegar.  Blend for just a few seconds, until emulsified.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning.  If you want, you could add sage, or other herbs here. 

- Meanwhile, cook your ravioli according to the directions on the package.  We used goat cheese and basil ravioli from whole foods, which were amazing.

- Toss the ravioli in the brown butter balsamic sauce and serve!

Bon appetite!