Marcella Cooking Stuff • April 26th - May 2nd
April 26th- May 2nd
“80% of me loves watching your (Instagram) stories and the other 20% cringes thinking about all the dishes.”
That’s a message my friend Alex sent me. Yeah Alex, I cringe sometimes too.
In my first week of culinary school one of my chefs said to us, “if you like to cook you must love to clean.” She was right. The only thing I do more than cooking is cleaning.
There is the obvious cleaning of dishes after a meal. On Monday’s I deep clean the kitchen from top to bottom. Once a month I scrub the inside, outside, behind, and under my appliances. My floors get swept daily (sometimes multiple times). My counters and and stove get wiped down after everytime I prep or cook. Don’t forget the garbage disposal. That gets refreshed every night too.
Truth is I don’t really cringe at the cleaning. I enjoy cleaning. The kitchen is my workplace. I enjoy walking into shiny counters, spotless floors, an empty sink, tools ready to go and I would always rather stay up late cleaning than walk into a mess in the morning.
Plus “dirty” and “food” just don’t go together.
Sunday
Leftover Pork Ragù Hash
Mushroom Risotto
This week I switched things up. The kitchen got its weekly cleaning on Sunday! Why? It needed it.
The Pork Puttanesca Ragù was three meals for us. I made the final meal by turning it into a hash. Potatoes, kale, ragù, and a fried egg.
After lunch the kitchen (and bathroom and hallway) got a good scrub down. The rest of the day was spent in my hammock with a few magazines.
Everyone and their mother loves Bon Appétit and their videos right now but I have loved Carla Lalli Music since before it was cool. Her cooking inspires me, it feels relatable and comfortable. Her Risotto is killer and it’s not very complicated at all. It takes all your focus, even I can’t turn away for long, but all of you can successfully make it. I promise.
Don’t like mushrooms? Well, that’s a shame. Go out and try more mushrooms. Or top this risotto with something you do like. Asparagus, chicken, shrimp, pesto...it’s a good base to get creative.
I was happy with the risotto I made, I love this recipe, BUT it was a little on the firmer side vs. being soupy. I could have fixed it with an extra splash of hot water but I actually liked its consistency 🤔. Oh well.
Marco rates the Risotto 9.5/10 "I really liked it but you said it wasn't liquid-y enough."
Monday
Risotto 2.0
Cinnamon Raisin Challah
Vegetable Green Curry
Monday morning I woke up and made some Challah in my PJs. I had some extra time on my hands since I cleaned the kitchen on Sunday.
While the challah was rising I reheated risotto with bacon, asparagus, and a fried egg for Marco. This was almost better than the night before!
Marco rates it 10/10.
Challah is my favorite bread to have around. Marco’s dad is Jewish and every Friday they would get two challahs. Regular and raisin both round and from Gelson’s. The challah lived in the bread drawer which was the bottom drawer to the right of the sink. I remember this clearly because after school in middle and high school we would walk to Marco’s dad's house and I would head straight to that drawer for a snack.
Joan Nathan’s “My Favorite Challah” recipe is my favorite challah recipe. I always use olive oil instead of vegetable and half the recipe to make one loaf. I don’t need two loaves to myself.
Making it cinnamon raisin was a last-minute decision. I added 1 Tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a handful of raisins. Next time I would add the cinnamon with the dry ingredients and swap some of the sugar for honey.
I pulled the "ropes" a little too much on the last braids stretching them around to be perfect looking. Next time I want to just tuck them in with less stretching. She could have proofed and extra 10 minutes during the last rise. I’m just being nitpicky, she did turn out great. I froze half of it, partially so I don’t eat the whole thing, and because now I can make a nonsweet flavor too.
One thing I can promise you guys is that I will always be 100% honest...I’m not the person to write a Thai Curry recipe. I understand the basics of curry, I throw things in a pot, and it usually turns out tasty. I can’t tell you proper technique, how, or why all the ingredients go in. The Night + Market cookbook can, this recipe might help, and you might check out this one. Maybe one day I’ll have a curry recipe but today is not that day.
This is what I did: I simmered a can of coconut milk and green curry paste until fragrant. Added Kaffir leaves, chili flakes, and ginger for another minute. Broth, fish sauce, and palm sugar went in followed by thinly sliced chicken. Then the veggies. Bok choy, bamboo shoots, bell pepper, onion, and snow peas. Stirred in Thai basil before serving. 🤷🏼♀️
Marco rates the curry 7/10, "the rice was 10/10."
Rice is my specialty.
Most nights I start cleaning right away just to get it over with. This night I saw Marco start to put on gloves.... and I just quietly walked away. It was a nice treat to have him clean and I trained him will. Stove and counters were thoroughly wiped down.
Tuesday
Risotto Scramble?
Peanut Noodles
Let’s all make a promise to stop wasting food, K? Thanks. With a little creativity leftovers can become something completely different over and over again. This was the final risotto meal, a scramble. Added tomatoes, scallions, and more pecorino. Kinda weird but Marco said, "the risotto was good, the eggs were soft, and it had bacon in it. It was delightful."
Marco is technically allergic to my Peanut Sauce. He won't go into anaphylactic shock but garlic, soy, and sesame all hurt his stomach. Sesame is the worse so I leave it out. If you make this recipe definitely add some toasted sesame oil and finish with sesame seeds!
I use rice noodles because...Marco, but you can use Udon, Soba, or even spaghetti.
Marco rates it 9/10 "I really liked it."
"Marco you can't say you really liked everything! I need more feedback."
"Um, I don't have anything else to say besides I really liked it."
🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
Wednesday
Chia Pudding
Clean Out The Fridge Pasta
Croissants (Start them)
When Marco started working from home I started making him breakfast. Egg in a hole, Breakfast Fried Rice, scrambles, omelettes, waffles, hash brows....the list goes on. I have been trying to make a batch of chia pudding once a week. 1. It's good fiber 2. I pretend it is dessert 3. I get to work on other projects instead of making a breakfast.
I miss The Board Babe and building Boards. I can't think about it too much because it bums me out. All the little details; pretty flowers. It was one of my main creative outlets. Now, anything I can "decorate" I do. It's simple Chia Seed Pudding but it is pretty. Just the way I like it.
Croissants have been on my list for a few weeks. Let’s be real, I haven’t actually made croissants since culinary school. That’s 9 years. (How has it been 9 years?!)
I fully understand the process. I know what not to do and what can go wrong. I’m confident in my ability. Also, I freaking love croissants!!!
These are a two-day process. Wednesday I “laminated” the dough which would rest overnight and get baked in the morning. I started with the dough and it looked great. I took my butter out and started working it into a block. Though my butter seemed too cold, it would be fine. Formed a beautiful block of butter. Folded the butter into the dough, started rolling, annnnddd my butter was too cold, and started breaking. I knew it, I thought it, and it happened.
Those who know me know I like things perfect. When I baked the Luscious Lemon, Almond Flour, and Olive Oil Cake last week my day was ruined because it wasn’t perfect. After my first fold where I discovered the butter breaking, I slumped on the couch into a grumpy Instagram scroll going back and forth if I should throw it away or continue. I’m not a food waster, it hurts my soul, and I changed my attitude to look at this as an experiment.
Somewhere between fold 2 and 3, I made dinner. Our bi-weekly grocery haul was Thursday and I tried to use all the ingredients that needed to get used Wednesday night for dinner. I call this a "Clean Out The Fridge" meal. Bison, open tomatoes, open tomato paste, half an onion, some herbs...I made something that resembled a bolognese. There were no complaints and Marco cleaned the dishes again!
Thursday
Croissants (Bake)
Citrus & Beet Salad
Lemony Herb Grilled Chicken
When I woke up my expectations for “perfect” croissants had been lowered as low as they could go. I was in complete acceptance that they were not going to bake well.
While in a late-night google search I made the decision to experiment with my ruined dough and turn some into a croissant morning bun hybrid. I melted butter with cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, and orange zest. Rolled the dough flat, smeared that down, rolled them into a log, cut them, and popped them in a muffin tin. They proofed for about 55 minutes before I baked them. My oven was a little too high at 375. The sugar on the bottom burned slightly. The tops puffed up and got flakey while the inside was smooth and doughy. They need some work but it was a fun experiment. Oh, and yes, they tasted as good as they sound.
On to the croissants: They dough wasn’t looking good. Big chunks of butter. I didn’t have as hard of a time rolling it out as I thought. Minimal sticking. 1/2 were shaped into croissants, 1/2 into pain au chocolat.................
They actually turned out well. I was truly shocked. I was fully prepared for butter puddles and soggy insides. Flakey, golden, and tasty is what I got.
After I ate about 5, for learning purposes, of course, they went right into the freezer. A croissant tip: Once cooled, freeze them in a ziplock. Pop them in a 300-degree oven for a few minutes and they taste like they are fresh.
No Marco rating on croissants, of course, but I’ll rate this a 7/10. Imperfect but scrumptious and a wonderful learning experience.
After all the baking I needed an easy meal for dinner. Grilled Lemon and Herb Grilled Chicken with a Citrus & Beet Salad. Both my recipes and both require minimal effort. I forgot about the chicken on the grill and saved them about two minutes before it was too late. All the herbs were from Marco’s garden!!!
This Citrus & Beet Salad has juicy sweetness from oranges, grapefruits, and roasted beets. On top of arugula for some peppery sharpness. Finished with roasted pistachios and goat chèvre. Try to get a little of everything in one bite. Heavenly.
Friday
More Chia Seed Pudding
Beet Greek Salad
Pesto Pasta
Thursday night I decided I needed a break. Needed some magazine in a hammock not cooking time. That’s exactly how I started my day. Well, I guess I kinda cooked because I toasted pistachios and put together Chia Seed Pudding for Marco. This time with roasted pistachios, oranges, and grapefruit.
Leftover beets = Beet Greek Salad. Obviously. Have we talked about the Beet Greek yet?! Instagram followers (@marcellacooking) have seen this salad a few times. Greek salad is one of my everyday meals. I can eat it literally every day and be happy. At Jon & Vinny’s in LA they add beets to their Greek salad...🤯. That’s another meal I miss terribly out here in the Midwest. Add some beets to your Greek salad and thank me later.
When I cooked in homes I made Pesto for almost every client. Using pistachios instead of pine nuts gives it a bump in flavor and extra nutty-ness. I, of course, can’t use garlic because of Marco. I throw in a shallot but you should absolutely be putting garlic in yours. Pesto is good on hot pasta, cold pasta, risotto, in bowls, even salads. Make a big batch and use it throughout the week.
Saturday
Breakfast Tacos
Cauliflower Twice Baked Potatoes
Grilled Veggie Salad
You know how everyone says Californians are spoiled? We are spoiled, in so many ways. One thing I took for granted was the farmers' markets. There are farmer's markets 7 days a week in LA with amazing produce year-round. In KC we have...a few and they are only spring-summer. Even in the spring, it's hard to get "everything you need."
The biggest farmer's market in KC is the Saturday Overland Park Farmers' Market. With social distancing, they have made the market a drive-through market. Look, I think its a wonderful idea and I love that they are doing it but it was the most traffic I have sat in since we moved here a year ago. I pre-ordered some Yoli tortillas and Buffalo Ridge bison. Besides that, all we got was some Odd Bird Farm pork, eggs, and shiitake mushroom. Pretty much all the produce was sold out and it took us 45 minutes just to get in. Most of the farms are within an hour's drive from us. In the future, I think we will order directly and make a little trip to pick up at the farms.
When we got home I quickly made some Breakfast Tacos. Yoli tortillas, eggs, avocado, pickled radish, and hot sauce.
When I asked Marco what he rated these he said: "Here is the thing. We eat these tacos after you take pictures of them for 10 minutes. I can't give them 10/10 because the tortilla was a little stale, sorry." That's fair I guess.
I made these quickly because we have 1,000 vinca bare roots to plant 😑. I planted for about 3 hours and then headed inside to make dinner.
An absurd amount of croissants were consumed in three days. Yes, I froze them. No, that didn't stop me. There are a lot of #SaladHaters out there. Sorry salad haters, sometimes you just need a big ass salad.
When the weather is nice we grill everything we can. It's easy, minimal cleanup, and everything always tastes good. I mixed some arugula, goat cheese, grilled asparagus, bell pepper, onion, and carrots with leftover dressing. It was exactly what I needed.
I snuck more veggies in our meal with Cauliflower Twice Baked Potatoes. This recipe is adapted from an NYT recipe. A comforting twice baked potato with earthy cauliflower flavor. Earthy in a good way. Trust me. Marco loves these and rates them 10/10.
I ended the night by cleaning and oiling my Boo's Block.
Random thing of the week:
The first "real" outfit I have put on in 7 weeks. I call this look quarantine chic.
