Fast Winter White Bean Stew

March is my least favorite month. That tender time of year when I'm most desperate for relief, but least likely to get it. Right now there are two deep ruts in the solid block of ice that is my alley. I whisper a feeble prayer every time I try to make it inside my garage, because it feels like I'm jumping the wagon tracks in a Pioneer-era buggy. I'm pretty sure the Oregon Trail was more forgiving. The ice may melt by and by, smoothing out the ruts, but hey! Didn't you hear? Another snowstorm is on its way.

T.S. Eliot had it wrong–March is by far the cruelest month.

I realize this is a terrible introduction to a recipe, but I can't help but be honest.

This is one of my go-to, brainless winter meals. The kind of dish I make on a damp, chilly winter night when my spirits are low and my body is tired. Why does it work so well? Well, it's easy, it's ridiculously fast, and I'm likely to have the ingredients on hand. It's also a rare recipe whose taste exceeds the effort you put in to it. I sometimes wonder, does it taste better in proportion to how exhausted I am? It kind of does.

(Oh my god. Since the time I began typing this, it has started snowing... I think I know what's for dinner tonight.)

Fast Winter White Bean Stew

From the January 2007 issue of Gourmet 

Ingredients

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup plus 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 (14- to 15-oz) can stewed tomatoes, coarsely cut with kitchen shears right in the can (save the juice)

1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 (19-oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)

1 (1/2-lb) piece baked ham (1/2 to 3/4" thick), cut into 1/2" cubes

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 (5-oz) bag baby arugula (10 cups loosely packed)

8 (3/4"-thick) slices baguette

Preparation

This recipe works best if you measure and chop all the ingredients before you start cooking. Pour a glass of wine, start prepping, and you'll have dinner ready in 20 minutes, I promise.

Cook garlic in 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until golden and fragrant, about 60 seconds. If you haven't already, coarsely cut up tomatoes in can with kitchen shears, then add (with juice) to garlic in oil. Stir in broth, beans, ham, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.

While stew is simmering, preheat broiler. Put bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Broil 3-4 inches from heat until golden, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Or, bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until toasted.

Place arugula in the bottom of each bowl and top with stew. Alternately, you can mix the entire portion of arugula into the stew, but it makes for better leftovers to add the greens after the fact (My husband minds soggy arugula, I guess, thought it makes no difference to me).

Serve stew with toasts.

P.S. To all of my dear friends with March birthdays: I love you, you're fabulous, and I really wish you would throw an annual birthday party in Mexico.

Happy Weekend!

After some long-awaited, incredibly happy news, my heart feels like this: 

It's going to be a very good weekend. I hope you have a good one, too!

A Valentine's Day Tradition

There are some holidays I rarely get right (New Year's Eve, I'm looking at you. Halloween, let's not even go there.). But Valentine's Day? I've got it figured out. Sure, you can look at Valentine's Day as a Hallmark holiday. Yet another crass commercialization of real human emotion. All those jewelry commercials... god, they're terrible. 

But what if Valentine's Day was just a simple, romantic night? No pressure to get the most impressive restaurant reservation or tickets to the most original Valentine's-themed event in town before it sells out. What if you just made a special dinner at home? And what if cooking the dinner together was half the fun? Three years ago I stumbled upon this combination and I'm never looking back. I love a good tradition, especially when it involves food.

Spaghetti and meatballs are soooo easy, yet soooo good. The time it takes to make the meatballs and the care you must take in buying the right ingredients make it a special meal. But not Lobster tail-special; you'll still be able to afford a nice bottle of wine to go with dinner. Push aside your associations of Lady and the Tramp. Don't laugh. Just let me tell you how it's done. 

First, turn on some music. I've made it easy for you. Listen to my Spotify playlist here (it's a little heavy on the Italian crooners).  

Second, pour a couple glasses of wine. This is going to be fun. Set the table, so it will be ready when you're finished cooking. Light some candles and dim the lights in the dining room.

Now, grab your Valentine and get ready to make some meatballs!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated's Italian Classics

For the meatballs :

2 slices white sandwich bread (crusts removed), torn into small pieces (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 pound ground beef

1/4 pound ground pork

1/4 pound ground veal

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp minced Italian flat-leaf parsley

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp finely minced garlic

3/4 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1-1 1/4 cups vegetable oil for pan-frying the meatballs

For the tomato sauce:

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano, if you can find them)

1 Tbsp minced fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the pasta:

1 pound spaghetti

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and minced basil to garnish the finished dish
1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil for the pasta. 

2. Make the meatballs. The best part. Combine the breadcrumbs and buttermilk in a small bowl. Set aside for at least 10 minutes, mashing the mixture occasionally with a fork, to form a paste. In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, egg yolk, garlic, salt and ground pepper. Work the ground meats evenly into the mixture. Add the soaked breadcrumbs and combine until evenly mixed.

A note about mixing: the best way to make meatballs is with your (freshly washed) bare hands. To keep the meat tender, you'll want to use the lightest touch possible. Just embrace 

the messiness– it's part of the fun!

Form the meat into 1 1/2" meatballs. You should end up with about 14.

3. Pour vegetable oil into a large non-stick frying pan to a depth of 1/4". Turn the heat to medium high and when the oil sizzles, add the meatballs in a single layer. Fry, turning as necessary, until the meatballs are nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. You may need to do a few batches. Transfer the browned meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate.

4. Make the sauce in the same pan you used for the meatballs. Discard the oil, but leave the brown bits behind, because they'll add flavor. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and add the garlic when hot. Stir, scraping up the brown bits, for about 30 seconds, or until the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomatoes carefully (the oil may splatter if it's too hot) and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in the minced basil and the salt and pepper to taste. Add the meatballs and simmer over medium to low heat, until heated through. Keep the sauce warm over low heat.

5. When the pasta water comes to a rolling boil, add the spaghetti. Look at the package and see how long it recommends cooking the pasta until al dente. Set your timer for two minutes less than they recommend (this trick almost always works when I cook pasta). Check when the timer goes off and drain the pasta if al dente. Shake off any excess water and return the pasta to the pot. Ladle several large spoonfuls of sauce over the pasta (no meatballs) and toss to coat, then spoon some pasta into a low bowl, top with a little more sauce and however many meatballs you like. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and minced basil.

The recipe makes 4 generous servings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a peaceful holiday with your loved ones. May the turkey be juicy, the gravy rich and the pie plentiful! And may your sense of gratitude last far beyond this day.

Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well

To anyone out there feeling panicked and overwhelmed. To anyone catching themselves fantasizing about hopping on a one-way flight out of town this Thursday morning. To anyone who volunteered (willingly or unwillingly) to cook this year's Thanksgiving dinner, but now finds themselves a churning mess of regret, this book is for you. 

There is hope! Pick up a copy of Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well and let Sam Sifton man the controls of this turbulent turkey day aircraft. I am certain he will bring you in with a smooth landing. From the very opening pages his confident, yet comforting voice is there to soothe:

"We should all celebrate Thanksgiving and we should all strive to make it great. The holiday is not perfect. It does not always work out. But it comes every year with promise and possibility, and this book is going to help you get closer to happiness and cheer than you have ever gotten in the past. Everything will be all right. This most of all is the message of Thanksgiving. Everything really will be all right."

I love this book for its wit and its honesty. I love how Sifton lays down the law on what he considers Thanksgiving-appropriate and what he does not (he makes no bones about it here). But more than anything I love that he gives readers a completely sensible roadmap, with recipes, that pretty much guarantee you're not going to screw the holiday up.

It's said every year. But it's really true. The point of Thanksgiving is to be thankful. To fully recognize the blessings you have and be grateful for them. So go roast a turkey and make a pie and gather with your loved ones. Enjoy the fact that we have a national holiday solely devoted to eating. And if your turkey's too dry, there's always next year (Try brining. It works!).

p.s. You may also find Mr. Sifton generously doling out advice here.