Marcella Cooking Stuff • June 21st - June 27th
June 21st - June 27th
I have been thinking a lot about recipes and how we use them. Before writing this newsletter my "recipes" consisted of scribbles on flashcards, notepads, and random pieces of paper. I cut out recipes from magazines and stick Post-its with changes on them. I print recipes I find online and scribble over them with revisions. Most of the time I use a recipe as inspiration and then cook from memory and improvise as I go.
I'm all about substitutions. Half the time I have to make a substitution for Marco's allergies but I'm also really big into not wasting food. I'll just use whatever I have on hand.
I'm also often lazy. Especially when it's time to cook dinner after a whole day. If a recipe has twenty steps or uses five pans, I'm definitely switching it up to be more efficient.
If you have never cooked before, a recipe could help you learn proper steps to execute a dish or a recipe could teach you about estimated quantities of ingredients. To me, I use recipes as templates. An outline of what ingredients work and how you might use them yourself.
I have a How To Cook Dry Beans Recipe that can be used to cook any dry bean with whatever additional ingredients you have on hand. This week's Galette Recipe consists of a basic pie dough recipe and a list of fillings that I have tried. These recipes are made for substitutions and changes. They are made to help you get in the kitchen and just cook.
I was fortunate enough to go to culinary school. I learned all the things, forgot a lot of them, and retaught myself at home. When I am asked if going to culinary school is worth it, I always say yes. But in my experience, the most growth in the kitchen will come from simply cooking. What is the worst that can happen? You make a bad dish? The good news is you can try again tomorrow. You have three meals a day to redeem yourself.
I read food magazines, I follow chefs on Instagram, and I talk to my other foodie friends weekly. I'm constantly consuming food content as inspiration and to keep learning. So when I send out my recipes each week they are not perfect. I'm new to writing recipes and they haven't been thoroughly tested. They don't all have measurements and they may use weird substitutions but my goal here is to inspire you guys.
Cut that backbone out of a chicken, buy a new pan to make madeleines, and try some new ingredients. I hope you can learn from the mistakes I make (I make them every day), and just cook!
And if you ever do need more help, I'm always happy to walk you through something.
One last important note about recipes. The one time I always suggest you follow a recipe as closely as possible is with baking. Baking is a science. Sure you can add some different flavors and tweak slightly but for the best results, do what the expert bakers say. Do not try to wing croissants, sourdough bread, or macarons. Trust me.
Sunday
Warm Mushroom & Arugula Salad
Not much cooking was done on Sunday. We ate tons of random leftovers in between pulling weeds, doing laundry, and running errands. I had some beautiful golden oyster mushrooms that needed to be eaten. I have a bad habit of buying really wonderful ingredients and then neglecting them until they look sad and not so great.
I browed the mushrooms in butter with a little thyme from our garden. Tossed them with arugula, toasted walnuts, pecorino, shallots, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Simple and yummy.
Monday
Summer Pavlova
Grilled Artichoke
Meatballs and Beans?
I just love meringues so much! Crunchy, chewy, and light. I made a pavlova composed of meringue, coconut lime cream, strawberries, blackberries, and cherries. After I took a picture of this we ate the whole thing, ha.
Here is a recipe for my Grapefruit Pavlova. I used the same base and added lime zest and juice to the coconut cream. Skipped the curd for this one.
Dinner was Grilled Artichokes and...Meatballs & Beans?? I had a pound of ground turkey that I had been neglecting and I could not come up with an idea for the life of me.
I make a gluten-free variation of this Turkey Meatball recipe. They are honestly not that spectacular so use that recipe instead. I tossed in white beans, spinach, onion, bell pepper, capers, kalamata olives, and tomatoes. Baked the whole thing until hot and bubbling, about thirty minutes, and called it a day.
It was good. Comforting and homey. Beans are a good substitution for pasta. This is in the category of "I don't have many ingredients but need a good meal for my family." You can substitute and improvise this all you want.
Tuesday
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
Random Tuesday Salad - Radicchio edition
When I made the Pavlova, I made one big one (above) and three medium-size ones. I snacked on the leftovers Tuesday morning and thought they were so good, I needed more.
I had messed around with a Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookie Recipe a while back. They were tasty but not baked well. I reviewed a LOT of recipes and attempted again. These cookies were p e r f e c t! Smooth, extra crispy, slight chew in the very center, and mellow chocolate flavor.
If you compare my Pavlova meringue to these cookies you'll notice the outer texture is different. I didn't whip my Pavlova meringue long enough. It was slightly rough-looking and although it held its shape it was on the flatter and soft side.
When you make meringue make sure to whip your egg whites until peaks form, add your sugar slowly, and let the meringue whip for an extra 3-5 minutes after all the sugar is added.
Marco rating 11/10.
"Just like my mom and aunt Shelly used to make."
(A comment comparing a dish to how a family member used to make it is always a good compliment.)
Random Tuesday Salad:
Radicchio
Grilled peaches
Tomato
Corn
Shallots
Feta
White Balsamic
Pepita seed mix *From the Brentwood Farmers Market in LA
A salad was needed to balance all the meringue action. This one hit the spot. Bitter radicchio, juicy peaches, sweet corn, and some creamy feta...yum!
Wednesday
Baby Galettes
Shawarma Style Chichen + Veggies
Would you believe me if I told you this was my first time making a Galette? It's true, my first Galette!
A year ago Galettes were super trendy. Everyone was making them, they were in every magazine, and I boycotted. I have zero clue why.
A Galette is essentially a pie baked on a tray instead of a pie shell. They can be filled with almost anything. Savory or sweet. I couldn't make up my mind on what filling I wanted so I made five minis. They were, of course, made gluten-free for Marco but I tried something new. In the last few months, I have been trying recipes online for gluten-free crusts. They are always...meh. I decided to make my normal pie crust that I always make but with gluten-free flour. I have to say, it was the best crust we have had recently.
The favorite filling was bacon, leek, and kale. The sweet ones were delicious, of course, but I think I'm team savory here.
I didn't measure any ingredients for my fillings. I created a Galette "recipe" to keep track of all the fillings I tried out. I will update it as I try new ones. If you need more info on measurements, send me a message and I will help you!
Remember when I mentioned last that the Shawarma Spiced Chicken was good but needed more shawarma flavor? I tried it again to see if I could achieve that flavor.
I pounded chicken thighs until they were an even thickness, cut them into thirds, marinated them, and skewered them shawarma style. An idea I got from a magazine. I grilled the skewered meat until evenly charred, removed it from direct heat, and continued cooking until it was cooked through.
Back inside I tossed radicchio, tomato, cucumber, red onion, oregano, and parsley with lemon juice and olive oil. Made a simple yogurt dip with plain yogurt, lemon juice, lots of pepper, and shallot. Use garlic! Shallot was a sad attempt for some spicy garlicky flavor. Noting is the same as garlic. I shaved the chicken off the skewer as you would with shawarma and plated everything over rice.
This meal was a perfect 10/10. It would be fabulous doubled, or even tripled, for a big crowd. Hummus, tahini, and pita would all be great additions. As I mentioned before, if you don't have a grill, marinating chicken thighs and browning them in a pan would also work well.
Thursday
Grilled Pork & Mango Noodle Salad
I saw this recipe in the most recent Food & Wine issue and immediately was into it. I read the recipe and although it looked great, I wanted to change a lot. So I just did my own thing.
Last week I made this Andy Baraghani recipe which calls for pork shoulder steaks. I had the last of the 14#s of pork shoulder in my freezer but it was cut into pieces before frozen. I used pork chops last week but this week I didn't feel like going out just to buy pork. I decided I was going to grill the pork shoulder pieces for this noodle dish and just see what happens.
Update: It was great.
The pieces of pork shoulder were marinated in equal parts fish sauce and lime juice, brown sugar, shallot, and ginger. Some hours later I grilled the pieces over high heat. I got a really deep color and a slight char allover. The sugars caramelized nicely. Some of the fat melted off while grilling and the rest kept the meat tender.
The first thing I did to prep the rest of the ingredients was to make the sauce. Lime juice, fish sauce, and brown sugar again. Thinly sliced red onion was added to slightly soften and pickle. Then I tossed in cooked vermicelli noodles, sliced cucumbers, mango, serrano chili, cilantro, mint, and some pickled scallions I made a few weeks ago.
Topped the noodles with slices of the grilled pork shoulder and 😍.
I highly highly recommend grilling pork shoulder! I'm eager to try pork shoulder steaks now. This marinade was great. Salty from the fish sauce, sweet from the sugar, and nice caramelized char. It tasted like Korean BBQ. A marinade of soy sauce, honey, lime juice, and shallots could work well too. The dish was phenomenal and the grilled pork was the best part. We will revisit this again.
Marco rating 10/10
"You took all of the best pieces for your photo."
Friday
Toasted Almond & Raspberry Ice Cream
Spring Marcella Bean Soup
Marco doesn't necessarily agree with me but I'm standing by that this Toasted Almond & Raspberry Ice Cream is one of the best things I have ever made. The flavor combo was inspired by this Almond & Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream Recipe but I did my own thing again. If you don't have an ice cream maker, try that recipe!
For my recipe, I made a traditional crème anglaise base. I added some of my homemade vanilla extract as well as one of the beans to steep in the milk. Once strained and in an ice bath, I added a tiny bit of almond extract. Big warning: almond extract can get overwhelming FAST. You only need a small amount.
Fresh raspberries were cooked and strained into a syrup, almonds were toasted, and half a chocolate bar got a rough chop. After churning all of those were mixed in.
This. Ice. Cream. Is. E V E R Y T H I N G!!
I'm a lover of almond flavor everything. The base was super creamy and vanilla-y but very almond forward. The raspberry syrup was tart which added a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cream. Toasted almonds added extra roasty toasty flavor and crunch. The chocolate was just an added bonus. A necessary added bonus.
Marco rating 9/10
"Absolutely delicious but I don't know how I feel about almond extract in general."
I ordered a bunch of beans last week and one of them was the Marcella bean! I was very excited about them because I have never been able to find anything with my name on it, ever!!
Beans, greens, and bacon...all things I love turned into a light Spring Marcella Bean Soup. Rich broth, creamy white beans, loaded with crisp and fresh spring veggies. I had made a batch of chicken broth earlier in the week and used that for the soup. Flavorful both = flavorful soup. If you can, try making broth!
Saturday
Berry Cherry Crumble
Sausage & Eggplant Pasta
I made a few Boards this week! First ones in months. I delivered a Mini Box on Monday and two Little Boards on Saturday.
There was a good amount of leftover fruit that was just asking to be made into a crumble. I used the recipe for Blueberry Peach Crumble from last week but used what fruit I had on hand. That happened to be strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries. We topped it with some Toasted Almond & Raspberry Ice cream. Yep. It was as good as it sounds.
Milk Street published a recipe for Pasta with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Eggplant. All in for this easy dish and the flavor combinations but the recipe didn't work for me and I needed to make changes.
1. Italian Sausage always has garlic (a Marco allergy). I made "sausage" with ground pork and spices.
2. This recipe dumps everything into a pot and the noodles cook in the (extra watery) sauce. Gluten-free pasta is a beast of its own. To stay safe I made my sauce and noodles separately and tossed them to combine.
The dish was wonderful and came together in 30ish minutes.
Try the Milk Street version, try my version, or do whatever works for you!
Random thing of the week:
I was walking Josie on a trail through the woods behind our house and found this little den. Trolls? Gnomes? Fairies?!
Pet photo of the week:
Those eyes...Those ears...!!!
Thing everybody needs:
If you are into beans, like me, you need to try Rancho Gordo beans! Although dry beans last pretty much forever they are better when they are fresher. Rancho Gordo grows and sells small-batch heirloom beans. 100% worth the extra money.
Plus they make Marcella beans!!
Something I learned this week: I was discussing crumbles with my friend Halle and we talked about how she wanted to make one with stars for the Fourth of July. Well, last week I mentioned I researched the difference between a cobbler, crisp, and crumble. I thought if she is making stars out of dough it wouldn't be a crumble it would have to be a cobbler. I was wrong. The recipe is actually for a pandowdy...🤔.
Crisp = Fruit baked with crumble topping. Butter, sugar, flour, crumbled together.
Crumble = Exactly the same as a crisp with a textural difference that comes from adding nuts.
Cobbler = Fruit baked with some sort of dough. Pastry dough, biscuit, shortcake, or even cake batter. Sometimes also on the bottom like a pie.
Pandowdy = "Similar to a cobbler, but the biscuit or pie dough is rolled out and placed on top of the fruit. During the baking process, the topping is broken up with a knife or spoon and pushed into the fruit, causing the fruit to bubble over it."
There are so many other similar fruit desserts with weird names but my point is, I'm constantly learning too. Hey, I might even try something new and make a pandowdy now.
See you next week,
Marcella