Creamed Spinach Ravioli and Eating for Beginners Giveaway!

This past October I attended the New York Public Library event The Locavore's Dilemma where I met Melanie Rehak and bought her book "Eating for Beginners." As you may have read in the post about the event, I thoroughly enjoyed reading her book and taking an adventure through the food system with her. Today I am writing about Rehak's book again because I've been given the opportunity to giveaway TWO copies of "Eating for Beginners" that has freshly arrived in paperback form! Her publisher was kind enough to send me two copies to giveaway to you, my readers! I know any of you will relate to Rehak and enjoy her prose and story, as well. The book is also a mini cookbook with one or two recipes after most sections. For the giveaway, I thought it would be a fun idea to make one of her recipes in a wild and crazy way and share it here. 



In autumn I made the tasty, heavily buttered and baconed Brussels sprouts that were a discussion point at the NYPL event and they came out great (page 186). The other recipe that always stood out to me from her book was her "Lucky Dog Creamed Spinach" (page 14, you could say I have a thing for green leafy vegetables slathered in butter). All of the recipes have a fun title like this that usually reflect where the ingredients came from or how the recipe came about. Lucky Dog is a farm that supplies produce to the place Rehak works throughout the book, applewood restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn. As part of Rehak's locavore education, she takes to tracing the ingredients in the restaurant back to their source and learning how they get from farm or sea to table. When she visits Lucky Dog she spends the cold, damp, pre-dawn day picking spinach out in the field. Upon arrival to work at the restaurant the next day, the very same spinach she helped pick had been delivered and ready to be used for the restaurant's dinner service. Rehak makes it into creamed spinach and Lucky Dog Creamed Spinach is born. 


Since there is a half pound of butter in her recipe and I wasn't expecting company- I decided I would quarter her recipe, make it for one and actually created creamed spinach raviolis from it with wonton wrappers I bought the other day. As odd as it sounds, the spinach mixture works really well as a ravioli filling. The béchamel around the spinach makes for a silky, hearty and flavorful inside to the raviolis. Don't have ricotta on hand? Use this instead! You could also add bits of meat or other vegetables to this. Little bits of bacon would add a meaty pop to each bite. 

PARIS Part III: Les Déjeuners et Les Dîners

As a student in Paris I only ate in restaurants when my parents came to visit. My breakfast and dinner during the week were included in my foyer (dormitory) stay and on the weekends I mostly got by eating baguettes with cheese for breakfast and lunch and crepes for dinner down along the Seine (you'll remember my foyer was located on Île Saint-Louis). So upon return, I was most excited to be able to eat at sit-down restaurants and finally order proper French fare (not the suspicious French cafeteria food I was served for dinner Monday through Friday). In the good company of Jocelin, Eddie, and my Scottish friends Chris and Paul all the meals I enjoyed in Paris were memorable and delectable. 

It all began my first day when I enjoyed a memory-jogging Nutella crêpe from the crêperie window on Île Saint-Louis. A hot custardy batter cooked to perfection and filled with melting globs of chocolate-hazelnut spread was a welcome first meal, admittedly too many hours after my arrival. The first bite immediately transported me to all the nights I meandered along the south bank of 'my island' nibbling a crêpe for dessert or as a weekend dinner. It was just like I remembered.

My late afternoon snack was followed by a classic bistro dinner at Chartier. A few guidebooks and David Lebovitz had recommended Chartier as an affordable place to enjoy traditional fare in a typical French brasserie setting. We began with a smooth meaty terrine:

Chicken Parmesan for Two

Many moons ago my sister, an unconditional lover of chicken, came up with a song that goes like this: 

"I love chicken, I love parm! 

I love my brother his name is John, put 'em together and whattya got? 

Chicken parmesan! Toot! Toot!"

Chicken parmesan is a family favorite and something I enjoy cooking every once in a while. I cook mostly for just me, so only one portion. Chicken parm is delicious left over and a great meal to share with someone special- so this recipe is for two! It is fast, easy, and has a comforting and delicious result. Get in the kitchen and cook with a friend, a family member or a lover. Enjoy your dinner with a bottle of wine, or my favorite with saucy Italian- a tall glass of skim milk! Happy Eating! 

Tender, moist Chicken Parm

Chicken Parmesan for Two

Spray oil

1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1 tablespoon flour

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs (fresh preferred)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 cup jarred tomato sauce, divided in half

Enough pasta for one or two people (depending on what you like)

3-4 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and a little spray oil. 

Boil a big enough pot of water for the amount of pasta you desire (Tip: Always use cold water from the tap when preparing to boil, it has less bacteria, etc).

Rinse your chicken with water and dry with a paper towel. Cut in half width wise on a cutting board (you can also butterfly these pieces to make the chicken even thinner). Using a meat tenderizer (or a hammer- feel free to get creative) beat each piece of chicken on a cutting board placing a piece of plastic wrap between the chicken and the tenderizer. The meat will flatten out.

Set up your flour, egg, and bread crumbs in three plates or shallow bowls. Dredge the pieces of chicken in the flour, coat with the egg, then coat with the bread crumbs. Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet. 

Using one half of the sauce, spoon as much as you like onto each piece of chicken. Top with the mozzarella, then the parmesan. (Some people, like my sister, enjoy their chicken without sauce and will maybe have sauce on the side to eat.)

Bake the chicken in the oven for 14-20 minutes (depending on how thick your cuts of meat are). The cheese should be just browned when it is done. 

While the chicken is in the oven, cook your pasta at the right time so it will be finished just before your chicken is ready to come out. Toss the pasta with the other half of tomato sauce. 

Serve the chicken atop the pasta. 

Enjoy!