BrokeAss Gourmet

BrokeAss Gourmet

Pasta with Brown Butter, Green Beans and Egg

  • Prep Time 0:05
  • Cook Time 0:25
  • Estimated Cost $6
  • 15 Comments

This pasta dish is simplicity at its most delicious. Or, in my case, the results of a near-empty fridge combined with a total lack of interest in grocery shopping. Chewy cellentani and tender-crisp haricots verts, and a silky are topped with an oozing poached egg, the yolk of which transforms into a gorgeous sauce when it meets the pasta’s nutty brown butter. A sprinkle of pepper is all it needs as a finish, but a shaving of Parmesan or even a crumble of goat cheese or feta would work nicely.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. cellentani (or another dense, small cut of pasta, such as penne or rotelli) $1.50 for 16 oz.
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter $1 for a stick
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped Pantry
  • 6 oz. haricots verts or green beans, trimmed and cut into 3" pieces $1.50
  • 4 eggs $1.50 for 6
  • 3 tbsp white vinegar $2 for 12 oz
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Recipe Serves 4

Directions

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, according to directions.
  2. While pasta cooks, heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, just until it begins to brown.
  3. Ad the garlic and haricots verts or green beans and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Once the pasta has finished cooking, use a slotted spoon or pasta spoon to remove from the hot water (leave the heat on). 
  5. Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan and toss gently with the brown butter and haricot verts or green beans. Keep warm over low heat.
  6. Reduce the pasta water's medium-high, so you have a very light boil. Stir the vinegar into the water and use a wooden spoon or spatula to gently create a whirlpool in the water. Crack an into a ramekin and then gently slide it into the center of the whirlpool (the whirlpool will help keep most of the whites intact while the egg poaches). 
  7. Cook the egg for about 4 minutes, then gently remove with a slotted spoon and let rest gently on a plate. 
  8. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
  9. Season the pasta with salt and pepper to taste, then divide between 4 bowls/plates. Since the poached eggs will have been cooling down for a few minutes, gently slide them (at the same time is fine) into the hot water for about 20 seconds, to warm them up. 
  10. Remove with a slotted spoon, then quickly slide onto the hot pasta mixture. Use a knife to gently open each egg to release the yolk, top with more pepper, then serve immediately.

Category: Meals

Tags: , , , , , ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Bacon-Spinach Soup with Parmesan

  • Prep Time 0:10
  • Cook Time 0:25
  • Estimated Cost $10.50
  • 14 Comments

This smoky, creamy, green soup is much more than the sum of its parts. Just a few strips of flavorful bacon transform a whopping 2 lbs of spinach into a decadent, addictive soup. Nutty Parmesan pulls it all together beautifully. Serve this with a salad and some crusty bread as an easy (but special) dinner.

Ingredients

  • 4 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 2" strips $2
  • 1 medium onion, diced $0.50
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped Pantry
  • 2 lbs fresh spinach, chopped $1.50
  • 1 16-oz. can chicken broth $1.50
  • 2/3 cup half-and-half *$1.50 for a pint
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided $3.50 for 10 oz.
  • salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Recipe Serves 4

Directions

  1. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon slices and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until brown. 
  2. Remove 2 of the 2" strips and set aside (leave the rest in the pot). 
  3. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant. 
  4. Add the spinach and cook, stirring continuously, for 4-5 minutes, until it begins to wilt.
  5. Add the chicken broth, stir well and cover pot. 
  6. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes, until the spinach has broken down.
  7. Puree mixture, using a blender, food processor until completely smooth and return to the pot (this can also be done directly in the pot, using an immersion blender). 
  8. Stir in the half-and-half and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very creamy and thickened. 
  9. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and stir well. 
  10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Crumble the reserved bacon pieces and set aside.
  12. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a few pinches of the reserved Parmesan and a sprinkle of the crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Category: Meals

Tags: , , , , ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Goat Cheese-Olive Ravioli with Meyer Lemon Sauce

  • Prep Time 1:00
  • Cook Time 0:20
  • Estimated Cost $15.50
  • 9 Comments

Sometimes, I’m not very good at expressing my feelings. Especially if I’m nervous, I’ll freeze up and choke on my words. It’s not very cute.

Fortunately, heart-shaped foods help streamline the process—heart-shaped ravioli in particular. Because maybe I don’t know how to tell you that I love you, or even that I just really like you, but check it out: I just made you homemade ravioli in the shape of a heart.

Some girls buy cuff links. I make pasta. Happy Valentines Day.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling Pantry
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten $1.50 for 6
  • salt Pantry
  • water, as needed 
  • 2/3 cup Kalamata olives, finely chopped $2.50 for 12 oz.
  • 4 oz. creamy goat cheese $3.50 for 5 oz.
  • 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish $3.50 for 8 oz.
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish $1 for a bunch
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter $1.50 for a stick
  • 1 cup half-and-half $1.50 for a pint
  • zest of 1 Meyer lemon $0.50
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste Pantry 

Recipe Serves 2

Directions

  1. Combine flour, eggs, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp water in a mixing bowl. Stir until a ball of dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times, then return to the bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
  2. While the dough rests, combine the olives, goat cheese, Parmesan and parsley. Stir well to thoroughly mix, and set aside.
  3. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 2 equal balls. Use a rolling pin or a pasta roller to roll each ball out as thinly as possible. There is no need to roll the dough balls into a specific shape--just make sure they're similar shapes, as you're eventually going to drape one over the other.
  4. Set one of the dough sheets aside on a floured or parchment-lined tray or cutting board. You'll use it shortly.
  5. Now, this next part depends on the size of your cookie cutter or ravioli stamp. Since I made this for Valentines Day, I used a 3" heart-shaped cookie cutter. If you're doing the same (or something similar), place rounded teaspoonfuls of the filling about 3 inches apart on the first sheet of dough (if your cutter/stamp is a different size, adjust as needed). Use a pastry brush or a clean finger to dab water around the little mounds of filling.
  6. Carefully drape the second sheet of dough over the first one, pressing gently to attach the dough around each mound of filling.
  7. Line a tray or platter with parchment paper or a sprinkling of flour and set next to your work area. Use your cookie cutter or ravioli stamp to carefully cut out the raviolis and transfer to the prepared tray or platter. Once all the raviolis have been cut, gather the scraps, divide into two balls, re-roll the dough and repeat the ravioli-making process until you run out of dough. (If you have any filling left, spread it on crostini--it's delicious).
  8. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium high, so the boil is gentle. Working in batches, cook the raviolis for 4-5 minutes, until very tender. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a clean plate. Continue until all raviolis are cooked.
  9. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the half-and-half, 1 tsp salt, the lemon zest and a generous pinch of pepper. Stir well and continue swirling and stirring until the sauce thickens. Turn the heat off.
  10. Add the cooked raviolis to the warm sauce and swirl the pan a few times to coat.
  11. Divide the raviolis between 2 plates, top with a sprinkling of parsley and Parmesan and serve immediately.

Category: Meals

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls with Candied Bacon

  • Prep Time 0:25
  • Cook Time 0:16
  • Estimated Cost $9.25
  • 12 Comments

I know everyone freaks out about what to do for dinner on Valentines Day, but if you ask me, the day is really all about breakfast.

My mom used to make the most wonderful Valentines Day breakfast for Jeremy and me. She’d cover the breakfast table with candy hearts, hand-written cards and all kinds of chocolate. We’d scurry off to school, already high on sugar, feeling all kinds of loved.

These easy cinnamon rolls are outrageously good. Gooey in all the right places and topped with a generous spoonful of real cream cheese glaze and orgasmically tasty candied bacon. Consider them my breakfast Valentine to you, dear readers. I want you to feel all kinds of loved.

Ingredients

  • 8 tbsp (1 stick) room temperature unsalted butter, divided (retain the wrapper) $1.50
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon $1.50 for 1 oz.
  • 2/3 cup sugar Pantry
  • flour for rolling Pantry
  • 1 recipe pizza dough $1.50
  • 3 oz. room temperature cream cheese $1.50 for 6 oz.
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar $1.50 for 16 oz.
  • a few drops of vanilla optional
  • 1/2 recipe Candied Bacon, chopped $1.75

Recipe Serves 8-10

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using the butter wrapper, grease an 9"x11" baking dish and set aside.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together 5 tbsp of the butter, the cinnamon and the sugar, until a smooth paste forms. Set aside.
  3. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle that is approximately 13" x 10".
  4. Use a rubber scraper to spread the butter-sugar mixture all over the surface of the rectangle.
  5. Pinching as you go, roll the dough up tightly, into an 10" cylinder.
  6. Use a sharp knife to cut the cylinder into 10 1"-thick slices and arrange them in the prepared baking dish.
  7. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown.
  8. While the cinnamon rolls bake, beat together the remaining 3 tbsp butter, the cream cheese, the powdered sugar and the vanilla (if using), until smooth and creamy. Add a few drops of warm water, if needed, to thin out slightly.
  9. Just before serving, spoon the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls and top each one with a generous portion of the chopped candied bacon.
  10. Serve immediately.

Category: Meals

Tags: , , , , ,

Share this Recipe: Share on Facebook • Tweet This! • Pin it on Pinterest