Spinach, herb and goat cheese frittata

Been a while since I've been able to cook from this cookbook. I've missed it.

I made the spinach, herb and goat cheese frittata for dinner this evening and served it with sliced tomatoes drizzled with Italian herb-infused olive oil and a slice of crusty whole-wheat bread. It was a delicious and beautiful way to get back into the habit of cooking from this wonderful cookbook. My photo doesn't really match the book photo but I attribute that to my lame-a$$ electric broiler. Other than that the recipe was fast, easy and earthy delicious. I was concerned I would leave the meal feeling hungry but not at all the case. All I need to know; If real men don't eat quiche; do they eat frittatas?

Meatballs with simple marinara

Been laid up with a bad cold since Thursday so my blogging came to a screeching halt. I made this dish for dinner this past Wednesday night for my teenage giant and myself.

You know, my favorite spaghetti recipe of all-time happens to be an Ellie Krieger recipe from one of her other cookbooks. It's so delicious that I make it for company from time to time. Needless to say, I expected that this recipe would be just as good! Sadly no...

Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with this recipe. Easy and fast to make (like all the recipes in this book). The problem I had was with the flavor and I readily admit that my taste buds might have been compromised by my upcoming cold. I would liken the meatballs to more like meatloaf than meatballs. I think adding onions to the recipe might be a good idea. Broiling them until browned before plopping them in the sauce would also be a good idea. Might even consider adding some moisture-free chopped spinach to the meat. As they were, they just lacked interest and pop. I'll have to try this recipe once more to give it a better chance without a cold.

Back to cooking healthy this week upcoming. Cold is getting close to gone.

Ancho chicken salad with jícama, orange, and avocado

Right off the bat, write down the ingredients for the chicken rub and use it all over the place -- awesome! As a whole, this was another great Ellie Krieger salad. Her salads all rock!

We did a fair amount of substituting with this recipe. To begin, I used New Mexico pepper instead of ancho chile powder because I didn't have ancho powder and I wanted to use the New Mexico powder I had on hand. A relatively minor sub. The second substitution was yacón for jícama. They are pretty similar and not being able to find jícama made it a no-brainer. The third substitution did affect the flavor of the dish -- substituted grapefruit for the orange slices. (I really thought I had an orange!)

Even with my two minor substitutions, and the one major substitution, the dish was really enjoyable. I definitely think it would be better with the orange slices contrasting against the rubbed chicken -- but it was awesome as prepared. One thing is for sure - Ellie's salad recipes are going into my standard cooking rotation once I have cooked my way through the book. Thanks EK!

Note: I used a paillard of chicken for more predictable grilling and maximum flavor.

Pistachio-crusted tilapia AND Orange-balsamic green beans with basil

Starting with the Pistachio-crusted tilapia I find it interesting that the facing page to this recipe is last night's dinner! Let's just call these two facing pages "Night and Day". The tilapia was delicious although difficult to make. Getting the nut mixture to adhere to the sides of the fish fillets was nearly impossible. Also, I still wonder why the recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of fish? That seems like an awful lot of protein. I'm sure Ellie Krieger knows what she's doing, but it did make me wonder. Cooking it in the pan and then transferring it to the oven did create a nice outside texture while preserving it in the oven made the fish flaky and moist -- five stars.

The Orange-balsamic green beans with basil was also just wonderful. I was fortunate to have some olive oil infused with blood orange so I got a major (welcomed) overdose of orange with my preparation. Sneakily, I scraped a few of the cooked pistachios that dislodged from the fish while cooking into the final product (post-photo) to add a bit of crunch. The shallots cooked down nicely and added a great element. The basil, added very little in my view -- it just sort of wilted away to nothing. All said, Ellie Krieger proves once again that her sides and her salads are always SUPERIOR.

Creamy asparagus soup

I suppose it's a safe bet that asparagus soup is generally a pretty healthy and low-calorie item in most recipes. In fact, taking a look at epicurious.com I see a version for half as many calories though not as much nutrition. The Ellie Krieger soup we made was just 180 calories (epicurious was 93) though the Weeknight Wonders version had twice the fiber and 50% more protein. Hey, it's not just about calories after all.

As for the taste...really nice. The lemon added at the end with the yogurt really lends a lot of flavor to the dish. It's easy to make even though EK seems hell-bent on making me wash my food processor on a daily basis! Grrr..... It was really good with the whole-wheat baguette. I rate this as very good!

Pasta in creamy tuna sauce with arugula

Admittedly, I like Ellie Krieger. We share a tweet here, and share a tweet there, and it's all good fun. I also like her approach to cooking, her credentials, and in general, her sweet disposition and quick mind. She's all good! Because of that, I have always wondered how I'd handle a review for a recipe I truly did not like. I guess the answer is: 1.) shower her with praise, 2.) write an honest review. Here goes...apologies to Ellie Krieger.

On the plus side, this dish is one of the easier dishes to cook in the book. You basically whip some fish with oil and capers, toss it with arugula and pasta, and done! That's good that it's so easy. On the negative side was the texture and the general taste. As I ate it, I just kept thinking to myself how mayonnaise was really missing. It was pasty and didn't smell overly good. It was also pretty darned bland.

I'm not Ellie Krieger, nor am I a trained chef or dietician. I am sure there are ways to make this better that stay loosely within the overall rules of good nutrition. I doubt mayo is one of them though, so...I won't be recommending this recipe to the people that have connected with me, but, if something like this sounds good to you, go for it. My palette is far from definitive.

This weeks menu (Feb 10 - Feb 14)

Monday Lunch
(Leftover) Savory Carrot-Cashew Soup

Monday Dinner
Pasta in creamy tuna sauce with arugula (page 208)

Tuesday Lunch
Whole-grain baguette
Creamy asparagus soup (page 62)

Tuesday Dinner
Orange-balsamic green beans with basil (page 244)
Pistachio-crusted Tilapia (page 209)

Wednesday Lunch
Ancho chicken salad with jicama, orange and avocado (page 56)

Wednesday Dinner
Celery, radish, and herb salad (page 34)
Meatballs with simple marinara (page 107)

Thursday Lunch
Penne with grape tomatoes, spinach, and toasted garlic (page 224)

Thursday Dinner
Individual tri-color salad pizzas (page 216)

Friday Lunch
Whole-grain bread
Mozzarella, tHomato and peach salad (page 42)

Friday Dinner
Chipotle beef-stuffed portobello mushrooms (page 105)