Deciding what recipe I wanted to do was an easy choice because for me food is about comfort and chicken spaghetti is a meal that reminds me of home. Everything about the dish speaks to the culture from which it came from, or at least the version that I am used to. It is a dish that is not meant for two but to be shared with friends and family. In his book, Southern Cooking, John Egerton emphasizes the point of southern hospitality in southern cooking, “The tradition of hospitality, of serving large quantities of good things to eat to large numbers of hungry people, of sharing food and drink with family and friends and even strangers, proved to be a durable tradition in the South” (Egerton, 1987). This dish is hearty, creamy, a little spicy and a casserole—all key characteristics of Southern cooking.

This recipe would be perfect for a rainy day or a full house. It is the definition of “comfort food”.

Chicken Spaghetti

 

There’s some kind of magic in creating a meal out of basic ingredients. To start off with an array of raw ingredients and end with a dish is enchanting. That was my goal with this dish; to start off with the basics and finish with something decadent. Simple ingredients, simple recipe, delicious dish.

Ingredients

For Falafel:

• 5 cups dry chickpeas
• .5 cups chopped fresh parsley
• .25 cups chopped white onion
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp of flour
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 Tbsp of ground cumin
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For Sauce:

• 1 cup of tahini paste
• 3 cloves of garlic
• .5 of a lemon
• .5 tsp salt
• .2 tsp fresh parsley

For Dish:

• Package of naan bread

Instructions

The falafel is fairly simple. Rinse chickpeas and toss them into a food processor with the parsley, white onion, and garlic. Add the flour, salt, ground cumin and cayenne pepper before mixing. You want it to look like a paste with few chunks.

Once it is fully mixed, put the mixture into a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for one hour. While it’s sitting, put all the sauce ingredients into the food processor and blend until it is sauce-like (simple enough!).

Once the falafel mixture has cooled, form into small discs. Grab a pan and the olive oil and cook the falafel on each side on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.

Now serve! Place the falafel on naan bread and pour the sauce on top. Add tomatoes and red cabbage if you’re feeling adventurous!

CHECK THIS OUT IF YOU WANT A LITTLE CULTURE IN YOUR LIFE

I’ll never forget the Summer of 2016. This was a Summer filled with community, memories and magic. I was working full-time at the Magic Kingdom for a Mission Trip with 43 other people from across the U.S. We all had Wednesday off and decided to travel out of our comfort zones for dinner. We were given the task to prepare international dishes and I had the pleasure of making a Lomo Saltado (Peruvian beef stir fry) with 10 other people. If you’re a person who likes dishes with numerous flavors, texture and color then you’re in for a treat! This dish involves a few things happening at the same time so get your friends to help and get cooking! Let’s take a journey and fuse the latin and chinese cuisine into one

Ingredients:

For the baked fries:

• Canola oil/non-stick cooking spray
• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• Black pepper and sea salt

For the beef:

• 1lb of lean beef sirloin
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1 large yellow bell pepper
• 1 large jalapeno, ribbed and seeded, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tomatoes sliced into wedges
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tsp of apple cider soy sauce
• ½ cup of chopped cilantro

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

• Cut the potato lengthwise into 1/3-inch thick slices; cut each slice into 1/3-inch fries. Place on the baking sheet and toss with oil to evenly coat. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place on a single layer onto the greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered on the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp and golden.

Meanwhile

• Season meat with salt, pepper and cumin.

• Heat a large wok over high heat. When hot add the oil and the steak, cook about 2 minutes, until browned on both sides. Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook 2 minutes.

• Add the tomato, soy sauce and vinegar and cook 1 more minute. Season with more salt as needed, remove from heat and finish with cilantro. Serve immediately with french fries and divide evenly between 2 plates.

Fiesta Chicken

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of regular corn
• 1 can of Rotel (spicy if desired)
• 1 package of Philadelphia original 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 packet of dry Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch mix
• 2 small chicken breasts

 

Instructions for cooking:

Take all ingredients and place in a crock pot at low heat (if faster cook time is preferred set crockpot to high heat), stirring occasionally. After 3 hours pull out the chicken breasts and pull apart either using your hands or slicing thinly with a knife. Once chicken has been pulled apart, place back into crockpot and stir in. The dish should be ready within 6 hours if cooked on low heat. If cooked on high heat it will be ready in 4 hours, pull the chicken apart after 2. Once the meal is ready pour into bowl and eat with tortilla chips- Tostitos Scoops work really well!

“Zoodles” and Pesto Sauce

SERVING SIZE: 2 PLATES | TOTAL TIME: 15-20 MIN.

Ingredients

2-3 ZUCCHINIS

2/3 CUP OLIVE OIL

2 CUPS PACKED FRESH BASIL LEAVES

2 CLOVES GARLIC

¼ CUP PARMESAN CHEESE

SALT (TO TASTE)

PEPPER (TO TASTE)

YOU WILL NEED

1 SPIRAL VEGETABLE SLICER/CUTTER

1 BLENDER/FOOD PROCESSOR

1 POT TO BOIL WATER

1 COLANDER

1 MIXING BOWL

SERVING BOWLS

Directions

Start preparing the pesto sauce by adding the garlic and basil leaves into a blender/food processor until they are fully chopped.  Then add the parmesan cheese and olive oil into the processor until smooth.  Set aside the pesto sauce in a mixing bowl.

To prepare the zoodles, use a spiral vegetable slicer/cutter to slice the zucchini to resemble a noodle.  Boil the zoodles for just one minute, drain the water, and set aside.  Heat the pesto sauce for just one minute in the microwave and then mix it in a bowl with the zoodles.  Add salt/pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Crêpes evoke Parisian cafes and French accents, but I first learned how to cook the French pancakes in an Italian middle school.

My family moved to Florence when I was going into 6th grade and my brother and I both enrolled in Italian public schools. My middle school building was covered in graffiti and the maps in our classrooms still included the USSR. I remember walking in on the first day, tearfully departing from my dad and sticking out like a sore thumb. Soon, though, the intimidating building became more familiar and comfortable.

I’m sure at the urging of my mom, I took an after school cooking class one semester to improve my language skills and make friends. We met in the school’s dusty basement, cluttered with boxes and boxes of records, tests, and other documents that probably should not have been tossed in a basement. At the back of the room, a small, rudimentary kitchen provided the space for our culinary adventures.

We learned all the staples of the Italian diet, from pasta dough to margherita pizzas. Our teacher taught from her own experience, often forsaking written recipes. I did my best to follow along but my Italian cooking vocabulary was rusty, at best. When the class ended, I did not have much to show for it, except for one dish: crêpes.

I immediately wrote down what I remembered doing in class that day and began tinkering with the recipe, determined to translate the fluid movements of my teacher into a structured recipe I could copy. Unlike their cousin, the pancake, crêpes are almost paper-thin and are eaten folded up, like a delicate sandwich. It can seem like an intimidating dish, but I’ve found it to actually be simple and quick, an easy feather in your culinary cap.

For the past seven years, I’ve been following my middle school recipe but have learned how to feel out the best crêpes. Sometimes, more milk is necessary. Often, I add extra flour, a dash of cinnamon, or a sprinkle of garlic. crêpes are endlessly versatile and will be a welcoming friend for any meal, any season, or any appetite.

Last summer, I returned to Italy for the first time since we left. I spent ten weeks in Florence, living by myself and working for a local English-speaking news magazine. Toward the end of the summer, when my budget was low and groceries were not a priority, I discovered I had all I needed: one egg, some flour, a little bit of milk, and a smidge of butter. Plus one peach. I would come home from work, wait for the July heat to simmer away in the evening, and eat crêpes with fresh peaches and a jar of Nutella in hand’s reach.

This is my twist on that beloved summer recipe. When I think of crêpes, I’m taken back to the hills of Tuscany and sweet summer evenings. While I opted for a sweet crepe in this recipe, the options are endless. Add different fruits, experiment with adding cheeses, smooth pesto on top, toss in all kinds of spices. This recipe is the most basic crêpe recipe you will probably find, the perfect blank canvas for your cooking whimsy.

Cook time is 20 minutes. Makes 5 crêpes. Cinnamon sugar baked peaches adapted from I Heart Naptime. 

Ingredients

For the crêpes:

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup milk

one egg

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

For the peaches:

2 peaches

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon butter

Instructions 

For the crêpes:

1. Mix the flour and milk until there are no lumps and the consistency is on the runny side. When you pour the mixture, it should pour easily and quickly.

2. Next, whisk in an egg until it’s completely blended with the flour and milk mixture.

3. Finally, soften butter in the microwave before mixing it in with the other ingredients.

4. If you want to add any spices, do so now. For savory crêpes, I like to add a pinch of salt or garlic. With sweet crêpes, try cinnamon, a splash of vanilla, or a sprinkle of sugar.

5. Keep the stove on medium to low heat. Crepes cook quickly, so keep everything close to the stove so you can easily transfer food from the stove to a plate. If you don’t have a crepe pan, any large pan will do.

6. Pour medium amounts of batter into the pan for each crêpe. If you don’t have any tools for spreading out the batter, take the pan off the stove and move it up and down until the batter has spread out, covering as much surface as possible.

7. Let it cook for several seconds until the batter darkens and starts to bubble. Flip it over, let it cook for a few more seconds, then slide it onto a plate. 

For the peaches:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Ideally, let the peaches bake while you cook the crepes on the stove.

2. Slice your peaches into large slices.

3. Lay them out on a cookie sheet or in an oven-safe dish. Place a small pat of butter on each slice.

4. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl then sprinkle the mixture generously on each peach.

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

I highly recommend topping off the dish with a healthy amount of Nutella drizzled on top. Originally published on courtneyrunn.wordpress.com

The Story

There isn’t a scene quite like recess at an elementary school. Hundreds of kids storm out of the classroom, energized and eager for action. For many children, this is the best part of the day. I too remember elementary school lunch as a great time in my life, but for reasons probably different than my peers. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed being able to run around like a wild hyena for 30 minutes, but for reasons I only now understand, what I loved more was getting to eat.

To grasp why I enjoyed eating so much at school, I need to give you a little background on my family. My mother lived in Italy for 10 years after college, a time she constantly talks about as some of her favorite moments in life. This time gave her the opportunity to learn the nuances of Italian cooking that only an Italian would understand. As a result, my siblings and I grew up in a household where Italian cuisine was served for dinner at least 3 times a week. The uniqueness of my childhood diet only began there. I was also raised a vegetarian so the other 4 dinners of the week usually went against the grain as well.

Naturally, school was the first place I realized how distinguished my childhood food experience was from my friends. Rather than having to eat the cafeteria food each day like friends, my unique diet required me to bring a packed lunch to school most days. The meal I remember the most was the pasta dish below that my twin sister and I called School Pasta. We loved it so much we would eat the leftovers as breakfast in the morning. However, when I got to school, all of my friends were irked by our “gross vegetable pasta.” During the time, I couldn’t understand why. I couldn’t understand why my friends were different than me and why they didn’t eat what I did at school. Although I loved my lunches, I resented their isolation.

As I look back and reflect on this time today, though, it is all crystal clear. I had different lunches than my friends because I grew up in an incredibly unique household compared to them. Although this made me uncomfortable at the time, in hindsight, I wouldn’t want my elementary lunches any other way. Meals like School Pasta taught me that I am unique with a distinct culture and heritage. This helped me realize that our own differences are not something to resent, but something to appreciate, because in the end, we wouldn’t be ourselves without them.

The Recipe

Ingredients

1 box of Fusilli Pasta

1 Tablespoon of Small Capers

1 Small finely chopped Onion

½ Stick of Butter (+ more if needed)

½ cup of pitted olives

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Steps

1. Fill a large pot with water and two tablespoons of course salt.
2. Bring water to boil.
3. Chop the onion finely and cut the olives in half.
4. Retrieve a large frying pan.
5. Melt butter.
6. Add capers, chopped onions, capers, and olives
7. Sauté until the onions are golden.
8. Turn off frying pan.
9. Cook Pasta per box directions.
10. Drain Pasta.
11. Turn frying pan back on.
12. Add drained pasta to frying pan.
13. Mix thoroughly, add more butter if needed
14. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.