Easy Entertaining with Trader Joe’s

As I mentioned in the previous post, my mother-in-law is an expert at using Trader Joe’s ingredients to make quick and flavorful meals. She says, “The joy of Trader Joe’s is that you can take their ingredients, be creative, and in 15 minutes have a dish cooking that is worthy of being served to company.” Her revised book concept is Dinner Party Dishes with Five Ingredients from Trader Joe’s

During our visit she had an opportunity to cook us one of her delicious creations. With a mix of fresh, canned, and prepared foods she put together a full meal with appetizers, salad, entree, vegetable side, and dessert. The meal preparation was quick and everything was ready in advance of our dinner guests’ arrival.

Our appetizers included assorted olives, hummus and whole wheat crackers, and a spinach pie. The spinach pie can be found in the freezer section. After baking in the oven, my mother-in-law cut the rectangular pie into small squares for serving. Inside the flaky pastry crust was a savory mixture of spinach, feta, and spices.

Main course on top and spinach pie on bottom.

After finishing up with the appetizers we moved on to the main meal. First up, a mixed green salad chock full of cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions, garbanzo beans, and flavored mixed nuts (with herbs & spices). I contributed a quick salad dressing to top it off. She had picked up an assortment of infused olive oils during our trip to North Market along with a divided serving dish. We sampled four of the oils as part of the salad course. A crusty French baguette was the perfect dipper to try all of the oils.

The meal was straight from the pages of her soon to be written cookbook! The ingredient that inspired this dish was frozen ravioli. My mother-in-law was thinking about a baked ravioli dish that she had growing up in New York. Using Trader Joe’s ingredients, some lemon olive oil we had picked up at North Market and a few things out of the fridge, she put together a layered baked ravioli dish that was hearty, flavorful, and quite impressive! The baked ravioli was full of vegetables, so a simple side dish was all that we needed. She steamed fresh green beans and tossed them in a little lemon olive oil with salt and pepper for the side.

We enjoyed a lively conversation while we devoured dinner. It was hard to stop eating, but we knew that we still had dessert on the way!

My mother-in-law has a go-to dessert that she uses when entertaining. It’s an elegant (and healthy) dish that requires just a little assembly. She fills an ice cream dish with a slice of fat-free pound cake, a dollop of fruit preserves, a generous amount of fresh berries, and tops it off with whipped cream. But no dinner party is complete without multiple desserts. We also enjoyed some rugelach and carrot cake.

Sans whipped cream

This meal was quick to prepare, delicious to eat, and everyone was satisfied (and quite full) at the end of the night. The next time you’re stuck in a cooking rut or short on time and don’t know what to make, just head to Trader Joe’s to put together a great meal! And don’t forget to ask my mother-in-law for her recipe!

Baked Ravioli
2 packages Trader Joe’s frozen ravioli (any flavor, we used one package of asparagus and one package of sundried tomato)
1 jar Trader Joe’s bruschetta mix
1 jar crushed tomatoes
1 can artichokes
1 cup sliced mushrooms (leftover from the salad)
A few tablespoons of lemon olive oil
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large oval casserole dish, spread olive oil in the bottom (covering the entire dish)
Pour the jar of bruschetta in the dish and spread evenly
Place raviolis in a single layer on top of the bruschetta
Spread the artichokes on top of the raviolis
Top the artichokes with another layer of ravioli
Add the mushrooms next
Top with a third layer of ravioli
Spread the crushed tomatoes on top, covering all of the ravioli
Bake for 20-25 minutes until heated through
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown
Serve directly from the casserole dish

Summary:
Prep time: 10 minutes (opening jars & packages)
Cook time: 20-30 minutes
Casserole dish, serving utensils

Quick and Easy Salad Dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt, pepper

Add all ingredients into a small salad dressing bottle or dish with a lid
Shake vigorously until well combined
Toss with salad

Easy & Healthy Dessert
Slices of fat free pound cake or angel food cake
Fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, washed
Fruit preserves (cherry, strawberry, or raspberry
Whipped cream

Place a slice of cake in the bottom of a dessert dish
Add a spoonful of fruit preserves
Add a generous amount of berries
Top with a swirl of whipped cream

Columbus Eats

This past weekend we took a quick weekend trip to visit the hubby’s parents in Columbus, Ohio. They are frequent visitors to Boston so we haven’t been to Columbus in about 3 years. Like I do before any trip (or weekend for that matter), I did a little research on the must-not-miss food spots in our destination. In my research I learned that there are 40 taco trucks in Columbus (40!) and they have a dedicated website. There is also a website dedicated to Street Eats in Columbus. I also put out a tweet asking for suggestions. One of my sorority sisters referred me to a friend, who sent over a few great suggestions including the delicious Jeni’s Ice Cream. I tweeted back the Jeni’s was already on our list and about an hour later Jeni’s tweeted with flavor recommendations. The power of social media!

We arrived Saturday and headed straight to North Market. The market was established in the late 1800’s as the second of four public markets in Columbus. After moving to various locations around the neighborhood the market landed in its current location, an old farm equipment warehouse. Open in this location since 1995 the market is a lively home to farmers, small businesses, bakers, fishmongers, restaurateurs, and more. According to the website, more than a million visitors go through each year!

In my online scouting I checked out the merchants at the market. I knew we would be visiting Jeni’s Ice Cream’s original spot and wanted to see who else was in the market.

Taste of Belgium and Kitchen Little Poultry and Game. The result of this partnership? Chicken and waffles of course! I’ve been on a chicken and waffles kick lately, mainly a result of the Fillbelly’s Chicken and Waffle truck being parked outside of work. The liege waffle was sugary and delicious. The buttermilk marinated chicken cutlet came direct from the cast iron skillet onto my waffle. It was topped with a generous pour of maple syrup and a good dose of hot sauce (on the side so I could share). Just look at how beautiful it was:

We spent some time walking around the market after lunch. My mother in law picked up a delicious assortment of flavored olive oils and a beautiful dish in which to serve them. I stopped to pick up some black popcorn from Pam’s Market Popcorn. They had quite an assortment of kernels: purple, rainbow, red, yellow, and black. Just next to the popcorn stand was a brand new shop, North Market Spices. This sun-filled space was stocked floor to ceiling with fragrant spices and dried herbs. The woman at the stand asked me about my purse (she said her daughter in law would love it), and I asked her if she was the owner of the stand. It turns out that her son was the owner. She had always encouraged her sons to cook and they loved being in the kitchen. He had stepped out of the shop for minute, but when he came back his mom pointed out my purse and told him I was asking her about his experience. He enthusiastically told me that he opened in August and has been busy ever since. They source their spices from all over the world, but try to have some local ingredients. They were looking forward to adding local herbs during the spring.  I picked up a bag of culinary lavender from nearby Urbana, OH along with some green chili powder and a za’atar spice blend to add to my spice cabinet.

Our last stop before leaving the market was, of course, Jeni’s Ice Cream! Since we were last there, Jeni’s was named one of the best ice creams in America! Thanks to their twitter recommendation we knew we wanted to try the seasonal flavors. After mini-spoonfuls of goat cheese & fig, olive oil & sea salted pepitas, and cherry lambic we made our choice. The hubby and his dad went with sweet cream with Appalachian elderberries. I chose the sweet potato with torched handmade marshmallow in a waffle cone. If we had more time in our visit, I would have gone back to try them all!

One of the other recommendations sent my way was for the Northstar Cafe. It turns out that my in-laws love this place and we headed there for Sunday brunch. The menu was small, but offered a good variety of options.  You order at the counter and then your food is delivered to your table steaming hot from the kitchen.  They did something I wish all restaurants would do - they kept the coffee mugs on a warming plate. That meant the coffee stayed hot all the way to the last sip.  Our breakfast choices included sweet potato turkey hash with fried eggs, hearth baked wild mushroom frittata with gruyere, rosemary potatoes and a fluffy biscuit, and cloud 9 pancakes (with ricotta). It was relaxed, tasty, and filled us up until dinner.

Stay tuned for our Sunday night dinner! My mother-in-law is an expert at using Trader Joe's ingredients to make quick and flavorful meals.  She was disappointed that there are already a number of Trader Joe's cookbooks out there (she wanted to write her own!), but she's changed her proposed cookbook title to: Quick and Easy Entertaining Ideas with Trader Joe's.  You don't want to miss her first recipe - coming up this weekend!

New Holiday Favorite: Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs

Last year I went to sunny San Diego for a conference and flew out a few days early to spend the weekend with my sister- and brother-in-law in LA. Since my now nephew Sammy was two weeks away from entering the world, we had a low-key, relaxing weekend. When my brother-in-law Jim and I headed to the store for a lunch pickup I added the final print edition of Gourmet to our cart. I read the delicious Thanksgiving issue cover to cover while he (I mean we) spent the afternoon watching USC football.

One of the recipes I flagged was for beet pickled deviled eggs. It sounded intriguing. I had just started experimenting with beets last year and eggs are one of my top 3 favorite foods (bread, cheese, eggs). I was pretty sure that I had never made deviled eggs before and it wasn’t something that we grew up eating in my family. Since we were hosting Thanksgiving last year, I decided to add them to the menu. To my surprise, they were gone in almost no time! Here’s a look at the one picture I got last year before they were gone.

Fast forward to October 2010. We were headed to St. Louis to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. Because they read about the Good Cook Doris adventure online and don’t get to experience it I knew I wanted to contribute something to the big meal. But planning a TSA friendly dish is tricky! We had a non-stop flight, but that still means about 5 hours in transit and no liquids, sauce, pies, etc. I checked the TSA website and decided that the pickled eggs would make the cut. I prepared the pickling liquid and marinated the eggs from Tuesday night through Thursday morning right before we left for the airport.

Just before our cab arrived to pick us up, I drained the jars and packed them in an insulated bag for the journey. No liquids through security also means that you have to get creative in packing your cooler for the trip. I pulled out three packs of frozen chopped spinach and a bag of frozen peas that had kept my cooler of precious smoked salmon preserved on my last flight back to Boston from St. Louis (my brother smoked about 5 lbs of salmon for us – nice brother!). Since the frozen vegetables are solid they don’t raise any issues in the x-ray machines. They may ask to peek inside and joke that they might need to taste test the delicious looking salmon, but they will let you through without any trouble.

I’m happy to report that we arrived in St. Louis and unpacked a bag with still frozen vegetables and ice cold eggs. We arrived about 10 a.m. and guests were scheduled to arrive at 4 p.m. so I quickly got to work assembling. My brother had a great idea to quarter the eggs, instead of halve them. That way we would have enough for all 27 guests to taste (a smaller than usual group).

Here’s a look at assembly and then presentation. My mom keeps a well stocked fridge, so I found all of my ingredients waiting for me upon arrival (I did bring the caraway seed in my luggage).

She didn’t have a spare coffee/spice grinder, so I improvised. It worked pretty well!

Ready to be stuffed back into the eggs.

I made 14-15 eggs and saved the beets this year (I love pickled beets!). Here’s a look at the eggs awaiting guests.

The best compliment is that my 11 year old cousin, who said she wasn’t sure about beets (her mom doesn’t like them) or the funny colored eggs tried one and even ate one of the pickled beet pieces. I think she said, “it’s not that bad”. There was only one lonely quarter and a few beet pieces left at the end so I’ll call it a success!

I plan to make these for every party I host – they are delicious and it’s a blast to see people’s reactions to purple eggs! Yes, they do come from purple chickens.

Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2009

3 cups water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2-3 small beets, peeled and sliced into semi-circles about a quarter inch thick (I used more, because I wanted to eat the beets!)
1 small shallot, sliced (I used yellow onions, that’s all I had on hand)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Turkish or 1 California bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 hard-boiled large eggs, peeled
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted & cooled
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Add water, vinegar, beets, shallot/onions, sugar, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in a medium-large sauce pan
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes until the beets are tender
Uncover the mixture and cool completely
Divide your eggs into 2-3 wide mouth mason jars (or other non-reactive containers)
Put beet pieces in with eggs (just a few per jar) and make another jar with the leftover beets
Add the pickling liquid (unstrained) to each jar, filling it almost to the top
Seal lids and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, rotate the eggs one or two times a day, to ensure they get evenly colored

When you are ready to prepare for serving:

Finely grind caraway seeds in grinder. Or put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a hammer, rolling pin, or other implement
Remove eggs from beet mixture and pat dry (discard liquid, save beets if you desire)
Cut in half lengthwise, remove yolks carefully and place yolks in a large bowl
Add mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, and half of the caraway (1/2 teaspoon)
Mash the yolks with the additional ingredients until desired texture and season with salt and pepper
Using a spoon & small spatula, carefully fill each half with yolk mixture until all are filled & mixture is evenly distributed
Dip a sharp knife in water and slice the halves lengthwise into quarters
Sprinkle with remaining caraway seeds and extra parsley
Watch them disappear!

Summary:
Prep time: 15 minutes
Active Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus egg-cooking time)
Inactive Cook Time: 3 hours – 3 days
Assembly time: 30 minutes or more, depending on how cooperative the egg yolks are.
Cutting board & knife, sauce pan, spoon, mason jars & lids, non-staining spoons & spatulas, spice grinder/mortar and pestle/hammer, fork for mashing, bowl, spoon & spatula, serving platter