I do make the food on my own, it's just not seven courses.
October 29, 2010 10:27 AM Subscribe
Special cooking for Mom question: please help, dinner tonight!
My mom has been fussy about me needing to "learn" to cook -- she's visiting me here in NYC and I want to make something simple for dinner along the lines of what I normally do, make a simple vegetabley sauce for packaged fresh pasta and call it a day. This is cooking in my book and I just want her to enjoy it and lay off. That's the summary!
I have cannelini beans, fresh tortellini, fresh thyme, garlic, onion, and fresh spinach, along with dried basil and oregano.
I'm going to saute the cannelini beans with thyme and garlic, add the spinach just enough to wilt it slightly and then put it on the cheese tortellini. Good? Additions? Tips?
My mom has been fussy about me needing to "learn" to cook -- she's visiting me here in NYC and I want to make something simple for dinner along the lines of what I normally do, make a simple vegetabley sauce for packaged fresh pasta and call it a day. This is cooking in my book and I just want her to enjoy it and lay off. That's the summary!
I have cannelini beans, fresh tortellini, fresh thyme, garlic, onion, and fresh spinach, along with dried basil and oregano.
I'm going to saute the cannelini beans with thyme and garlic, add the spinach just enough to wilt it slightly and then put it on the cheese tortellini. Good? Additions? Tips?
Response by poster: I'm not looking for what to make, I'm looking for what to do if anything to improve the preparation I've described above. Yes the beans are canned and I like the flavor of canned beans.
posted by sweetkid at 10:34 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by sweetkid at 10:34 AM on October 29, 2010
Best answer: So far it sounds like you know how to cook better than most people I know.
Something easy for an appetizer - get a loaf of french bread or similar, get a few slices, brush with a bit of olive oil, top with fresh mozzarella (the kind in a ball, not shredded), a basil leaf, maybe a bit of tomato. set them on a baking sheet under the broiler for a few minutes and you're good to go.
I'm not sure what she's worried about. A lot of people I know in their 30's wouldn't even know how to saute or heaven forbid wilt spinach.
posted by efalk at 10:35 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
Something easy for an appetizer - get a loaf of french bread or similar, get a few slices, brush with a bit of olive oil, top with fresh mozzarella (the kind in a ball, not shredded), a basil leaf, maybe a bit of tomato. set them on a baking sheet under the broiler for a few minutes and you're good to go.
I'm not sure what she's worried about. A lot of people I know in their 30's wouldn't even know how to saute or heaven forbid wilt spinach.
posted by efalk at 10:35 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you, or your mom, aren't vegetarians, then saute some bacon lardons before adding the beans. Remove the lardons and drain a little of the fat, but save some. Add some brunoised carrots (small 1/8" dice) and a little onion and saute. Add the beans (but make sure they are drained and completely dry before doing so or else it will come out watery). Add some garlic and shallots to the pan. along with fresh thyme and rosemary. Give it another minute or so until the garlic/shallots/herbs become fragrant. Add a little white wine to the pan to deglaze and reduce by about 1/2. Throw in the spinach and mix (make sure just to wilt the spinach and not overcook it). Add the cooked tortellini and the bacon to the pan and toss to coat.
posted by TheBones at 10:40 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by TheBones at 10:40 AM on October 29, 2010
I would not add dried herbs to this. Dried herbs really only last a couple of months in the pantry before they become completely flavorless. Also, I have only ever used dried herbs in dishes that take longer to cook as they need a little more time in the food to release their flavors.
posted by TheBones at 10:43 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by TheBones at 10:43 AM on October 29, 2010
Tips on what you're already planning, then:
Don't skimp on your olive oil, because plenty of oil makes it taste good.
Start with the onions and cook them slowly, over low-medium heat, until they're truly soft and truly golden. (Marcella Hazan has a line about this I like, something like "lower and slower" than you probably think.) Only then add the garlic. Cook for a moment more and then add your other ingredients.
I'm not sure I'd bother with the dried basil, it often adds more a sort of generic flavor of Driedness than anything else. Fresh thyme and dried oregano should be plenty and they go together nicely.
Perhaps a green salad to accompany, and/or good bread.
posted by redfoxtail at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2010
Don't skimp on your olive oil, because plenty of oil makes it taste good.
Start with the onions and cook them slowly, over low-medium heat, until they're truly soft and truly golden. (Marcella Hazan has a line about this I like, something like "lower and slower" than you probably think.) Only then add the garlic. Cook for a moment more and then add your other ingredients.
I'm not sure I'd bother with the dried basil, it often adds more a sort of generic flavor of Driedness than anything else. Fresh thyme and dried oregano should be plenty and they go together nicely.
Perhaps a green salad to accompany, and/or good bread.
posted by redfoxtail at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2010
Your dinner sounds very good to me, and sounds a lot like something I make pretty often.
My only suggestion to tart it up a bit: do you have a lemon handy? A bit of lemon zest (just the fragrant yellow layer, not the bitter white underneath) and a squeeze of lemon juice tossed in at the end would brighten up the flavors quite remarkably.
I use dried herbs and ground spices (for me, it's often oregano, rosemary, and chili powder, but that's purely personal) in this dish all the time with great success. I crush any leaves and add them to the oil as it heats in the pan, so the herb oils are released and they have plenty of time to blossom in the heat.
If you want to give the dish a slight hint of sauciness, ladle in a little of the pasta-cooking water when you're tossing the tortellini with the beans and greens and seasonings. It has just a tiny bit of body, and neutral flavor, so it loosens up the whole dish but doesn't bring any unwelcome or jarring flavors.
This is cooking in my book and I just want her to enjoy it and lay off. That's the summary!
The deliciousness of the dish and the success it has with your mother may be two separate issues. As I said, I make a similar dish often... and my own mother loves it, though it took her some time to get used to the idea that a dish of pasta with beans and greens was a real dinner; she grew up thinking that a proper meal has separate components: meat/protein, veg, starch. If that's where your mother is coming from, then it might be valuable to say (civilly, pleasantly, conversationally) something like "Well, we have very different cooking styles. This is what I love to cook! I'm so glad we have a chance to enjoy it together!"
posted by Elsa at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
My only suggestion to tart it up a bit: do you have a lemon handy? A bit of lemon zest (just the fragrant yellow layer, not the bitter white underneath) and a squeeze of lemon juice tossed in at the end would brighten up the flavors quite remarkably.
I use dried herbs and ground spices (for me, it's often oregano, rosemary, and chili powder, but that's purely personal) in this dish all the time with great success. I crush any leaves and add them to the oil as it heats in the pan, so the herb oils are released and they have plenty of time to blossom in the heat.
If you want to give the dish a slight hint of sauciness, ladle in a little of the pasta-cooking water when you're tossing the tortellini with the beans and greens and seasonings. It has just a tiny bit of body, and neutral flavor, so it loosens up the whole dish but doesn't bring any unwelcome or jarring flavors.
This is cooking in my book and I just want her to enjoy it and lay off. That's the summary!
The deliciousness of the dish and the success it has with your mother may be two separate issues. As I said, I make a similar dish often... and my own mother loves it, though it took her some time to get used to the idea that a dish of pasta with beans and greens was a real dinner; she grew up thinking that a proper meal has separate components: meat/protein, veg, starch. If that's where your mother is coming from, then it might be valuable to say (civilly, pleasantly, conversationally) something like "Well, we have very different cooking styles. This is what I love to cook! I'm so glad we have a chance to enjoy it together!"
posted by Elsa at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2010 [1 favorite]
(Or just the fresh thyme, no oregano. But definitely I'd pass on the dried basil.)
posted by redfoxtail at 10:52 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by redfoxtail at 10:52 AM on October 29, 2010
Best answer: Get stuff ready: drain the beans, slice some garlic (3 cloves), prep the spinach. Boil the pasta water and get it cooking ( check cooking times on the package.)
When the pasta is ~ 5 minutes from done:
Put a good whack of olive oil in the pan you're making sauce in. Like 4 tablespoons. Med heat.
Sautee sliced garlic til it starts to get just golden (do not let it get dark brown! Yuk!)
Add some dried hot pepper flakes, and sautee for another 30 sec or so
Add a cup or cup and a half of the pasta cooking water. Let it cook down a bit.
Drain the tortellini
Throw in the spinach, thyme, cannellini beans, and stir it up. Dump the tortellini in the pan with it, or them both back in the tortellini pot. Add another tablespoon or so of oilve oil.
(Note that there's barely any cooking for the spinach and beans. The beans just need to get warm, and the spinach just needs to wilt; you don't want to overdo it.)
Swoosh around, add black pepper and parmesan if you have it. Check the salt.
You're done.
posted by kestrel251 at 10:56 AM on October 29, 2010
When the pasta is ~ 5 minutes from done:
Put a good whack of olive oil in the pan you're making sauce in. Like 4 tablespoons. Med heat.
Sautee sliced garlic til it starts to get just golden (do not let it get dark brown! Yuk!)
Add some dried hot pepper flakes, and sautee for another 30 sec or so
Add a cup or cup and a half of the pasta cooking water. Let it cook down a bit.
Drain the tortellini
Throw in the spinach, thyme, cannellini beans, and stir it up. Dump the tortellini in the pan with it, or them both back in the tortellini pot. Add another tablespoon or so of oilve oil.
(Note that there's barely any cooking for the spinach and beans. The beans just need to get warm, and the spinach just needs to wilt; you don't want to overdo it.)
Swoosh around, add black pepper and parmesan if you have it. Check the salt.
You're done.
posted by kestrel251 at 10:56 AM on October 29, 2010
p.s. the pasta cooking water should be well salted, so your sauce may not need more salt.
posted by kestrel251 at 10:56 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by kestrel251 at 10:56 AM on October 29, 2010
(I agree with redfoxtail, whose comment posted seconds before mine: the dried basil doesn't seem like it would add much, and might detract from the dish. But the oregano should add plenty and play nicely with thyme.)
posted by Elsa at 10:59 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by Elsa at 10:59 AM on October 29, 2010
Much like Elsa, my family always considered that a "proper" meal has multiple dishes, so the garlic bread suggestion above or even a nice tossed salad might be a good addition - not too much work, so you can focus on the show-stopper centerpiece, but it's a good way to round out the meal to something more formal.
For this dish, I would also say be careful not to skimp on the olive oil; I like what redfoxtail said as well.
posted by Lady Li at 11:03 AM on October 29, 2010
For this dish, I would also say be careful not to skimp on the olive oil; I like what redfoxtail said as well.
posted by Lady Li at 11:03 AM on October 29, 2010
I think your plan is a good one, and I don't have a problem with the dried herbs, though I think that thyme is a better match with white beans that basil and oregano are. If it were me, I'd stick with the time, and would add a fresh sage leaf or two if it was available.
The only thing you're missing, IMO, is some lemon zest. Add it to the beans at the end, just before adding the beans to the pasta. It will really brighten up the dish.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:08 AM on October 29, 2010
The only thing you're missing, IMO, is some lemon zest. Add it to the beans at the end, just before adding the beans to the pasta. It will really brighten up the dish.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:08 AM on October 29, 2010
Jesus. Than basil and oregano are. Stick with the thyme.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:09 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by mudpuppie at 11:09 AM on October 29, 2010
Got any decent olive oil? If you do or can (and by decent I just mean it's green and cost more than five dollars), sprinkling that over the final product until it's lightly shiny, and then following up with some parmesan cheese you shave off a block with a vegetable peeler and some cracked black pepper (you can take whole peppercorns and whack them with a frying pan if you don't have a peppermill) will make it look impressive.
If you buy a bunch of fresh parsley, chop it roughly, and scatter than on top of that you'll be really wowsy.
And if you want to go for the gold, slice the garlic into little slivers and fry it in olive oil until it turns sand-colored, and sprinkle that on top too.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:20 AM on October 29, 2010
If you buy a bunch of fresh parsley, chop it roughly, and scatter than on top of that you'll be really wowsy.
And if you want to go for the gold, slice the garlic into little slivers and fry it in olive oil until it turns sand-colored, and sprinkle that on top too.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:20 AM on October 29, 2010
I would perhaps hold off on the dried herbs and sautee some shallots with the onion and garlic, in a bit of butter. Then add the beans to the mixture. Tastes AMAZING.
Top with fresh parsley and mom's impressed.
posted by blackcatcuriouser at 11:23 AM on October 29, 2010
Top with fresh parsley and mom's impressed.
posted by blackcatcuriouser at 11:23 AM on October 29, 2010
Buy an easy, dry white wine to go with dinner, and add a splash of it to the saute before adding the spinach. Let it deglaze the pan and cook for a minute and then proceed as you had intended.
posted by defreckled at 11:27 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by defreckled at 11:27 AM on October 29, 2010
Little touches like a fresh squeeze of lemon, grind of pepper or grating of Parmesan cheese go a long way to making something simple look 'finished'. Nice bread and wine help, too.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 11:39 AM on October 29, 2010
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 11:39 AM on October 29, 2010
That's pretty much what I made for myself on Tuesday, with a few of the modifications mentioned here. It was lovely.
posted by tangerine at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2010
posted by tangerine at 5:45 PM on October 29, 2010
That sounds great, and I second the idea of a side salad and/or garlic bread.
Just a warning to prepare yourself for the worst: my mother is also invested in me cooking "properly" (by which she means exactly like she would). This makes her completely unable to EVER say anything nice about what I cook without an uncurrent of snark, because then I would have "won". So in response to that dinner, no matter how delicious, she WOULD say something like, "Wow, that's so interesting. I never would have thought of using canned beans. And the pasta is delicious. But it must be so expensive to buy it premade like that. And of course that much oil isn't something I would eat every day. But it's very nice, dear. Thank you for trying."
I'm just saying that mothers can be evil, and trying to please someone who is invested in getting you to change your habits is a recipe (ha) for disappointment. So emotionally prepare yourself in whatever way you can.
That said, I hope that ISN'T your experience, and that it goes well.
posted by lollusc at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2010
Just a warning to prepare yourself for the worst: my mother is also invested in me cooking "properly" (by which she means exactly like she would). This makes her completely unable to EVER say anything nice about what I cook without an uncurrent of snark, because then I would have "won". So in response to that dinner, no matter how delicious, she WOULD say something like, "Wow, that's so interesting. I never would have thought of using canned beans. And the pasta is delicious. But it must be so expensive to buy it premade like that. And of course that much oil isn't something I would eat every day. But it's very nice, dear. Thank you for trying."
I'm just saying that mothers can be evil, and trying to please someone who is invested in getting you to change your habits is a recipe (ha) for disappointment. So emotionally prepare yourself in whatever way you can.
That said, I hope that ISN'T your experience, and that it goes well.
posted by lollusc at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2010
Response by poster: Yes, my mother issues are a whole other story I didn't even want to touch! I bought a chicken pot pie (gourmet) and made the beans and greens as a side dish, because I panicked at the last minute that the pasta wouldn't be good enough. She enjoyed the meal a lot, but then we had a whole row about my messy closets. *Sigh*. 1 for 2, I'll take it.
posted by sweetkid at 7:38 PM on October 29, 2010
posted by sweetkid at 7:38 PM on October 29, 2010
Response by poster: Ps the lemon zest SO MADE this. I also added a few sundried tomatoes. Thanks all!
posted by sweetkid at 7:46 PM on October 29, 2010
posted by sweetkid at 7:46 PM on October 29, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I would also recommend thinking about doing a risotto dish. Risotto is pretty approachable and not too complicated.
It would help to know if there are any food allergies, likes, dislikes, dietary restrictions that your mom has to help us out helping you out.
posted by TheBones at 10:33 AM on October 29, 2010