Baby Arugula | I Can Cook That

Sauteed Hen of the Woods Mushrooms

Note: I was sent a copy of The Freds at Barneys New York Cookbook for review. All opinions are mine alone.

The Freds at Barneys New York Cookbook is the definitive cookbook by the celebrated chef and managing director (Mark Strausman) of Freds at Barneys New York, one of New York’s most beloved restaurants with locations in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Barneys New York, with its flagship store on Madison Avenue, is a world-famous cutting-edge fashion destination, and a true New York phenomenon. And since 1996, Barneys’ restaurant Freds at Barneys New York–named after found Barneys Pressman’s son Fred–has been offering in food what Barneys offers in fashion: a luxury destination that provides a level of personal service second to none, where the food keeps their celebrity clientele coming back for more.

In The Freds at Barneys Cookbook, Strausman invites you into the kitchen of this restaurant institution and teaches you how to bring a piece of New York chic into your own home. The cookbook is filled with awesome recipes from the restaurant, such as Belgian Fries or Estelle’s Chicken Soup, Mark’s Madison Avenue Salad or Chicken Paillard, Traditional Bolognese (or Vegan!) or Cheese Fondue Scrambled Eggs, and commemorates all of the delicious recipes Freds has served over the years at the Madison Avenue, Chelsea, Beverly Hills, and Chicago locations.

This recipe for sauteed hen of the woods mushrooms caught my eye. I love mushrooms, especially hen of the woods mushrooms. Also known as maitake mushrooms, these mushrooms have a feathery texture but pack some hearty flavor.

Ingredients:

1 pound hen of the woods mushrooms
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups baby arugula
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, sliced
6 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
Shaved slices Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

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Arugula Pizza with Poached Eggs

May is (was) National Egg Month, and, well, the month of May ended more abruptly than I was expecting. So, happy June, and happy belated National Egg Month! (This Friday, June 3rd, is National Egg DAY though, so you can celebrate your little heart out then.)

I love using eggs in dinner recipes, because I don’t get much opportunity for a nice sit down breakfast with eggs. This Cooking Light recipe is the perfect eggs-for-dinner meal — Arugula Pizza topped with Poached Eggs.

Nellie’s eggs sent me some coupons, plus a cool little kit that included a t-shirt, stress egg, and a gift card so that I could try their eggs in a post, and this recipe seemed like the perfect opportunity. Nellie’s are free range, the hens are never caged, and have as much or as little access to the outside as they’d like.

Nellie’s works with over 40 independent, family owned and operated farms to provide their free range eggs produced from Certified Humane Free Range hens that are antibiotic and hormone free.

You can find where Nellie’s eggs are sold here.

On to the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 (11-ounce) package refrigerated pizza crust dough (suggested: thin crust)
Cooking spray
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shaved fresh Romano cheese, divided
1 tablespoon white vinegar
6 large Nellie’s free range eggs
2-3 ounces baby arugula
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
grated fresh lemon rind from 1 lemon
fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Bacon, Tomato, and Arugula (BLT) Pizza

I haven’t made a pizza recipe on here in a while (since October! Wow!) so it’s about time I rectified that! I honestly would not have typically chosen this recipe from my latest Cooking Light magazine, but my boyfriend spotted it on the cover and put in a special request. He typically eats whatever I decide to make without complaint, so I figured I could make something out of my typical repertoire just this once 🙂

This BLT Pizza is pretty self explanatory: pizza with bacon, “lettuce” (arugula), roasted tomatoes, and even a mayo base. It does take some time to make though (~1 hour) so either plan accordingly on a weeknight or save this recipe for a weekend!

This is also the first time I used a pizza stone (very exciting, I know). I’ve apparently had this little guy for a while but completely forgot about it! If you don’t have a pizza stone, just use a large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Ingredients:

1 pound ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup canola mayonnaise

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

2 garlic cloves, grated

4 center-cut bacon slices, cut in half

10 ounce fresh pizza dough

1 tablespoon cornmeal (if needed)

2 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup baby arugula

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Prosciutto Fig and Arugula Flatbread

!This weekend, I attended a conference in Philadelphia. As a “local blogger” I received quite a few food perks due to my proximity to the conference. I was sent home with a case of Gerolsteiner Mineral Water, a whole watermelon (and a heavy one at that!), and a case of fresh California Mission Figs. Poor me, right? 🙂

So. Figs don’t last terribly long which means I might have a few fig posts in a row. But figs are so much more versatile than you expect and can be really quite fantastic in a savory dish, especially in this Prosciutto, Fig, and Arugula Flatbread!

Flatbreads are a great weeknight meal, although you have to let your dough sit out at room temperature for at least an hour. So, more specifically, they are great for nights where you get home in time to leave out the dough, go do some chores/errands, and then want to whip up a quick meal.

Whenever I think of figs, my mind immediately goes to bacon-wrapped figs (I’ve done a post in the past with bacon-wrapped dates which I used as a substitute for figs in case you have any interest), which can be easily translated from an appetizer into a main meal by turning the recipe into a flatbread. When visiting my boyfriend’s brother last summer, they made us an absolutely delicious grilled flatbread with prosciutto, figs, and goat cheese which was my inspiration for this dish. I added some baby arugula and a balsamic reduction as well to give it a little more bite.

Ingredients (serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as an appetizer):

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
8 oz dough, at room temperature
cornmeal for dusting (or flour)
olive oil
6 oz crumbled goat cheese
3-4 mission figs, thinly sliced
1 oz prosciutto, torn into thin strips
1/4 cup lightly packed baby arugula
salt and pepper, to taste
grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

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Radish and Arugula Crostini with Brie

Supposedly Spring started this past Wednesday. And yet, meteorologists in the Philadelphia area do not expect the temperature to go above 50 degrees for the foreseeable future. AND it’s supposed to snow on Sunday/Monday. What the heck?! Well, I’m sick of waiting for spring to arrive so I’ve decided to make it spring in my kitchen. Cooking Light seems to agree with me, and the April issue has a ton of recipes using the best of spring’s produce. This Radish and Arugula Crostini recipe immediately caught my eye; not only is it beautiful, but the ingredients give me hope that warmer weather is on it’s way.

This recipe is also really simple. I made this as a quick appetizer to bring to a friends house and was able to make the entire recipe in 20 minutes!

Ingredients:

16 (1/2-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette (6 ounces)
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups sliced radishes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces Brie cheese (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup baby arugula leaves

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