Muffuletta, More Or Less

Makes 2 very filling sandwiches

• 1 small eggplant, sliced
• Salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for brushing eggplant
• 1/4 cup brine cured black olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup green olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 chopped celery stalk
• 1/4 cup diced roasted red pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 whole grain sandwich rolls or 1/2 of a big loaf of crusty whole grain bread cut into two pieces
• 1 tomato, sliced

1. Sprinkle the sliced eggplant with salt and let rest in a colander for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450. Rinse, remove from the colander, and press between two paper towels to remove excess moisture. Drizzle some olive oil on both sides of the eggplant slices and cook for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through.
2. While the eggplant is in the oven, get to work on the salad. (I wait until then to chop everything.) Combine the olives, capers, red onion, pepper, oregano, garlic, vinegar, and 2 tbsp oil in a medium bowl. Add black pepper to taste.
3. Slice the rolls or bread horizontally and scrape out most of the inside, you’ll need room for the fillings. Spread the olive salad over both sides of the bread, including all the oil and juice from the bottom of the bowl. Add the roasted eggplant and sliced tomato and serve at once.

Quinoa With Arugula, Avocado and Feta

• 1 and a half cups cooked quinoa
• 1 and a half cups arugula
• 1 avocado, diced
• 4 ounces feta, crumbled
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix together quinoa, arugula, avocado, feta, walnuts and tomatoes in a large bowl. Whisk together the olive oil with the red wine vinegar and stir into the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4 as a main course.

So I was drawn immediately to a recipe for pasta with smashed peas, prosciutto and scallions in the Food Matters Cookbook- I had extra bacon on hand and figured if I subbed that in for the prosciutto it’d be more carbonara-y. I used shallot instead of scallion and was amazed at how rich this “sauce-less” pasta turned out after cooking the peas in bacon fat. Don’t tell carbonara but you don’t even miss the egg.

Pasta with Smashed Peas and Bacon, adapted from Mark Bittman’s  Food Matters Cookbook

Serves 2.

• Salt & pepper
• 2 slices bacon
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 4 ounces whole wheat pasta
• Pecorino Romano cheese to grate over

1. Bring a big salted pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into pieces and cook in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon and pour off all but a teaspoon of the bacon fat. Add the shallot, sprinkle with salt, and cook until beginning to brown. Add the peas and cook for three minutes; remove from the heat.
2. Cook the pasta as directed. When the pasta is about a minute away from being done, return the peas to medium heat and add 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Smash up the peas a little with the back of a spoon. Drain the pasta and keep a little of the water. Put the pasta back into the pot and stir in the peas, adding extra water if needed, depending on how much of a saucy consistency you want the peas to have.
3. Serve the pasta, grating about a teaspoon of fresh pecorino romano on top and sprinkling with the crisp bacon pieces and more black pepper.

Tonight we had Greek “nachos.” Bittman had me at nacho but I didn’t want to wait until summer to try the tomato-cucumber version. Fortunately he suggested an alternative using eggplant and roasted pepper, so that is what I made. I had some roasted pimentos in the freezer but you can use jarred. I also had some leftover pickled red onion so I used that instead of slicing fresh red onion, but either works… and if you roast the pita wedges along with the eggplant you can have the whole thing on the table in 20 minutes. (Okay, maybe 25 minutes. Still not bad for a weeknight.)

Instagrammed food pictures are not ideal but easy for the lazy food blogger

Greek “Nachos” With Eggplant and Roasted Pepper, via Mark Bittman

Serves 2 as a generous entree

• 1/2 eggplant, cubed
• 2 whole wheat pitas
• 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 2 oz feta
• 1/4 cup Greek-style yogurt
• Chopped fresh mint to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lemon plus zest
• Diced roasted red pepper
• Sliced red onion
• Handful of kalamata olives, pitted and halved

1) Heat the oven to 400; spread the cubed eggplant on a baking sheet and toss with one teaspoon of olive oil. Roast the eggplant for 20 minutes.

2)Meanwhile, split the pitas in half and cut them into triangles. Place them on another baking sheet and drizzle one teaspoon oil over them. Put them in the oven ten minutes into the eggplant baking. (And give the eggplant a little toss while you are at it.)

3)In a food processor or mini chopper combine the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, feta, yogurt, mint and lemon until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4)Remove the pita chips from the oven when crisp (you will probably want to flip them over half way through their ten minutes of baking) and arrange on one serving plate or two dinner plates. Top with eggplant, roasted pepper, onion and olives. Top with the feta/yogurt mixture.

So I guess we are having pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan pie, and trifle for dessert.

I also have a low bookshelf that can double as a sideboard but I am leaning towards just putting the serving dishes on the tables. The bookshelf is VERY low and I don’t trust turkey left within reach of the poodle.

Surely Doug Allison is just pulling Julia Moskin’s leg. Right?

However, the part of cookies that he likes is eating the dough (me too, kid, me too) so I offered him the alternative of helping me make pie dough instead. He agreed, so we’re making the pie dough from The Gift Of Southern Cooking this afternoon, and I’ll wrap it and freeze it until the day before Thanksgiving. (Pie dough, like cookie dough, freezes perfectly but I also wrap it in a billion layers of saran wrap before putting it in a ziploc because I am paranoid about it picking up freezer flavors. So it’s not the most environmentally friendly thing to freeze, but it is a time saver.)

This year I’m just making a chocolate pecan pie and having my in-laws bring over a pumpkin pie. I feel like I need a third dessert but can’t think of what- I have a chocolate bundt cake that’s super easy, or a pumpkin cheesecake that I love which is not super easy. Or maybe I’ll finally defrost that cookie dough and let Nathan cut out a bunch of turkey cookies.

What desserts are on your Thanksgiving menu this year?

Which is why I went to Wal-Mart yesterday, to pick up a few trays of Sister Schubert‘s (if I am going to do store boughten, I’m going to get the store boughten dinner rolls Julia Reed recommends, at least) rolls and was thrilled to discover a whole ginormous end cap full of nothing but Pepperidge Farm her seasoned stuffing mix. My grandmother’s stuffing recipe is half cornbread, half Pepperidge Farm mix, and every Thanksgiving I check Ralphs and Vons and elsewhere and can never find it, and my stuffing never tastes exactly like my mom’s. Clearly I should have been checking Wal-Mart all along.

Yellow Squash Casserole (from San Francisco Encore)

• 2 lbs summer yellow squash, sliced
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups celery, thinly sliced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 2 more tbsp butter, not melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
• 9 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Boil the squash in salted water until tender. Drain well and mash in a large bowl. Add eggs, cream and melted butter.
2. Heat the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium high and cook the celery and onion until transparent. Add the celery and onion to the squash mixture along with the salt, pepper, and half of the cheese.
3. Pour into a 9×13 casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese and bacon. Wrap well and refrigerate or freeze. (Defrost overnight in the fridge before cooking). When ready to cook, bake at 350 for 45 minutes.