Another Tasty Veggie Casserole for Meatless Monday

Janet here: I know I've been a bit of a casserole stalker in recent weeks of Faith Durand's new cookbook, Not Your Mother's Casseroles, but I can't help it. Every damn thing I make is killer. (See squash casserole here or her broccoli, cauliflower and onion one here.)

This artichoke and spinach casserole is yet another example. Thanks to the addition of ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan it seems sinfully close to eating a dinner of artichoke and spinach dip (not that I've ever considered doing that). The recipe is officially called a tian, which means nothing to me and seemed a little like the debate surrounding a fruit crisp or crumble. I did a little research, though, and it appears a tian originated in Provence and that it's a casserole that contains cheese and grains and is usually topped with bread crumbs.

The bread crumbs thing should be in this recipe but as you can see from the recipe, mine doesn't. That's because I cleverly put the whole thing together — with a lovely layer of garlic bread crumbs on top — popped it all in the oven and realized five minutes later as I was cleaning up the kitchen that, oops, the rice was still sitting on top of the stove. I quickly took the dish out and just mixed the rice in, meaning my bread crumbs were now inside the dish.

It did not ruin the taste one little bit. G, the son who for most of his young life refused to put a single green thing into his mouth, had seconds. 'Nuff said.

Spinach and Artichoke Tian with Garlic Bread Crumbs
serves 6-8

ingredients
1/2 cup short grain white rice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 16-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 12-ounce packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained (I used canned instead and it was just fine)
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

ingredients for bread crumb topping
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil

method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13 baking pan.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain. Set aside (but don't forget about it!).

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it is golden and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook for another few minutes, or until the garlic is golden and translucent.

Pat the spinach and artichokes dry with a paper towel. Combine in a large bowl with the ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Fold in the drained rice, cooked onions and garlic, and then the eggs and nutmeg. Spread in the baking dish.

To make the bread crumbs, whiz the garlic, salt, pepper, bread crumbs and Parmesan in a food processor until well combined. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole and drizzle with additional olive oil.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until firm and golden. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Crisp and Clean

Rachel here.

First off, isn't that a pretty salad? We ate it with a baguette the other night, sitting in the yard as the sun sank and Maxine slept and it just felt so good. Spinach and basil and mixed greens, alfalfa sprouts and sweet grape tomatoes, sunflower seeds and scallions and red onions and chick peas, all tossed together and lightly dressed with homemade vinaigrette. Yummm...



In other news, I've been on a kitchen cleaning kick. We've got some ideas for a more general reorganization (it's funny how it takes a while living in a space before you really know how to best use it), but I've been focusing on the smaller details. My first stop was a major pantry clean-up. Everything's in cleaned jars with new labels now and cooking has been streamlined (as has grocery shopping). Plus, I just can't help but smile at how crisp it all looks when I open the cupboards.



We've been entertaining a lot this summer and finally, yesterday, our fridge was relatively empty again. Before loading in the new groceries, I went through each shelf, tossing old food and taking inventory before scrubbing the refrigerator thoroughly for the first time since Maxine was born. This is the kind of project that I find intensely satisfying. I love a good scrub, returning surfaces to a pristine state and putting like with like on the shelves. John and M played while I tackled the refrigerator. When I was done, I wiggled my fingers with satisfaction and announced to the open refrigerator door "Everything will be ok now". Unfortunately, John could see and hear me from the other room and he totally laughed at this moment of unfettered psychic revelation.

Yeah, it speaks volumes about me. Yeah, I don't care.

Anyone else out there a freak like me?

Zippy Pizza Dinner

Want to have dinner on the table about 20 minutes after you start and have it be nutritious? Make this super simple spinach and cheese(s) pizza. I did it the other night and it's a new favorite pizza. (I also didn't take a photo because I first thought it was too easy to share, but obviously have gotten over that.)

First I am a fan of the thin Boboli pre-made pizza crusts. If you have an issue with that, you can pick up some pre-made dough or, if you're really a purist, you can make your own from scratch, at which point this is no longer a super simple/fast dinner options but obviously will be tasty nonetheless.

Anyway here's the "recipe." You can lie and tell your family it took hours to prepare :)

Sauteed Spinach/Cheese Pizza
serves 2

ingredients
1 Boboli pre-made pizza crust or the crust of your choice
1 package fresh spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, diced
red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste
about 1 cup of feta cheese
about 1 cup of grated mozzarella
4-6 slices of provolone

method
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in the pan. Add the spinach, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Toss for a few minutes until the spinach is just wilted.

Crumble and spread the feta around the pizza crust. Feel free to add more cheese in general to satisfy yourself. My suggestions are approximations. Spread the spinach/garlic mix over the pizza dough. Lay the provolone on top and then sprinkle the mozzarella around the top.

Put the pizza in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, until the crust is a little crusty and the cheese is nicely melted and browned. Slice and serve.

Homemade Pasta

Rachel here: When John and I were first together, one of our favorite things to do was cook. Prior to meeting John, I worked in restaurants and lived alone. Outside of work (where I was heartily fed), I mainly subsisted on grits and fruit. Though I would definitely relate differently to cooking for myself now than I did then, at the age of 19 or 20, my top goal in eating at home was to generate as few dirty dishes as possible. Anyway, enter John. Here was a man who not only enjoyed but excelled at cooking, who wanted to make me dishes of food I had never tried and who genuinely enjoyed eating. On our way home from work, walking our bikes instead of riding so that we could talk, we'd more often than not get to talking about dinner and stop by the grocery store en route to pick up the various ingredients we'd need to make whatever had struck our fancy. To shop and eat in this fashion felt incredibly luxurious. Fast forward five years and, as a general rule, we no longer spend our afternoons and evenings planning and generating whimsical meals. We are busy, busy bees these days and no longer live nearly across the street from a fantastic grocery as we did in our earlier days. Still, though, one of my favorite ways to spend the twilight hours of a weekend home with John is over a completely homemade meal that we have prepared together. The food tastes and feels so good and I couldn't ask for better company.

This past weekend afforded us just such a window to get into the kitchen together. A few years back, John convinced me that homemade pasta is significantly better than its store-bought counterpart and, though we usually end up eating the latter for its convenience, this weekend John taught me how to make pasta by myself. It is surprisingly easy, though it does take a little muscle, and we generated two lasagnas from our endeavors, one for dinner and one for the freezer for the days after M makes her grand debut. If you've never tried your hand at pasta making before, I highly recommend that you give it a whirl. It is simple and satisfying and really, truly the best way to eat pasta.


Ingredients
1 egg (supposedly the fresher the better)
1 c. all-purpose flour
water
semolina flour

Method
In a large bowl, form the all-purpose flour into a well. Crack the egg into the center of the well and stir with a fork. As you stir the egg, it will gradually pull flour in. Keep at this until you are completely unable to stir anymore. At this juncture, add a teaspoon of water. Once all of your flour has been combined with another ingredient (either egg or water, or both), turn it out onto your countertop. Knead, twist and fold diligently until the dough becomes incorporated. Add more water, no more than a teaspoon at a time, whenever you are convinced that there isn't a single additional drop of moisture to be utilized towards forming a coherent ball of dough. This kneading process should take at least 15 minutes (in my experience). Once you have a ball of dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 45 minutes. Roll it out as thinly as you desire (either using a pasta roller or a rolling pin) and then cut into your desired shape. I folded my dough, dusting it with semolina flour between layers so the pasta wouldn't stick to itself, before cutting so I could get uniform shapes. Voila! Cook as you would normally cook pasta, though you should know that homemade pasta will cook noticeably faster than the dried store-bought stuff.



For our lasagna, we mixed chopped scallions and basil in with the ricotta (along with some salt and pepper) and sauteed spinach and mushrooms with garlic before layering everything with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. Yum! What will you do with your delicious pasta?



Janet here: What I plan to do with the delicious lasagna I now know is waiting for me, not M, is eat it and enjoy every last bite. I know for a fact that homemade pasta is absolutely the way to go, but the likelihood that I will add this to my culinary life in the near future is, well, zero. I will, however, promise to fill the hole in the freezer that is made when I eat Rachel and John's lasagna.

Ma's Greek Pizza

Rachel here: The other night I made, for the very first time, my favorite childhood meal: my mom's Greek pizza. Growing up, this was what I asked for for my birthday dinners and the leftover I hoped would be mine when my brothers and I ate leftovers for dinner. I remember feeling like I had sophisticated taste buds because I was eating spinach and feta cheese, foods that weren't staples per se due to the fact that I shared meals with G and S who, as has been mentioned before, weren't always game for eating food that didn't come in cute shapes. Anyway, since my mom did a post featuring this dish a few months ago, I've been craving it. The day that I was going to make it I felt a little bit excited all day. I don't think I'd eaten this meal since I lived with my parents and I was nearly giddy by dinner time at the prospect of revisiting my favorite childhood food. If you haven't made your favorite meal from growing up in a long time, I highly recommend that you do so. Cooking and eating this Greek pizza left me feeling all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic for dinners in my parents' kitchen, talking with my brothers and my mom about our days. It was fun to share it with John, too, since he had never had it. He dutifully ate seconds and totally understood why I was so excited to make this meal. This is a recipe, for sure, that I can't wait to make for our kid in a few years. After all of these years of missing this meal, I'm glad I finally incorporated it into my kitchen. I didn't make it quite as well as my mom, but I still felt like she was there by the stove with me and that, in and of itself, is just the kind of nourishment we all need sometimes.

Janet here: It's funny to read Rachel's post because I really didn't realize as she was growing up, that this was such a big deal meal for her. I knew she liked it, of course, but I had no idea it was infused with so much emotion.

We really are so clueless aren't we? We work so hard to make a moment special — cooking a special meal with all the right ingredients and candlelight, say, for a significant other — and yet so often it's the little every day moments that actually make it all matter. While cooking with phyllo dough, a major ingredient in Greek pizza, was not something I did every day, I certainly never thought the nights I served it were "special," and yet those moments apparently were. I guess the message is we should try to remember it's all special because you never know the moment that's going to "count" in someone else's memory. Good to be reminded of that, I think, don't you?

Spinach vs. Lamb — You Decide

Janet here: Rachel and I decided to go our own ways on this week's entree entry and you'll be able to see in a heartbeat the basic difference between our cooking: mine is vegetarian and hers involves eating a once-cute little baby sheep. Now I never liked lamb even before I pictured it in my head, but the cute fuzzy lamb part made it an easy red meat to give up 30 years ago. (Now the smell of a burger on the grill or bacon cooking, that's a different story! I've been known to pop a piece of bacon in my mouth from time to time. Heaven!)

Anyway, enough of the whole vegetarian vs. carnivore thing. You're going to love this Greek pizza from Mollie Katzen's The Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook because it's just good. I first heard about the Moosewood phenomenon when I became a vegetarian and was searching for a good vegetarian cookbook that wasn't too hippie-dippie. I mean, I was giving up red meat, not good food. Moosewood did the trick; my copies of the Moosewood Cookbook and the Enchanted Broccoli follow-up are ripped, dog-eared, stained and just generally reflective of the use and loving they've received. I've made one flop from these cookbooks in 30 years — zucchini pancakes, but that's another story.

If you've never worked with phyllo dough, Katzen eases you into it with detailed instructions. While a little time consuming, it's not hard, and the buttery, flaky goodness that is the end result is totally worth it. Enjoy!

Greek Pizza
serves 4

Ingredients
1/2 pound phyllo pastry leaves (defrosted, all day ideally)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon crushed basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
juice from 1/2 large lemon
1 pound fresh spinach--cleaned, stemmed and chopped (or, if you hate dealing with spinach like I do, one frozen 10-ounce package chopped spinach, defrosted)
black pepper to taste
1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta
2 medium tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

Method
For the phyllo: defrost the package, still wrapped, all day. Unwrap just before using, unroll and what you need if your package is not wrapped in 1/2 pound increments. Then rewrap the part you're not using in wax paper and seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate or refreeze until you need it next.
Melt the butter and 1/4 cup oil.

In a large skillet, saute the onions and garlic with salt in 2 tablespoons oil until the onions are clear and soft. Add the herbs, lemon juice and spinach. Cook over high heat until the spinach is cooked and the liquid is evaporated.

In a 13X9 inch backing pan, begin layering the phyllo dough, brush each surface with a generous amount of the melted butter and oil combination. Do this until you've used up all the phyllo layers. Brush the top surface with the remaining butter/oil. It will look like it's too much butter but it's not!

Place the spinach mixture on top of the phyllo dough evenly. Sprinkle on feta and half the mozzarella.

Dredge the tomato slices in the bread crumbs and then arrange them on top of the pizza. Add remaining mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees.




Rachel here: The photo for this meal was taken with haste, as neither John nor I were able to muster the patience to take several pictures due to the unbelievably good smells emanating from our plates. Seriously? This recipe is delicious. While meat loaf has always seemed sort of boring to me, this recipe has changed this association forever. I would eat this regularly. Scratch that--I will eat this dish regularly. This stuff is so simple and so satisfying, I'd be a fool not to. Anyway, give it a try and let us know what you do with your meatloaf. This recipe has gotten me thinking that the possibilities just might be endless.

Balsamic-glazed Lamb Meat Loaf
from the February 2010 "Real Simple"

Ingredients
2 slices white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces (I used part of a fresh loaf of rustic country bread instead)
1 lb. ground lamb
1 large egg
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T. fresh thyme leaves (I used lemon thyme)
2 T. balsamic vinegar (I used closer to 3 T.)
salt
pepper
2 T. olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
30 oz. canned cannellini beans, rinsed
1 T. fresh lemon juice (I just squeezed half a small lemon)

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the bread and 3 T. of water. Add the egg, 2 cloves of the garlic (chopped), half the thyme, 3/4 tspn. salt, 1/2 tspn. fresh cracked pepper. Mash these ingredients and then add the lamb, mixing everything together.

On a foil-lined baking sheet (which I would recommend spraying with cooking oil, though I didn't, because my loaf got a little stuck during cooking), shape the meat mixture into a 6-inch loaf that is about 3 inches thick. Bake, brushing with balsamic vinegar several times during cooking, for 30 to 35 minutes or until a thermometer registers the center at 150 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.

While the meat is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, and remaining garlic and thyme, tossing periodically and cooking until vegetables begin to soften. Add the beans, 1/2 tspn. of salt and 1/4 tspn. of fresh cracked pepper and cook until the beans are heated through. Stir in the lemon juice. Serve with the meatloaf.

Yum!

Variations on a Theme: Spinach Appetizers

Janet Here: We decided to see what each of us would come up with for an appetizer featuring spinach to kick off this week's blogging. I happen to be a spinach fan but only use frozen spinach — I just can't deal with all that cleaning. Anyway, I decided to go for my tried-and-true artichoke dip and add some spinach. It's that whole theory that if you add spinach, this appetizer is actually good for you. (It's a myth I know, but work with me here.)

My artichoke recipe comes from Tony Clark's New Blueberry Hill Cookbook, a cookbook I bought after spending a weekend cross country skiing and eating gourmet food at Blueberry Hill Inn in Goshen, Vermont. If you've never been there, I highly recommend checking it out; the skiing/hiking is great, the bed and breakfast homey and casual, and the food is unbelievable. (They keep a jar filled with fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies that are so good it's hard not to eat one every hour.) Anyway, here's Tony's basic recipe with my spinach and cream cheese addition. You can make it either way and then just listen to the rave reviews. It's a seriously easy recipe that takes minutes.


Baked Artichoke Dip (with Spinach)

Ingredients
1 16-ounce can of artichoke hears in water, drained
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the artichokes, mayonnaise, and cheese. (Or if you're like me and don't have a food processor, dice up your artichoke the best you can and figure no one will care.) Put in a shallow serving dish and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake for about 20 minutes or until it's heated through. Voila!


Rachel here: So, though my mother believes that life can be filled with joy and yet somehow devoid of meat (although she does occasionally eat chicken and fish...tune in Wednesday for more on that), I fiercely disagree. And so, for my take on the spinach appetizer challenge, I decided to include prosciutto. My idea spawned from frequent visits to the sushi place up the street from my house (Kansai at 4345 Telegraph in Oakland, CA in case anybody's in the area and looking for very reasonably priced and yummy sushi) that serves this appetizer of, for lack of a better way to describe it, spinach logs with peanut sauce. I wasn't feeling particularly peanut-y at the time, though, and so I decided to take the spinach logs and go in a different direction. What I ended up with was spinach mixed with roasted sliced almonds, shallots and brie wrapped in prosciutto. They are less cumbersome than they look and function quite well as a finger food. When I made them the recipe yielded 12 prosciutto-wrapped spinach rolls, though you could certainly make them smaller to get more bang for your buck. Anyway, it's the first time I've made this recipe, so feedback is extra welcome (particularly since my mother won't even touch this one due to its delicious cured meat component).

Prosciutto-wrapped Spinach Rolls

Ingredients
20 very thin slices of prosciutto di Parma
brie (approximately 2 oz.)
sliced almonds (approximately 3/4 c.)
lemon
one shallot, minced (approximately 2 generous T.)
spinach (approximately 1/3 lb.)
2 T. butter
Salt and pepper

Method
Blanch, drain and chop the spinach, making sure to set 24 whole leaves aside (de-stemmed). Set aside. Roast almond slices. In a non-stick skillet (this is key because spinach is very inclined towards sticking), melt butter and add chopped spinach. Season with salt and pepper and add a hearty squeeze of lemon. Add shallot. After a minute or so (once the shallot has had a chance to start cooking), begin adding the almonds to taste. When you have arrived at a balance that satisfies your palate (as I mentioned in a previous baking post, cooking is pretty experimental for me), remove ingredients from heat and immediately place in a mixing bowl. Add about half of the brie, stirring until completely melted and blended.

Take one of the whole spinach leaves you reserved earlier and place a heaping spoonful of the spinach mixture on top of it. Add an additional dab of brie before placing a second whole spinach leaf on top. Carefully separate a piece of your prosciutto and wrap the entire thing up, making sure to cover the ends so the insides don't ooze out (the whole spinach leaves should help ensure everything is contained on the top and the bottom). When done, serve immediately with a wedge of lemon. If preparing ahead, I recommend warming these in the oven for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!