peas -

by snebbu

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Carbonara

Somehow, the Sicilian fiance and I have found ways to replace pasta with grains and vegetables–mainly spaghetti squash. Sometimes the recipes turn out great, other times the become a bit of a sloppy mess. When I tried chicken carbonara with spaghetti squash, it turned out delicious, almost as if you could not taste a difference. They key is to use it in dishes where spaghetti is not the main emphasis of the dish. Here, the spaghetti squash absorbed the flavor of the Carbonara and provided a bit of a crunch to contrast the texture of the chicken and peas.

The key to a good chicken carbonara is the sauce. If the sauce is creamy, full of garlic, and extra cheesy, you really can’t go wrong with the rest of it. OH, and some tasty pancetta mixed together with peas, chicken, and the spaghetti squash. This is also a carbonara recipe that requires no cream, so it is healthy of course. I cooked the spaghetti squash in the oven–roasted is the best way to do it. While it’s roasting, the rest of the mixture is given time to cook and simmer. Then, all you have to do is mix the spaghetti squash in with the combination, let it simmer, and enjoy!

“Faux-ghetti” Chicken Carbonara

by ES Guest

Polar Vortex Cooking: Pea Pot Pie

Not sure if any of you have noticed, but it is COLD outside. Cara Daffron of EdibleFeast.com joins us to share this slow cooker comfort food recipe. Her pea pot pie uses hardy and readily available winter vegetables and herbs like tarragon and thyme…plus it takes like three steps to make. Stay warm!

Serve this crust-less pot pie on its own or with biscuits. If you really want a traditional feel, you can bake the finished product in a pie tin with a simple pot-pie-style pastry top. To incorporate more protein into the dish and 2 cups of diced cooked chicken or turkey to the pot before cooking.

Pea Pot Pie

in Recipe / Veggie 0 comments

by Emily

Don’t Mess with the Classics: Beef Stroganoff

Certain chilly winter days call for rich, comforting dinners. Usually I try to mix it up and make funky new recipes, but sometimes resorting to the classics just feels right. This is where one of my personal home cookin’ favorites, stroganoff, comes in.

I don’t have any grand introduction for this dish. Really, what more can you say about beef cooked in a rich, creamy mushroom gravy?

Just a few pointers: Don’t skip the addition of the peas. I guess it’s an individual preference, but I LOVE the sweet pop they add to this dish. Also, I know you can serve this over any type of noodle or even rice, I guess, but I can’t imagine my stroganoff smothering anything other than egg noodles. Like I said, this is a classic, and that’s how my family has always made it! Finally—this is a no-brainer—don’t skimp on the sour cream. Nobody said you were cooking this to be especially healthy. Adding a splash of skim milk is not gonna cut it here. I always end up adding way more sour cream than other recipes recommend, and I’m okay with that.

(My) Classic Beef Stroganoff

in Recipe / Red Meat 0 comments

by BS

Not Your Average Easter Eggs

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or you know, aren’t an East Coast elitist food snob), you know that deviled eggs are trendy. But you couldn’t show up to Easter Brunch with just plain old deviled eggs, now could you?

No, you couldn’t. But never fear, chef Adam Carpenter of Jasper’s Corner Tap and Kitchen in San Francisco has three original recipes for deviled eggs: one that uses the season’s bounty (spring peas!), one that gets creative with a classic recipe, and one that is just right for ESers (bacon!)

in Bacon / Eggs / Recipe 1 comments

by BS

Top 10 Foods Only Australia Could Have Invented

Regular ES readers know that I love to celebrate/poke fun at the deep-fried ridiculousness that is American cuisine. My 2008 expose on the Top 10 Foods Only America Could Have Invented remains one of our most popular posts, and by far the most controversial. Every few days a new reader finds this story via social networks and leaves an outraged comment, intimating that I clearly must be a communist for daring to disrespect corn dogs. The BS haters’ favorite line of attack is pointing out that America is not alone in our attempt to deep fry every food. For example, Tav68 rails:

Someone needs to set this poster straight. America is actually number 11 on the list of the worlds fattest nations. This is Directly from the UN web site. Not from some reporter who wants to bash America but from the UN who keeps statistics on this type of thing NOT used for the purpose of Nation Bashing. Australia is the world’s fattest nation, with 36.2 percent of adults being obese…

Hey, point taken. While I have long believed no country can top America when it comes to the great art of artery clogging, I’m willing to give any of them a chance. So in honor of January 26 — Australia Day — and the fact that there is a bring the KFC double down sandwich to Australia facebook petition — I bring you the top 10 foods that only Australia could have invented:

10. Australian Hamburger with “The Lot”

The Aussies may not have invented the hamburger, but they sure have taken it to levels not many cultures could have imagined. Ask for one with “the lot” and it will come loaded with a runny fried egg, bacon, cheese, beets (!), pineapple, tomato, lettuce, onions and ketchup (which they call tomato sauce). Makes the New Luther look like snack food. (Photo: Vanessa Pike-Russell)

9. Burger Rings

Speaking of snack food, when you can’t find a burger with the lot in Australia, you can always grab a bag of burgers — a.k.a. these beef-y snack rings. If the thought of popping burger-flavored snack rings into your mouth makes you want to gag, then you probably won’t want to know that these things reportedly taste like semen.

8. Chiko Roll

Found at football matches and many Aussie fish-and-chip shops, the Chiko is basically a Chinese egg roll, only upgraded so that it’s large enough to serve as a whole meal. Inside, you’ll find more than just shredded cabbage: usually beef, barley, carrots, green beans and onions. (Photo: Wikipedia)

7. Bacon and Egg Pie

This is what I call a solid breakfast. As in most countries formerly ruled by Britain, Australians are obsessed with savory pies. The meat pie has even been referred to as the national dish here, and it can be made with anything from minced beef to lamb and steak. But how can you beat one stuffed with good ol’ bacon and eggs? (Photo: Wikipedia)

6. Potato Cakes

Now this is where the Australians really start to challenge us for the deep-fried crown. Smartly realizing that a plate of fried fish and chips just isn’t substantial enough for many people, many chippers here serve their fish with potato cakes — basically giant circles of mashed potatoes deep-fried within an inch of their life. This is one oversize side that puts french fries to shame. Check out Good Food Gourmet for a recipe.
(Photo: jbennett)

Next: Top 5 Foods Only Australia Could Have Invented

in Bacon / Eggs / Featured / Food Travel / Lists / Pig / Red Meat / Top 10 Lists 50 comments

by gansie

My Cozy Cottage

At first, I had no idea what to do with cottage cheese, so I turned it into a sandwich. But unfortunately, the cottage that I bought was too tangy to eat by the spoonful (which was its intended purpose). So then I did what any respectable human being would do when they have no idea how to make something edible: I fried cottage cheese.

80 was so pleased with my frying—and wanting to eat it by the spoonful, like in his youth—that he bought another tub of it. This cottage cheese was eat-it-out-of-the-container worthy, but I still wanted to figure out new uses.

Like every night, I rummaged through my kitchen. And there were frozen peas. I totally hate peas. They do absolutely nothing for me. Yes, I know, they’re great fresh from the garden. But those aren’t available in the District in February. I’m not even sure why I bought them, in fact, I was fairly pisted when I saw them in there. But I went with it anyway. Peas and cottage cheese, please?

in Cheese / Recipe / Veggie 1 comments

by gansie

Feeling Good About Creaminess

I’ve only started liking yogurt in the last year, but now I can’t get enough: smoothies, dips, soups. I go to yogurt in a pinch because it adds flavor and consistency, yet can easily adapt to a multitude of culinary situations: it can be sweetened with fruit or it can turn spicy with curry.

And then it can turn into a sauce. Ish.

The PR folks for Lifeway Kefir emailed Endless Simmer about its “healthy, nourishing, drink/yogurt shake.” I had absolutely no idea what it was about, but decided to give it a try. I already know I can’t dig the supermarket yogurt, but figured trying this “staple in much of Europe ” would be fun. Who am I to deny free samples of something that could potentially be a new healthy addiction? (And PS, Maids, this is apparently a legit alternative for the lactards, “The cultures in Lifeway Kefir alleviate the unpleasant side effects that can be associated with milk consumption, even in people who are lactose intolerant.”)

It was one of those fridge clearing nights, especially because I received NINE bottles of Kefir (3 plain, 3 strawberry, 3 vanilla) and really needed to start experimenting. I wasn’t sure how milk-like it was going to be, so I had 80 (milk drinker) take the first sip. Upon the pour I knew he would hate it: Kefir is super thick and I could smell the tang from a foot above.

He grimaced. I gloated.

in Recipe / Veggie 9 comments