Sides | From Patty's Pantry

Ratatouille Recipe

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Feb 122013

I think ratatouille is such a great addition to a meal. Although, tonight I am using the ratatouille as a filling to Crepes. Check out tomorrow how I plan to use the leftover ratatouille as an appetizer inspired by my recent trip to San Sebastian.

Ratatouille

4 Cups of Matchstick Pieces of Eggplant ( About a half an Eggplant)

4 Cups of Matchstick Pieces of Zucchini ( about 1 1/2 Zucchini)

2 Small Yellow Onions sliced thinly

2 Red Bell Peppers Sliced into 1/4 inch slices lengthwise

4 medium size tomatoes seeded cut in half and cut into 1/4 inch slices lengthwise

5 Cloves of Garlic Chopped

2 Bay Leaves

3 Sprigs of fresh Thyme (Remove leaves from branches)

1 Tablespoon of chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

6 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

In a large pot, (I used my Le Creuset dutch oven). With 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil a 1/4 of the chopped garlic, 3 tablespoons of water sauté the onions until cooked for 5-10 minutes. Remove the onions from the dutch oven and add the eggplant and zucchini with 1/4 of the garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Remove eggplant and zucchini from pan. Now add with 1 tablespoon and 1/4 of the garlic the peppers and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Finally add remaining ingredients and the zucchini, eggplant, onions back into the dutch oven. Mix with a spoon until all well combines and let cook with a lid on low heat for 30 minutes. Ready to serve.

This goes great inside crepes, or as a side to really any meat or fish dish, and honestly I just like to eat it on its own. Tomorrow as I mentioned I will show you something to do with the leftover inspired by my recent travels to San Sebastian.

Brussel Sprouts

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Nov 232010

I think brussel sprouts are like diamonds in the ruff! There are so many different variations and additions that can be added to them. I was going to pre thanksgiving holiday party and said I would bring brussel sprouts, because recently I had been ordering them often when out.Â Now, I had never cooked brussel sprouts but I thought if I said I would bring them, I would have to learn how to prepare them! Luckily a friend of mine was over who was a pro and was able to help me out!

Brussel Sprouts

2 lbs. of Brussel Sprouts

1/3-Cup Balsamic Vinegar

3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar

1 Granny Smith Apple (diced into Â½ inch cubes)

Â½ -2/3 Cup of Chopped Pistachios

Â¼ Cup of Olive Oil

Salt

Preheat Oven 425

Cut the root part of the brussel sprouts off, and take away outer leaves, if looking a little wilted. Cut in half and place head down on baking sheet. Drizzle sprouts with olive oil and salt evenly. Place in oven for about 20 minutes.

While sprouts are cooking in a saucepan cook sugar and vinegar down until is has reduced by half. After brussel sprouts have been cooking for about 20 minutes take them out and toss with the balsamic reductions and place back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes. Finish by taking them out of the oven and tossing with the apple and pistachios and ready to serve.

Now for the holiday my sister is serving Brussel Sprouts and she is steaming then and then frying them with pancetta and serving. I also just had them fried and tossed with Parmesan cheese. There are many fun options for this underestimated veggie.

Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!!!

Popovers

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Jan 122010

Happy New Year! I know this past year I did not update as much as I would have liked. I am finally getting my home together again. I seem to be bed bug free and now have a working refrigerator 1) that works and 2) that is not filled with trash bags filled with clothing. Most importantly, I have started the transformation of turning my apartment; into my own little craft studio. I am tickled pink about this transformation. It is now only being referred to as the Studio

So, I have decided I am going to start the year off with something that reminds me of lunches with my mom. When I was in pre-school waiting for my sisters to be done with school, we always have lunch together and most times there was a popover with strawberry butter involved. My sister over thanksgiving served popovers, strawberry butter, and salad for her first course and it reminded me of how much I enjoy them. The batter can be made in advance and these are perfectly simple to make, a little different than just serving a roll. Also, a popover pan could totally make a fun gift! I know, I love all of my random cooking utensils.

1 Cup of Flour

1 Cup of Milk

3 Eggs

2 Tablespoons of Melted Butter (a little extra butter to grease the pan)

Pinch or two of Salt

Preheat oven 425 degrees

In a blender mix all ingredients together until smooth. Grease the popover pan and preheat the pan in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Take out and fill each popover cup until ¾ full of batter and bake for 25 minutes. Makes 6 popovers. I think best served with Strawberry butter or some other flavored butter.

Pesto Mashed Potatoes

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Sep 032009

Pesto Mashed Potatoes

This week I had the unpleasant experience of having my wisdom teeth taken out. I know, I am a little late since I think the average age of taking them out when they are 18 not 28. For the month prior I was teething which now I completely understand what toddlers are going through and have a new perspective. Now that I had to revert to eating mushy foods, I made in advance pre-surgery mashed potatoes. In true fashion I had to mess around with them a little and added some fresh pesto; I had gotten some basil at the Farmerâ€™s market last weekend. Now I do love traditional mashed potatoes but this definitely was a fun twist to them and something I would enjoy every so often.

Pesto

Â½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Cups of Fresh Basil Leaves

1/3 Cup of Toasted Pine Nuts

Â½ Cup of Olive Oil

1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice and 1-2 Teaspoons of Lemon Zest

I used my blender but a food processor would be better. Pulse together Basil and Pine Nuts (I chopped both before placing them into the blender) followed by Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese, and Lemon Juice + Zest blend all ingredients together until smooth and looks like green pulp if it is too think add a little extra Olive Oil.

Mashed Potatoes

3 Russet Potatoes

Â½ Cup of Skim Milk

2 Tablespoons of Butter

Salt and Pepper

Peel the Potatoes and boil them until they are soft (a fork can easily puncture through). Remove potatoes from heat and water and place in a separate bowl. In a saucepan heat milk and butter once butter has melted add to potatoes and with a hand mixer whip the potatoes until fluffy and smooth. At this point add about Â½ of the prepared pesto to start add more depending on how strong of a pesto taste desired.

String Beans with a Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing

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Aug 042009

Recently, I was given some fresh garden picked string beans. Growing up string beans were a staple in our house, although we really only ever had them served one way, steamed. I thought I would make this more into a summer salad instead.

1 Lb. of String Beans (cleaned with ends cut)

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Shallot

Â¼ Cup of Olive Oil

Juice from 1-2 Lemons

3 Teaspoons of Dijon Mustard

Salt and Pepper

Steam the string bean (about 2-3 minutes) and then quickly place in cold water to make sure they stop cooking. I chopped the Pepper finely but afterwards thought it would look nice if they were cut julienne style (thinly sliced lengthwise) and then chop the Shallot. In a small bowl mix together Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Mustard, and Salt & Pepper. (Start with one Lemon and then see if you need more and how much lemon you like- I am not a good gauge since I love LEMONS!) Now toss together dressing, string beans, shallots, and peppers. It also might be nice to add fresh tomatoes as tomato season is here. This is perfect for a summer BBQ!

Grilled Pineapple Soaked in Rum and Brown Sugar

Appetizers, Budget, Fruit, NYC, Sides, Sweets No Comments »

Jul 092009

This past holiday weekend I went home with some friends. Since having people over to my tiny apartment is really not an option, I thought I would take advantage of space at home and I do enjoy cooking with my mom. One of my friends who came had just finished business school, now I know she worked very hard but I also know she become enriched from her travels. Her suggestion was that we grill some rum soaked Pineapple for the BBQ.Â That this is what she had done every/one night on one of her vacations in school. While it was served as a snack at this bbq – it also serves as a great topping for burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches. What we also found out that some people liked the burned wedges since some of our slices were not perfectly cut. This was a brilliant idea and a huge success they were loved by all!

1 Whole Pineapple (with skin removed and sliced ½ inch thick)

1 Cup of Dark Rum

¾ Cup of Brown Sugar

Fresh Ginger Zest about 3 Teaspoons

½ Cup of Water to dissolve the sugar in

Combine all ingredients into Pyrex dish and let pineapple marinate for at least 1 hour. Grill pineapple on each side for 1 minute.

Other ideas for flavoring: Honey, Lemon, Lime, Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, and Vanilla.

Peach Salsa Recipe

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Jun 112009

I was in South Carolina last week and when I was on the highway, I saw baskets of peaches on a truck. I was tickled pink about this sighting because I had totally forgotten I was in peach territory. Of course now I was on the lookout for where I could buy my own basket of peaches. Alas right before heading back to the airport I found a farmers markets and literally got a basket of peaches and took them back with me to NYC.

Now what to do with my peaches! I didnâ€™t want to make a cobbler had done that last week with some strawberries and rhubarb. Salsa is what came to mind. I was also told that grilled peaches were greatâ€¦but I didnâ€™t have access to a grill.

2 Peaches (diced into small cubes)

Â½ Green Bell Pepper (diced into small cubes)

Â½ Red Onion (diced into small cubes)

2-3 Tablespoons ofÂ Chopped Cilantro

Juice from two Limes

JalapeÃ±o Pepper (that depends on the level of spice you would likeâ€¦I got a little too aggressive when I made this Salsa!)

Mix all of the ingredients together and ready to serve. What I loved were all the colors together, I thought it looked so fresh and absolutely beautiful.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes Recipe

Appetizers, NYC, Recipes, Sides, Tomato, Uncategorized 2 Comments »

Apr 292009

Yes, it has been a while since I have writtenI have been thinking and cooking but just not writing. Well, with these two entries (Maple Blueberry Muffins/ Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes) I am back. Although, the season is a little early for tomatoes this past weekend’s heat and my burn definitely made me think it was summer time. It is always nice to find things that can be made in advance and be able to bring a full meal together. Recently, I was cooking dinner and I wanted to try my hand at slow roasting tomatoes knowing that they could cook all day while I was cleaning my apartment and reading the paper. This was something that was easy to prepare in the morning and by the afternoon my apartment was smelling like I had been slaving away in the kitchen all day.

Oven temperature 225

Tomatoes
Garlic (finely Chopped)
Basil (Chopped)
Thyme
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut tomatoes in half and place on a baking sheet. (I lined it with foil for easy cleaning.) Evenly distributed the thyme, basil, and garlic over the tomatoes. Drizzle with oil and top off with salt and pepper.
Now you can run out the door for the day and return to a fragrant home with a delicious side!

Pear Sauce

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Dec 022008

I first saw Pear Sauce served with a cheese souffle. I thought this was genius. I had never really thought about making Pear Sauce. This weekend I decided to try and was enormously please with the result. This is a perfect substitute for Apple Sauce.

2 Pears Peeled, Cored, and cut into 1/8 Pear Cubes
1 Tablespoon of Super Fine Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

Boil the pears for about 10-15 minutes (test with a fork that they soft.) Remove from water and place pear cubes in a blender. Add sugar and cinnamon and blend together until smooth. Let cool before serving. Makes about 1 1/2 Cups of Sauces

Roasted Butternut Squash

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Oct 162008

Recently, I was given a home grown butternut squash. I like butternut squash but have to admit I am not the biggest fan. I want to be a big fan but just have not been able to get on board. But I finally figured out my problem. It is quite evident that I have a sweet tooth. Well when it comes to butternut squash outside of soup I usually have it prepared using brown sugars or maple syrups. What I discovered is, I like my butternut squash salty. Butternut Squash I think is one of those great vegetables for a few reasons: they last a long time, have great color, and can be simply prepared. So how did I learn to love it, by just roasting it.

Take a butternut squash peel the skin off, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Thinly slice the squash about 1/8 inch and place on a baking sheet. I lined mine with tin foil. Brush one side with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

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