We're 50 and Feeling Fabulous on International Women's Day!
our 50th Substack post and we're celebrating with our fav recipes
Welcome to our 50th Substack newsletter!! 🎉🎉
Jane and I have been wracking our brains to come up with something extra special for this 50th post. I’m taking the lead this week as Jane has literally been the best friend ever this week and toured my daughter and her friend all around the English countryside. They had such a good time I was actually slightly fearful my daughter would cash in her ticket and never leave. And, of course, I would have completely understood and immediately packed my bags, grabbed my dog and husband and caught the first plane to join her……lol!
First off, it’s a pretty cool coincidence that our 50th issue happens to also be International Women’s Day!! If you’re a brand new reader, Jane lives in the gorgeous English countryside of Hereford and I live near Seattle Washington. We met purely by chance in an online mastermind and instantly connected through our mutual love of food and having businesses in the culinary world. Our connection grew into friendship and it feels like we’ve known each other forever. We’re definitely two peas in a pod, as the saying goes.
When we decided to start Foodies Across the Pond, we had a tremendous amount of support from fabulous women in our lives. They encouraged us, answered questions, proofed rough drafts of our cookbooks, cooked our recipes, and cheered us on. We realized how fortunate we are to be surrounded by an incredible group of women and we’re so grateful!! You know who you are and we’re sending you loads of love! xoxo
So what should we share in this very special milestone newsletter?
50 essential pantry items?
50 easy breezy dinners?
50 ways to get out of your cooking rut?
50 reasons Jane and I love creating for you?
In the interest of keeping this short and relatively sweet, how about our standby recipes that use pantry staples? If you want a plethora of over 50 recipes, you can always check out our cookbook, The Foodies Table……available on Amazon!
A top tip - if you are UK based you can purchase the book from Jane’s work website for less!
The other day my husband and I took our dog for a quick vet visit (she’s totally fine!) and grabbed coffees afterwards at a popular drive thru that rhymes with Marbucks. My husband got a tall drip and I got a grande……….for a whopping $10!!!! Holy *&*R……seriously? I mean, I know things are crazy expensive right now, but that hit home in a whole new way. And, even though the CEO of Kellogg’s thinks we should all eat cereal for dinner to save money, I say NOPE! Hard pass. Cereal once in awhile is totally fine, but there are a multitude of whole ingredients and real food that have a tremendous amount of nutritional value and so much better for you than a bowl of cereal. If you shop your pantry, you’ll realize how much you already have that can easily be turned into delicious meals.
So let’s celebrate our 50th Substack with our go to dinners that you can shop right from your pantry!
First up……..pasta!
Pasta is always my go to dinner, especially when I’m short on time. I’m a big fan of the 8 pack from Costco which sells for $15.99 and brings the cost of each 17.6 ounce package to $1.99, roughly. Prices do fluctuate, so you might find different pricing at your local Costco, but I do think shopping bulk saves you money……..if you manage to ignore the tempting clothing, books and makeup section, of course. I also find Trader Joe’s is great for inexpensive pasta (usually $2/package) and canned tomatoes.
This recipe serves 4, but if you have teenagers, you’ll want to double it.
Pasta with Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1 box of your favorite pasta — whatever you have on hand (spaghetti, fusilli, penne)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
One 28 ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
Basil, thinly sliced
ADD INS: if you have leftover roasted chicken, shred and add to sauce when it’s cooked. You can also stir in cooked shrimp or cooked ground beef.
Directions:
In a large deep skillet, add the olive oil and garlic slices. Heat over medium high until the garlic starts to sizzle. Make sure it doesn’t brown. You want to heat the olive oil and the garlic at the same time to avoid burning the garlic. By the time the garlic sizzles and dances around in the oil, it’s already infused the oil with gorgeous garlic flavor.
As soon as the garlic starts to sizzle carefully add the tomatoes. Use your hand to gently, very gently, squeeze the tomatoes right before adding them. Hold a tomato in your hand right above the skillet, gently squeeze and then add. This helps the tomatoes break down a bit while still retaining some texture. Simmer over very low heat until sauce thickens, about 30 - 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook pasta according to directions and add to skillet, toss to coat with the sauce. Dish up the pasta into large bowls and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and, if you have it, some torn fresh basil.
The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ohhhhhh how I love a grilled cheese! Toasty bread, dripping with melty cheese and dipped into a spicy mayo is my idea of heaven. There are a thousand ways to go, so feel free to adapt this based on what you have in your fridge and pantry. If you’re a baker, this is the perfect recipe for your new loaf of sourdough! This serves 1, so adjust amounts based on how many you’re feeding.
Ingredients:
2 slices of really good bread — country bread, sourdough, artisan (I love Como bread from Grand Central Bakery)
Unsalted butter
Mayonnaise
Prosciutto, 2 slices
Fig Jam or Pesto or Mango Chutney (if you’re lucky enough to have some Myrtle’s Kitchen chutney, this is the time to use it!)
Arugula
Cheddar cheese or brie — I highly recommend shredding your own cheddar because it will melt better. Packaged shredded cheese is usually coated with icky stuff that prevents it from fully melting. White cheddar, Irish cheddar, English cheddar, a mix of cheddars………..go crazy with cheese!
Directions:
Take the 2 slices of bread and lay them on a cutting board. Slather the top of each slice with butter (be generous…..I usually use at least 1 tablespoon, sometimes 2), then spread some mayo on top (this is going to help create the most gorgeous golden brown crunchy crust).
Now take one slice, place butter/mayo side down in a non stick skillet. Don’t turn your stove on yet, though. On the side that’s now face up and naked, spread generously with fig jam, pesto, or mango chutney. Lay down a slice, or two of proscuitto, top with some arugula and a ridiculous amount of cheese. Let it rain cheese!
Now take that other slice of bread and put it on top with the butter/mayo side up. Turn your heat on to medium and cook until the bottom is golden, then gently flip over using a spatula. When you’ve flipped it over, gently press down with the spatula. Keep cooking until the cheese is ooey gooey and the bottom is golden brown.
Serve right away! I love making a side of spice mayo (mayo mixed with sriracha), but it honestly doesn’t need anything at all.
Eggs in Purgatory
Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? You don’t need to fill up on sugary cereal that has zero nutritional value, though. These eggs are great because they take no time to cook, are loaded with flavor and provide enough protein to fill you up until tomorrow.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on at the end
2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus extra for garnish
1 anchovy filet, minced (or a ½ teaspoon of anchovy paste)
4 teaspoons fresh oregano
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
One (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
4 large eggs (shown with 3 because that’s all I had…..lol!)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to garnish (or you can use crumbled feta)
4 slices of toasted country bread of your choice
Directions
On a cutting board, combine garlic, parsley, anchovies (if using paste you will add that later), oregano and pepper and chop them all up together until they’re finely chopped. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, swirl in the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add garlic-parsley mixture to the pan and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. If using anchovy paste, now is the time to add that and stir it into the mixture. Add tomatoes slowly and carefully (because they’ll most likely splatter a bit when you add them), and stir to combine.
Lower heat to medium-low and simmer sauce for 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt, pepper and extra red pepper flakes (if you like things a bit spicy!)
With the back of a wooden spoon, make a small indentation in the sauce for each egg and crack them directly into the pan. Sprinkle the eggs and sauce with Parmesan and cover pan partially with a lid.
Let the eggs cook for about 5-7 minutes. You want the whites to be firmly cooked, but the yolks to be runny, so keep an eye and add a couple of extra minutes if need be.
When the eggs are cooked, drizzle entire pan with a little extra olive oil, then finish with more pepper, cheese and parsley. Serve immediately with toasted bread.