Cooking with Ottolenghi

Here's an unfortunate but much too common scenario: I can't think of what to make for dinner. There's no particular "experiment" I want to do, no particular new dish or ingredient I want to try out. I'm in a rut.

So I go online and search for something, inevitably finding some delicious idea or recipe along the way. But I did it once again: I neglected my cookbooks.

In the Internet age, it's so easy to overlook this great resource. Every once in awhile, I find I need to remind myself to crack a few open, look at the pictures, read the recipes. I'm rarely disappointed in what I find.

It was a recent Saturday morning that I cracked open Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, the 2013 publication by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, the London-based chefs and restauranteurs that have together authored this cookbook and its best-selling predecessor, Jerusalem.

It's a wonderful cookbook wish dishes of varying complexity, beautiful photographs and loads of flavor. I settled on two dishes that I figured I could execute for dinner over a couple of hours: 1) fennel, cherry tomato, and crumble gratin and 2) beef and lamb meatballs baked in tahini.

Both of these recipes were delicious, but we were really blown away by the gratin. Although I recreated the meatballs faithful to Ottolenghi and Tamimi's recipe, I added an extra player to the gratin: fresh sweet corn. It was a welcome player indeed! In fact, I think this recipe could be switched up to accommodate different vegetable combinations, depending on the season. I bet it would be delicious with butternut squash and onion in the winter, for example.

Beef and Lamb Meatballs Baked in Tahini
Adapted from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Tahini sauce:
2/3 cup tahini
2/3 cup water
4 1/2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of salt

Meatballs:
1 1/4 oz. white bread, crust removed
10-12 oz. ground beef
10-12 oz. ground lamb
3 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. salt (reduced from the original 1 tsp. in the recipe)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Grated lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Make the tahini sauce: Combine tahini, water, vinegar, garlic and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. The mixture should thicken slightly. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400 F.

3. Soak the bread in water, then squeeze out the water and crumble the bread (it will be mushy) into a large bowl. Add the beef, lamb, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon and egg. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until completely combined. Shape the mixture into golf-ball-size meatballs.

4. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add half the meatballs and cook for about 2-3 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan and place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining meatballs.

5. Transfer browned meatballs to a 9 X 13 baking dish, arranged in a single layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, pour the tahini sauce over and around the meatballs and return to the oven to bake for another 10-12 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through (I checked them with a thermometer to be sure they were 160 F degrees). Garnish with the lemon zest and additional parsley and serve.

Fennel, Corn and Cherry Tomato Gratin
Adapted from Fennel, Cherry Tomato and Crumble Gratin from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Crumble:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3 1/2 oz. grated parmigiano-regginao cheese

Gratin:
2 1/4 lb. (about 1 large or 2 small) fennel bulbs, cut into pieces about of 1/2 to 1 inch
Kernels from 1 ear of corn (about 1 cup)
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 tbsp. sea salt (reduced from the recipe's 1 tbsp.)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
10 1/2 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) cherry tomatoes (I used sungold tomatoes)
1 tsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Make the crumble: combine the flour, sugar and butter in a medium bowl and mix together with your hands until the mixture has a uniform crumb texture (don't overmix or it will become dough-like). Stir in the grated parmesan cheese.

3. Assemble the gratin: in a large bowl, combine the fennel, corn, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a 9 X 13 baking dish. Pour the cream evenly over the mixture, then spread the crumble evenly over the top. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

4. Remove the dish from the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Scatter the cherry tomatoes over the top of the gratin. Return the dish to the oven and bake another 15 minutes until the fennel is soft, the top of the gratin is lightly golden and the tomatoes have shriveled a bit.

Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

The first lesson about pho: it's pronounced "fuh," as in rhymes with "duh," which is what you can say once you've mastered that and other people still pronounce it like "foe" (or perhaps "faux").

Pho is one of the great Asian noodle soups. Its boom in the D.C. area preceded the recent ramen craze. I first tasted it in the early '2000s at Nam Viet Pho 79 in Cleveland Park and have enjoyed it more recently from Pho 14 in my neighborhood (ever wondered why pho restaurants are numbered? Northern Virginia Magazine did a story on this). I love the interplay between the warm broth, the onions, the beef and the fresh garnishes.

A typical bowl of pho is made with a spicy broth, flat rice noodles (I like something that isn't too wide, resembling linguini), meat (beef or chicken often) and fresh garnishes (cilantro, scallions, bean sprouts, a lime wedge). That last part is what distinguishes it from ramen, which generally has all or almost all cooked ingredients.

I actually forgot about my bean sprouts and the soup was tasty without them. I think the vegetable garnishes should really be considered interchangeable, even the cilantro, if you're one of those people with a genetic aversion to it (yes, that some people think cilantro tastes "soapy" is a genetic thing).

Although you can make it with chicken, I prefer beef in pho. I used sirloin, since that's what this Food Network Kitchen recipe called for, but you may use other cuts. I've seen it with flank steak, brisket and eye of round roast. The beef should not be overcooked. I suggest aiming for medium rare.

Be sure to use the right spices for this. Star anise and cinnamon are essential for flavoring the broth. I've seen clove, coriander and fennel seed use in other recipes too. And please don't skip the fish sauce. Sure, it smells funny, but mixed in with the other ingredients it does its job to add just enough pungency to elevate the the broth without making it fishy. A warm bowl of soup like this is perfect for these nasty cold winter nights.

Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
Adapted from a recipe by Food Network Kitchen

8 oz. rice noodles
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
12 oz. sirloin steak
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced in half
3 cups low-sodium chicken or beef broth
3 cups water
5 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp. fish sauce
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped (optional, but I highly recommend it)
1 cup of bean sprouts (optional)
1 jalapeño pepper, sliced (optional)
lime wedges (optional)

1. Cook rice noodles according to package directions (do not overcook). Drain and set aside.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pierce sirloin all over with a fork to tenderize, then sear in the Dutch oven on both sides, cooking about 3-5 minutes per side. Set aside on a plate. Add the onion and ginger and sauté about 4 minutes. Then add the broth, water, star anise and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the fish sauce and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Discard the ginger, star anise and cinnamon stick. Thinly slice the meat and add to the soup.

3. Divide the noodles among 3 or 4 large bowls. Ladle a generous portion of broth with meat and onions into each bowl, then top with scallions and cilantro (and, if desired, jalapeño pepper slices, lime wedges and bean sprouts).

Pot Roast with Vegetables

One of the best cooking lessons I've learned is that when you want to make a classic recipe for the first time, always consult America's Test Kitchen. Their collection of classic recipes coupled with their intensive testing and tweaking means that you're (almost) guaranteed to end up with a great result out of the gate.

I wasn't disappointed by their recipe for Pot Roast with Root Vegetables, which I turned to when I wanted to make pot roast for the first time.

Braising, where you cook a piece of meat for a long time in time, is ideal for making a tough cut of meat tender. Cook one of these cuts fast like a steak and you'd probably be disappointed with it. Cook it long and slow and you will end up with something delicious that's also generally more affordable than typically tender cuts. I used a top-blade roast, which is one of the recommended choices for this recipe.

Roasts need to be tied while they cook to prevent them from falling apart--they can do that when they're on your plate. Some may come already tied, but if they don't (or the tying job doesn't look very good), you can tie it yourself with some simple string. Here's a good video showing how it's done.

Then you start by browning the meat in a little oil, which adds flavor.

 You need two sets of vegetable for this dish: first, the aromatic vegetables that flavor the braising liquid and are discarded, and second, the root vegetables that are cooked and served with the meat.

My mother made pot roasts a lot for our family when I was a kid. But strangely, I'd never made it myself until now. We were pretty happy with it. I definitely recommend this version that also braises vegetables along with the meat. You have all that good flavor from the braising liquid, so why not extend it to make a great vegetable side. I served the roast and root vegetables with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts.

Pot Roast with Vegetables
Adapted from a recipe by America's Test Kitchen

3 to 3 1/2 lb. boneless beef roast, such as top-blade (what I used), chuck-eye or seven-bone
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups water (use more or less as needed in step 3 below)
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 lb. carrots (about 8 medium carrots), sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 3 cups)
1 lb. small red potatoes, halved if larger than 1 1/2 inches in diameter (about 5 cups)
1 lb. large parsnips (about 5), sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 2 cups)
1 lb. celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 cups)

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 300 F. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and, if not already done, tie it with kitchen twine to hold it in place while it cookies. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Set the roast in the hot oil and brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side, 8-10 minutes total (reduce the heat to medium if the oil starts to smoke). Remove the roast and set aside on a plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until, the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken and beef broths and thyme and scrape a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits. Return the roast and any juices that accumulated on the plate to the Dutch oven. Add enough water so that that level of liquid in the pot comes halfway up the side of the roast. Cover the pot with a lid, bring to a simmer over medium heat, then transfer the pot to the oven. Roast in the oven, turning every 30 minutes, until the meat is very tender and a fork or sharp knife slips easily into the meat, about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

4. Transfer the roast to a plate. Pour the liquid through a mesh strainer (press on the solids with the back of a large spoon to extract as much liquid as possible) and discard the solids. Return the braising  liquid to the pot. Allow the liquid to settle for 5 minutes, then use a wide spoon to skim off excess fat off the top of the liquid. Discard the thyme sprig. Return the roast to the pot and add the sliced carrots, red potatoes, parsnips and celery root. Cook until the vegetables are almost tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Transfer the roast to a carving board and tent with aluminum foil. Add the wine to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat under the pot to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are quite tender. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and reserve the liquid.

6. Cut the meat into 1/2-inch slices. Serve on plates with a side of the cooked root vegetables. Pour about 1/2 cup of the braising liquid over the roast and vegetables.

Moroccan-Spiced Meatloaf

A great place to find inspiration for new dishes is from other food bloggers. A couple months ago, I was chatting with Cathy Barrow of Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen on Twitter, and somehow we got on the subject of meatloaf.

I hadn't made the classic dish for quite some time and was looking for ways to put a new spin on it. Cathy suggested using oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs, which she said should be soaked in milk. That sounded like a great idea. The oats got me thinking about cinnamon and raisins, which made me think about pushing the meatloaf in a Moroccan direction, spice-wise. So in went ground cumin, turmeric and paprika.

This meatloaf turned out with a wonderful, moist texture. The oatmeal really disappeared into the rest of the ingredients, and the spices and raisins gave it a nice spicy-sweetness.

Moroccan-Spiced Meatloaf

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for spraying the baking dish

1 yellow onion diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 lb. ground beef or meat loaf mix (I use Whole Foods' mix of ground beef, pork and veal)

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat 350 F. 

2. Combine the oats and milk in a small bowl to soak.

3. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool.

4. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the large bowl with the sautéed vegetables, then add the milk-soaked oats. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until well combined, then transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with olive oil. Shape the mixture into a long loaf and bake for about 1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 F. Allow to rest about 5 minutes, then slice until 1-inch slices.

Fajitas: From Steak to Everything

Although I haven't studied this enough to know if it's absolutely true, it seems to me that there's a greater tendency for food words of foreign origin to be misused, and thus more likely to evolve in meaning than words that have been in English a long time.

Take the French word "pommes" for example. Americans who do not speak French (me included) may be most familiar with this word from "pommes frites," which means fried potatoes. Because "frites" is obviously the fried part, they may logically assume "pommes" means potato, and thus apply it to other uses. However "Pommes" is actually the French word for "apples." "Pommes de terre" is the French term for potatoes, which literally means "apples of the earth." In the construction "pommes frites," the "de terre" has just been dropped, but without a working knowledge of French, you might not know that it needs to be put back if you want to talk about a potato and not an apple.

There are several Spanish food terms that I've noticed get appropriated for other uses. One is "queso," the Spanish word for "cheese," but which has come to mean "spicy cheese sauce" in American Tex-Mex restaurants, opening the door for potential confusion if one asks for "queso" expecting to get perhaps shredded cheese (which is, actually, what they asked for). Maybe in the not-too-distant future, "queso" could signify any type of spicy appetizer dip, including one without cheese? Vegans are already at work on this.

A Spanish term that has evolved further is "Fajita." Fajitas are one of those Tex-Mex dishes that isn't really Mexican. In The Tex-Mex Cookbook, Robb Walsh writes about the dish's Texas origins. It was originally a dish made by ranch hands from unwanted beef cuts. Restaurants began serving the dish in the 1960s, and the term "fajitas" was popularized in the 1970s.

Skirt steak, the original fajitas ingredient.

But the fajitas of the 1970s were different from those we know today. Originally, the term referred only to beef, specifically grilled skirt steak. "Faja" is the Spanish word for "skirt," and thus "fajita" means literally a "little skirt," referring to skirt steak. As a food then, the term referred specifically marinated and grilled skirt steak, generally sliced and served with tortillas and other garnishes.

In Monday's article on Dan Jurafsky's book, The Language of Food, I mentioned how our language around food evolves just as our food evolves. Fajitas are an excellent example of this.

Fajitas today may contain a variety of vegetables and meats.

Fajitas became a major food fad in the mid 1980s. Still popular today, they were everywhere at one point. I remember my introduction to the dish being a "fajita kit" you could buy at the grocery store with raw meat and vegetables to be grilled on the stove and stuffed in tortillas. Every Mexican restaurant had a version of fajitas. Even McDonald's, which obviously isn't a Mexican restaurant, began selling chicken and sometimes steak fajitas.

But wait...when did chicken enter the picture? Just as I wrote Tuesday about how "bruschetta" evolved from meaning garlic toast that might have a topping to mean garlic toast with topping, the term "fajita" evolved to mean not just the steak in the tortilla but the steak and the tortilla and garnishes, usually grilled onions and bell peppers, but also possibly salsa, cheese, beans and guacamole. Consequently, with the dish "fajita" established as meat + tortilla + garnishes, other meats could be substituted for the skirt steak and the dish was still called fajita. In fact, the meat could be dropped all together, the dish known as "vegetable fajitas." Today there are all sorts of variations on fajitas, including the original steak, but also chicken, shrimp, barbecue ribs, vegetable and combinations.

Grilled onions and bell peppers are a common fajita garnish. In some uses, they are even considered "fajitas."

There's an even newer use of the term I've observed, possibly a further evolution, entirely divorced from meat and tortillas.

In recent years, Chipotle Mexican Grill has emerged as America's leading fast-casual restaurant, sparking a revolution in the concept, quality and expectation of what fast food means. Although the menu is different now, when I first became a Chipotle customer in the early 2000s, the menu included "burritos" and "fajita burritos," the former included beans, while the latter came with grilled onions and bell peppers. Eventually, Chipotle dropped the "fajita burrito" from the menu, but kept the vegetables, the idea being that you can order just a "burrito" and get it with beans or vegetables (or both). But guess what people starting calling the grilled onions and vegetables? Fajitas.

We go to Chipotle a lot, and I hear it all the time. A customer orders a bowl with rice, chicken, black beans and, oh, "could I have some fajitas too?" indicating the grilled vegetables. Is it possible this use will grow beyond Chipotle? Perhaps, especially given that's Chipotle's influence on our food has grown with the chain, which has 1,600 (and growing) locations, plus imitators and restaurants applying a similar concept to salad, pizza, Mediterranean, Indian and Southeast Asian cuisines.


Steak Fajitas
Marinade adapted from Marinated and Grilled or Broiled Flank Steak recipe by Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything

Marinade:
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 lb. skirt or flank steak
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded, cored and sliced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Homemade flour tortillas (see recipe below)
Fresh guacamole (see recipe below)
Fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a shallow bowl. Add the steak, turning to coat in the marinade. Marinate for about 30 minutes, up to 1 hour.

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper. Season with oregano, cumin, salt and pepper, to taste. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned in places, about 10 minutes.

3. Heat oven broiler. Place steak on a baking sheet or broiler pan and broil 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once (alternatively, if you have a grill, grill the steak over hot coals). Set aside to cool a couple minutes, then slice against the grain into strips. Serve steak and vegetables with homemade flour tortillas, fresh guacamole and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Homemade Flour Tortillas
Adapted from a recipe by How to Baker

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3-5 tbsp. vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups warm water

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add the vegetable shortening and use a pastry blender or your fingers to combine. Add the water, a little bit at a time, mixing in each addition to form the dough until it is soft and no longer sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes. Add additional flour if necessary to keep dough from being sticky. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

2. Break off pieces of dough and roll into golf ball-size pieces. Cover with a wet towel and let the dough rest for another 10 minutes.

3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Working with one piece of dough at a time, dust the dough with flour and gently press it into a small disc. Flatten the dough in a tortilla press, then

4. Heat griddle pan over medium heat. Working with one piece of dough at a time, dust the dough with flour and gently press it into a small disc, then flatten in a tortilla press. Cook the tortilla on each side for about 10 to 20 seconds. Transfer to a plate and cover with paper towels to keep warm. You should be able to cook them in batches of four.

Fresh guacamole

2 ripe hass avocados

Juice from 1 lime

2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Kosher salt, to taste

Pinch of chipotle chili powder

2 tbsp. minced sweet onion

Combine avocado and lime juice in a medium bowl. Mash with a fork or pastry blender until creamy but still a bit chunky. Add the cilantro, salt, chili powder and onion and stir to combine.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

When I was little, we rarely ate spaghetti with meatballs, but we frequently had spaghetti with meat sauce, which I've come to think is vastly superior. Meatballs have always struck me as too fussy. I like having the meat more evenly distributed throughout the sauce. All the better to impart its flavor to mingle with the tomatoes, garlic and aromatic vegetables. More likely, this is the way my mom made it, so it's the way I make it too. This was one of the first dinners I learned to cook; I've been making it for about 20 years.

A little wine is essential to this dish. I used to use red wine, although more recently after having made bolognese several times, I've switched to white, which imparts wine flavor without the added tannins of red wine. In fact, I've fashioned the ingredients of this version of the dish after a bolognese, but instead of cooking it all afternoon, it's done in under an hour--short enough to make this a dependable and delicious weekday dinner.

A technique I've used recently for most pastas works well with this dish. Instead of cooking the noodles as long as required for "al dente," stop the cooking short about 2 minutes. Drain the noodles and then add them to the sauce when the sauce is almost done cooking. Stir to combine and cook the noodles in the sauce for the remaining couple minutes. The noodles soak up the flavor of the sauce this way while they finish cooking, helping to integrate them into the dish.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

1 lb. lean ground beef (I used 90 percent lean; may substitute ground dark turkey meat)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
Salt, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
28 oz. can Italian crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 bunch of thyme, tied together with kitchen twine
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. dried spaghetti
Grated parmigiano-reggiano

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, stirring to break up. Remove meat from pot with a slotted spoon. Drain off the fat (note: because pouring hot fat out of a hot, heavy cast-iron Dutch oven is fraught with potential disaster, my tip for removing fat after browning meat is to fold up a couple of paper towels, grasp them with kitchen tongs, and swipe the towel around the pot until the desired amount of rendered fat is soaked up in the towels).

2. Increase heat to medium-high and add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add onion and carrot and season with salt. Cook until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are lightly browned and the other vegetable are quite soft, another 8 to 10 minutes. Add back the cooked ground beef and add the wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bottom of the pot is dry. Add the diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Use the 1 cup of water to rinse out the crushed tomato can and add the mixture to the pot. Add the thyme, oregano and pepper. When the mixture bubbles, reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a low simmer for at least 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook 2 minutes less than the package direction for al dente. Drain noodles and add to the pot with the sauce, stirring to combine. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes until the noodles are cooked al dente. Serve spaghetti on plates topped with grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Best of 2013: Main Dishes

Experiments with brined roast chicken, an amazing beef stew and a host of broiled salmon entrees were among my favorite main dishes this year.

Beef and Pork

What makes Jacques Pepin's Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce so good? Perhaps it's the combination of pearl onions, baby carrots and mushrooms with no potatoes. Or the touch of pancetta (or bacon, which I used). Or maybe that the wine cooks slowly in the oven with a whole bottle of wine. Regardless, it was my favorite beef dish this year. Truly exquisite. Other good beef dishes included the Beef Wellington with Gorgonzola, a perennial Christmas tradition in our house, and this Traditional Beef Stroganoff, which I adapted from several recipes seeking an "authentic" recipe for old-school Beef Stroganoff.

My favorite pork dish was these Sweet and Sticky Baby Back Ribs that appeared in The Washington Post, a wonderful indoor way to make flavorful summer ribs. I also enjoyed Le Pigeon (Portland) Chef Gabriel Rucker's recipe for Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Thyme and Bacon and my simple weeknight dinner recipe for Orange Pork Stir Fry with Ginger and Chard.

Chicken and Turkey

I got experimental with chicken this year. Seeking to replicate one of my favorite restaurant dishes, the roast chicken at Palena, I made Spice-Brined Roast Chicken, which turned out fairly close to what you get at the restaurant. Wanting to bring the smoky flavors of outdoor barbecue into the kitchen, another brining experiment yielded this tasty Smoked-Brined Oven BBQ Chicken. Lastly, taking advantage of seasonal sweet corn, I came up with these Roasted Corn and Chicken Enchiladas.

Apart from Thanksgiving, I didn't do much with turkey this year, although we did enjoy the Thanksgiving Leftovers Tacos I invented to use of all those great Thanksgiving dishes.

Fish

Broiled salmon is something I turn to again and again, since it's so easy to prepare quickly during the week and lends itself well to a variety of flavors. This year, I experimented more with Asian flavors, like the umami-rich Dashi-Poached Salmon, Garlic-Ginger Broiled Salmon with Miso-Braised Mustard Greens and Mustard Broiled Salmon with Miso and Honey-Braised Greens. Another salmon dish I liked served with greens was Broiled Salmon with White Bean, Kale and Bacon Ragoût. And if tacos are your thing, Salmon Tacos offered a nice variety to my usual broiled fillet.

Vegetables

Most of the pasta and grains best dishes I featured Friday are vegetarian, but there are a couple other great dishes I wanted to include here: The Vegetable Napoleons with Red Wine Sauce, which is a great dish if you want a dramatic presentation, and Yogurt Kuku, a sort of Middle Eastern frittata, that I served alongside a selection of favorite mezze dishes.

Best of 2013: Pasta and Grains

Top L to R: Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Sweet Corn Agnolotti with Mushrooms, Parsley Pesto Spaghetti. Middle L to R: Modernist Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Tomato Risotto, Bolognese-Style Lasagna. Bottom L to R: Farro Bowl with Sugar Snap Peas and Kielbasa, Sausage-Zucchini Pasta, Multi-Grain Risotto with Broccolini and Brussels Sprouts.

My lists of the year's best cocktails and salads, soups, starters and sides were pretty lengthy. For my favorite pasta and grain recipes, I decided to limit myself to my 10 favorites, which are a great mix of styles, original and adapted recipes and ingredients from all the seasons.

1. Modernist Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Roasted Cauliflower. I adapted this recipe from Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold. Their technique for the cheese sauce is so simple and works very well: just water and sodium citrate (the sodium salt of citric acid, available from Amazon). The sauce is amazingly smooth and comes together much faster than the traditional roux-to-béchamel-to-mornay version.

2. Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese and Sausage Lasagna. This alternative to tomato-based lasagna is one of my absolute favorites. It's perfect for fall when squash are in season, which go so well with goat cheese, sage and sausage.

3. Roasted Tomato Risotto. What makes this risotto special is the homemade roasted tomato and fennel broth I made first and used instead of store-bought chicken or vegetable broth for cooking the risotto, which includes additional roasted tomatoes.

4. Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce. During the late summer, when tomatoes are in season, we eat massive quantities of them. One of my favorite ways to do so is a simple, quick pasta sauce with fresh basil.

5. Lasagna, Bolognese Style. This was the first dish I ever made from a recipe by lauded Italian cookbook writer Marcella Hazan, who, sadly, passed away this year. If you're used to the tomato-ricotta version of lasagna, this version, made with bolognese and béchamel is a nice change of pace. (After Hazan's death, I also made her Pasta all'Amatriciana, which is also amazing.)

6. Sweet Corn Agnolotti with Mushrooms. Admittedly, recreating Mike Isabella's very popular Graffiato pasta dish is a lot of work. So, if you're in the mood for an intensive cooking project, feel free to tackle this. Despite the effort, the result is a very rewarding dish with amazing sweet corn flavor.

7. Multi-Grain Risotto with Broccolini and Brussels Sprouts. Who says risotto has to be rice? This multi-grain version, adapted from a recipe that appeared in The Washington Post, uses farro, wheat berries and barley.

8. Farro Bowl with Sugar Snap Peas and Kielbasa. Speaking of farro, the quick-cooking whole grain is the perfect base in this summery dish with sugar snap peas, turkey kielbasa and mint.

9. Parsley Pesto Spaghetti. This Bon Appétit recipe is as basic as pasta recipes get, although isn't that often when they're best? The magazine selected my photo among their "Cook the Cover" submissions (mine is #2).

10. Sausage-Zucchini Pasta. Vegan sausage? Normally, I wouldn't be interested. But at a friend's urging, I gave the Field Roast brand a try in this pasta dish and was pleasantly surprised at how well it stood up to the other ingredients in this dish.

Honorable mention: Okay, I just can't limit this to 10. And since the Pasta all'Amatriciana snuck in up there at #5 anyway, I'm not going to flinch in also sharing this Mushroom-Bacon Risotto, a perfect late winter dish to warm yourself on a cold night.

Beef Wellington with Gorgonzola Cheese

For a long time, Beef Wellington was a dish that I'd heard of but never had and didn't really know what it was. All I knew was that it was something fancy, possibly difficult to make.

Years ago, I decided to find out what it was. It's been a Christmas staple ever since.

Beef Wellington is a roasted filet mignon with pate, mushrooms and herbs wrapped and baked in puff pastry. It's origins are disputed. Forklore pegs the dish to a 19th Century Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley. However, written evidence of the dish first appears in the United States in the 20th Century, and there's even a claim that it's from New Zealand.

Above: Step-by-step assembly of the Beef Wellingtons. Below: ready to bake.

The version I make is adapted from a 1998 recipe that appeared in Gourmet magazine. It substitutes gorgonzola cheese for the pate, which works wonderfully with the mushroom-shallot mixture and the beef.

Beef Wellington with Gorgonzola Cheese
Adapted from a recipe by Gourmet, courtesy of Epicurious

Serves 2

Olive oil
Two 1 1/2-inch thick filets mignons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp. minced shallot (about 1/2 a small shallot)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. fresh thyme or chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 tbsp. crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with olive oil. Pat the filets dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Place in the baking dish and roast for about 15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reaches 120 to 130 degrees (note: the original recipe says to roast for 12 minutes until a temperature of 110 is reached, but I prefer the meat to be more medium-rare to medium than rare as the recipe calls for). Allow to cool.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic and herbs and sauté until softened and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Place puff pastry sheet on a floured work surface. Roll sheet out to make a 14-inch square, then cut into fourths (you'll only need half of the sheet if making two servings).

3. Place 1 tbsp. of the crumbled gorgonzola cheese in the middle of the pastry square. Top with half of the mushroom mixture. Place a partially cooked filet on top of the mushrooms. Fold the corners of the pastry together, brushing the point where the corners connect with egg to seal. Brush the seams with egg and press together to seal. Seal any gaps and press the pastry around the filet to enclose completely. Place prepared pastries in a 9 X 13 baking sheet sprayed with olive oil, brush all over with egg and refrigerate at least 1 hour up to 1 day until ready to bake.

4. Preheat oven to 425 F. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden. Serve immediately topped with a savory beef madeira sauce (see below).

Beef Madeira Sauce

The original recipe calls for a sauce made of 1 cup of beef or veal demiglace and 2 tbsp. madeira boiled for a minute to thicken them. Since I can never seem to find demiglace, instead I boiled 2 cups of beef broth until it was reduced to about 1/2 cup, added 2 tbsp. madeira, boiled for another minute. Reduced heat to medium-low and added 2 tsp. of arrowroot powder dissolved in 1 tbsp. of water to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.

Chili Week Roundup

Whether your like your spicy bowl authentically Texan, Asian-influenced, Cincinnati-style or loaded with beans and vegetables there is a chili style for you. Here's a round up of the chili recipes I featured on the site last week.

Chili Con Carne. This is the smoky Texas original, a meat-forward recipe with fresh and ground chiles and no beans.

BBQ Turkey Chili-Stew. Loaded with vegetables, beans and lean ground turkey, this is a healthy version of a hearty chili with a good dose of smoky flavor.

Cincinnati Chili. Drawing on Tex-Mex, Italian and Middle Eastern influences, this is the midwestern classic.

Thai-Style Chili. Inspired by Tom Kha Gai, my favorite Thai soup, this chili is a fusion of Eastern and Western flavors.

Cincinnati Chili

Cincinnati chili has to be one of the oddest dishes I've ever had. Geographically, it's all over the map. At its base is chili, the Tex-Mex staple, but spiced with a blend that's vaguely Middle Eastern and then served over noodles like a kind of spicy spaghetti with meat sauce. And it's from the Midwest.

I wouldn't dismiss this though just because it's weird. It's quite good, especially leftover the next day when all the flavors have had time to blend together well.

Cincinnati has an unusual but wonderfully fragrant combination of spices.

Since it has cayenne pepper in it, this chili is pretty spicy. In a way, it's spicier than the Chili Con Carne, which had more of a background heat to it.

When ordering Cincinnati chili, there's a code for how you want it that refers to the extras, which Wikipedia describes well. My chili sort of messes up the code system, since I added the beans to the pot instead of serving them as an extra, and I didn't include any additional raw onion. I guess that makes this a "four-way bean" sort of.

Cincinnati Chili
Adapted from multiple recipe sources

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 yellow onions, diced
Salt or seasoned salt, to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground clove
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes (I used the latter, since I had it on hand to use up)
28 oz. can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 lb. cooked spaghetti (cooked al dente, according to package directions)
Generous amount of shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Remove beef from pan (or if using an oval sauté pan, push to one end).

2. Add onion to pan, season to taste with salt (or seasoned salt), and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add chili powder, paprika, oregano, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, allspice, cumin and clove and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about a minute.

3. Add the chicken broth, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, kidney beans and bay leaf to the pot. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 20 to 30 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Serve in a large bowl over spaghetti topped with a generous heap of shredded cheddar cheese.