Pepperoni Broccolini Pasta

Adapted from the most recent issue of Food and Wine (March 2013?).  The pepperoni/garlic mixture will freeze nicely and is easy enough to make in double or triple batches.  Once it's combined with breadcrumbs, I bet it would make an outstanding breading mix on chicken breasts, pork chops or eggplant slices too.

Topping pasta with breadcrumbs seems like carb overload and isn't generally how most folks think of the "right" way to serve pasta.  But the breadcrumb finish is common in a pasta dish that uses seafood (as parmesan and its ilk don't go so nicely with fish).  And if you think about the "traditional" mac and cheese baked casserole, there are breadcrumbs all over the top of that pasta!  So it's not as odd as it seems.

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Teriyaki Tofu and Roasted Pineapple

I make my own teriyaki sauce for this dish because the sauce is so prominent in this recipe and store-bought teriyaki sauce is just foul.  I make up the sauce a day before I'm going to use it, so I'll start pressing the tofu and make the sauce the night before Dinner Day, strain out the garlic cloves and ginger chunks and start marinating the cubed tofu the morning of, and then drain off the marinade to roast that night.  If you make this as a freezer kit, I'd freeze the teriyaki sauce separately from the pressed but uncut tofu block.  When you thaw it, cube the tofu and marinate at least an hour before roasting.

You can substitute just about any protein you want in this dish...marinate chunks of chicken breast or pork loin and roast for the same amount of time and at the same temperature.  It's a great way to accomodate vegetarians and non-vegetarians at the same meal without making completely separate main dishes.  If you do use tofu however, you can strain, freeze and reuse the marinate once more (if you marinate chicken or pork, chuck the remaining marinade).

I nearly always serve this with broccoli, steamed or roasted.  Tonight, I'm roasting broccolini on the same sheet pan with the fruit to save creating more heat with the stovetop.  And tonight's oven-use three-fer (#1 tofu/pineapple, #2 broccolini side dish)...a blind-baked crust for strawberry pie! 


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Tofu Broccolini Salad with Udon Noodles

Another try-out from Cooking Light May '11.  The picture is so mouth-watering, I immediately picked up ingredients for the recipe before really reading through the steps.  Oops.  Incredibly step-heavy.  A lot of last-minute cooking.  So not how I roll.

The majority of my changes to this recipe are in preparation timeline and combining separate steps to produce a more streamlined, make-ahead friendly dish.  The one major ingredient change I made is to use WAAAAYYYYYY less sriracha than the recipe calls for. Ginger brings its own heat, radishes typically have some zing and you just don't need to blow the roof of your mouth off with an additional half tablespoon of liquid fire, thankyouverymuch.

There are 4 main components to this dish, and almost all of them can be done up to a day ahead.  Store each element of the salad separately, boil the noodles (and broccolini, if desired) last minute and toss everything together. 

Tofu under a paver

You need to press the tofu as it's full of water which will prevent the tofu taking in the marinade.  You can wrap it in paper towels and press it under a weight (I use a fluorescent yellow paving stone) overnight, all day long or for as little as 30 minutes, though the less water you press out of it, the less marinade it will take on later. 



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Easy-easier-easiest sides: Broccoli

I think broccoli has gotten type-cast.  It's quite likely the most stir-fryed vegetable in this country, the most often smothered in cheese sauce, and the most often served steamed without embellishment.  All good methods, but here are three super-easy and super-tasty new ways to do it up. 

Easiest: Blanched Broccoli with dip

Crudité is not just for appetizers!  My kids prefer a lot of vegetables in their raw (or nearly raw) state anyway.  The dip can be as simple as some prepared salad dressing, equal parts mustard and mayonnaise, or a quick oil, vinegar, salt and pepper shake-up.

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 cup dip of your choosing

To blanch broccoli, heat a large pot of water to boiling.  Add broccoli and set a timer for 2 minutes once the water is back up to a boil.  Drain and rinse under very cold water.  Drain well and serve.

Easier: Braised Broccolini

You can get a lot of interest with very little work just by using something a little different.  The novelty of trying a close relative of a familiar vegetable can go a long way in cutting down on the need for increasingly elaborate preparation for the same old stuff. 

1 bunch broccolini (or broccoli rabe)

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup vermouth or white wine

Heat olive oil over medium-high in a skillet.  Add broccolini and saute 2-3 minutes, unless slightly browned.  Add vermouth and cover.  Reduce heat to medium and braise 5-7 minutes, until tender.

Easy: Roasted Broccoli

Roasting takes a little more time than other cooking methods, but the results are jaw-droppingly good.  Really, you have never tasted broccoli like this!  I also like roasting because it's a no-attention cooking method.  You literally stick the food in, set a timer and go do something else.

1 head broccoli, cut into florets (include chopped, peeled stems if you like)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon pepper

Toss broccoli with oil and pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes at 375F.



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