Remember the song I’d Do Anything from the musical Oliver? Well while making this recipe I realized that I would obviously do anything for Jamie Oliver, even cook with *gasp* anchovies. If Jamie and I were doing this little duet on a stage in the West End somewhere it might have gone something like this:

[Erin (sung)]
I’ll do anything
For you Jamie anything
For you mean everything to me.

I know that
I’ll cook anything
For your cheeky smile, anything –
For your cheeky smile, ev’rywhere –
I’d see.

[Jamie]
Would you make that cannelloni I banged out on my show the other day?

[Erin]
Anything!

[Jamie]
Chop up broccoli and cauliflower and cook it till it’s mush?

[Erin]
Anything!

[Jamie]
Turn CK’s mouth into a four alarm fire with too many chiles?

[Erin]
Anything!

[Jamie]
Even cook with anchovies?

[Erin]
What? Fish?!
*crickets* I’ll have to think about that…um.  Ok?!
I’d cook anything
For one kiss — everything
Yes, I’d do anything…

[Jamie]
Wow!  Even Fish?! What a brilliant girl!

[Erin]
Anything for you!!

Incredible Baked Cauliflower and Broccoli Cannelloni
Originally included in the cookbook Jamie at Home scheduled to be published on September 16, 2008

Sea salt
1 pound broccoli, washed, florets and stalks chopped
1 pound romanesco or white cauliflower, washed, florets and stalks chopped
Olive oil
7 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 (1-ounce) can best-quality anchovies in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved
2 to 3 small dried chiles, crumbled (Note: I used 4 because Jamie used 4 on the episode.  It was seriously spicy, which I was OK with, but you should probably stick to 2 or 3).
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups good-quality tomato sauce
Good-quality red wine vinegar
2 cups creme fraiche
7 ounces Parmesan, finely grated
16 cannelloni tubes
1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
7 ounces good-quality mozzarella cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 large handfuls arugula leaves, washed and dried
1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and drop in the chopped broccoli and cauliflower. Boil for 5 to 6 minutes, until cooked, then drain in a colander, reserving the cooking water.Heat a wide saucepan, pour in a couple of good glugs of olive oil and add the garlic. Fry for a few seconds, then add the thyme leaves, anchovies, anchovy oil and chiles and continue frying for a few seconds more before adding the cooked broccoli and cauliflower with around 4 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water. Stir everything together, put a lid on the pan leaving a little gap, and cook slowly for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring regularly - overcooking the vegetables not only intensies their flavor but gives you the texture that you need for this recipe. Remove the lid for the last 5 minutes to let the moisture evaporate, then use a potato masher to crush the vegetables. Take the saucepan off the heat, taste the vegetables and season carefully with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet to cool. Meanwhile, get yourself another baking dish or roasting pan (the right size for fitting the cannelloni tubes snugly side by side - I test this by actually laying the tubes into the dish, then remove them and put to 1 side) and pour in the tomato sauce with a pinch of salt and a swig of red wine vinegar.

Now, to make a really quick and easy white sauce, mix the creme fraiche with half the Parmesan, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a little of the reserved cooking water to thin it down.

Spoon your cooled broccoli and cauliflower mixture into a large sandwich bag and cut off the corner. Twist the top of the bag and squeeze it to pipe the filling into the cannelloni tubes. (If you prefer, use a teaspoon to push the mixture into the cannelloni or use a piping bag.) Fill the tubes up - don’t be stingy! - and place them in a single layer on top of the sauce. Lay the basil leaves over the cannelloni and spoon your white sauce evenly over the top. Season with black pepper, sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and tear over the mozzarella. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbling on top.

Dress the arugula leaves with a squeeze of lemon juice and about 3 times as much extra- virgin olive oil. Serve the cannelloni with the arugula and some good crusty bread.

My Boston Organics adventures this summer have really allowed me to experiment with a number of ingredients that I would never buy simply browsing the local produce aisle. So when I received a huge bunch of dark leafy collard greens one week I definitely felt a little stumped. What could I do with them? Since I’d never had them before I didn’t even know what they tasted like, so I didn’t feel comfortable deciding what flavors might go well with them in a dish. So they sat in the fridge for a few days until I started googling for recipes. Thankfully I happened upon an older post at Kaylyn’s Kitchen that sounded exactly like something I’d like full of spicy sausage, red pepper flakes, and pasta.

In the end I made a few minor changes to the original recipe. Perhaps a little out of laziness, I decided to only use one pot to boil the sausage, greens, and pasta. I like to think that this gives the pasta a little extra flavor. I also used six turkey links instead of five as the turkey sausage I use comes in packages of six. I also used farfalle pasta for the simple fact that I think it’s pretty. Finally, I finished each bowl of pasta, sausage, and greens with an extra few dashes of red pepper flakes, a drizzle of olive oil, and a healthy grating of Parmesan cheese.

The funniest thing happens when you make this recipe. The sausage blows up to a disturbing size in the boiling pot of water. This immediately reminded me of the turkey hot dogs I ate as a kid that would blow up to ridiculous proportions on the grill. Does anyone else remember that phenomena? It’s pretty hilarious. Sometimes the turkey dogs would even develop bubbles and they’d look like total science fair projects on a bun.

I can’t recommend this recipe enough! My experimental dinner turned out delicious and I was surprised to discover that the collard greens have a slightly peppery taste. I’ve received collard greens twice more from Boston Organics since I originally freaked out over what I could do with this so-called “mystery ingredient” and both times I’ve returned to this recipe.

Pasta with Sausage and Collard Greens
Slightly altered and based on the recipe in The Best Recipes in the World cookbook by Mark Bittman originally discovered online at Kaylyn’s Kitchen.

1 bunch collard greens (about 1 lb.) stems removed, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into half inch slices
3 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
6 links hot turkey Italian sausage
16 oz. pasta (Note: I used farfalle).
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add sausage and cook at low boil 10 minutes. Let sausage cool and slice. Add sliced collard greens and boil 5-7 minutes, until tender but still bright green. Remove collards from water, keep water in the pot and bring back to a boil. When water comes to a boil, add pasta and a small amount of salt and cook 9-10 minutes, until done but still quite al dente. Drain pasta, reserving about one cup of cooking liquid.

While pasta cooks, in large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add sliced sausage and brown until well browned on both sides. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil and garlic (and the red pepper flakes if using) and cook 2 minutes, scraping bottom of pan to get browned sausage bits. Add collards and saute 2 minutes, then add pasta and enough cooking liquid to moisten dish, and cook 2 minutes more. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. (Note: In addition to the cheese, I also drizzle a little more olive oil on top and a few extra shakes of red pepper flakes).

Welcome to a new feature on ErinCooks.com in which I’ll attempt to answer “burning questions” posed to me by honest to goodness real people with actual food related concerns. Need some advice? You can always Ask Erin Cooks.

Dear ErinCooks: The onion has long been my sworn enemy. I know it adds flavor and whatever to dishes but onions disagree with me so I avoided them. Since I stopped eating Smartfood Popcorn and cereal as meals, became a vegan and started cooking proper food for myself I decided it was time to make my peace with the onion. My body definitely rebelled when I started feeding it vegetables and fruits, but it adjusted and so I started actually adding onions to things when called for and now they don’t bother me. Well, not exactly and that brings me to my onion related questions:

1. I hate handling onions because the smell lingers on my hands and repulses me. Why in the age of convenience food, when you can buy precut everything, can’t I find precut onions? Do they not keep in the cut state? Do they exist and I just can’t find them? Is this the dumbest question you’ve ever heard?

2. If I do indeed have to handle onions, how do I get rid of the smell? Someone told me you can rub lemon on your hands, but then my hands just smell like onions and lemons.

Help me, ErinCooks. You’re my only hope.
– Anna D

Dear Anna D: This is your lucky day because you can actually buy pre-cut onions (I’ve definitely seen them at Whole Foods). You can also purchase frozen onions but if you tell anyone that you’re doing that they will mercilessly ridicule you (i.e. I will point and laugh). Or you can pre-chop and freeze them yourself for future use. If you do buy pre-cut onions just keep in mind that you’re going to be paying at least twice as much for them.

As for your concern about the onion smell staying on your hands, I’ve never really noticed this with onions. I am however horrified on a daily basis by the smell of garlic on my hands. I’ve woken up many nights in bed completely disgusted by the smell emanating from my hands after having chopped up garlic for a dish. For that reason, I try to touch the garlic as little as possible and wash my hands with a lemon based soap immediately after dropping the smelly stuff into whatever concoction I’m making. Lately I’ve been using a peppermint soap from Williams-Sonoma and that seems to do the trick as well. I think the key is to wash your hands as soon as humanly possible after you come in contact with the ingredient you dislike, and if you still really can’t stand it you could always invest in a package of latex gloves.

I also wonder if you might like using shallots better than onions? In fact, people like Anthony Bourdain recommend that you use shallots instead of onions. Apparently it’s one of the things that make restaurant food taste so great, and why we can never duplicate the flavors at home (you know besides the gallons of cream, oil, and butter of course). Or you could buy one of those Vidalia Chop Wizards. I’ve never used one personally, but they seem to have really good reviews online.

I made a phenomenal steak the other day for Chris and Anna and now I’m a huge fan of the “rub.” The rub I’m gushing over actually consisted of chili powder, coriander, mustard, brown sugar, espresso and salt & pepper — who knew such an odd assortment of flavors could taste so incredibly amazing! Well apparently Ellie Kriger did, and Cowboy Steak was born. A great addition to this fabulous dish are Ellie’s Garlic Fries. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to slice the potato correctly (and a mini consultation with Chris), but they turned out delicious, spicy, and very crispy. I think these fries are destined to become a weekly staple in our home now.

Heat Oil & Garlic	Strain
Slice	Coat
Combine Spices	Rub
Grill	Flip
Toss With Garlic & Parsley	Yee Haw

I’d only baked a chicken once before, last year on Easter, but it came out fine so I figured when I decided to roast another chicken (using the same recipe I might add) that I’d be an old pro by now. Unfortunately, overconfidence in the kitchen is not a good thing. It all started out well. The best kitchen “disasters” usually do. I seasoned and stuffed the bird without incident. Then I popped it in the oven for an hour. I even tented it so that it wouldn’t brown too quickly, and basted it religiously with the Citrus and herb glaze.

It took me 3 hours to realize that I was cooking the chicken upside down. Yes, I basted the underside of the chicken. The breast was sitting “face down” in the pan the entire time. I finally clued into this fact when I noticed that the little white “I’m done” button seemed to have disappeared. And by disappeared, I mean was actually on the bottom of the roasting rack.

Of course it was all down hill from there. While divulging my kitchen shame to CK I ended up burning the aromatics for the stuffing and had to throw them out and start all over again. By the time we sat down to eat I was just grateful to have a plate of food. Thankfully the meat was still tender and tasty, but I felt like a complete fool. So please enjoy my “Upside Down” chicken in all its glory! Maybe I’ll start a new trend…

Right Side Up (Note Button)	Garlic, Oranges, and Lemon Wedges
The Balancing Chicken Act	Where it all Went Wrong
Add Stock to the Pan	Prep the Glaze
Combine	Baste, Baste, Baste
Tent with Foil	Melt Butter for Stuffing
Saute the Onions & Celery	Crumble in the Muffins
The Unveiling	What Happens in the Kitchen…

I’m starting to wonder if I should change the tag line of this website to Erin Cooks:  An Ellie Krieger Retrospective.   What do you think?  Anyway, here’s another yummy option to wow your friends with:   Fettuccini with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce.  I couldn’t find whole wheat fettuccini so I used linguine.  My one quibble with this recipe is the use of parsley.  Next time I plan to use chopped basil as a garnish since I found the parsley to be a little bitter.

Onions, Peppers & Garlic	Blitz
Whole Wheat Goodness	Who Needs the Olive Garden?  Not Me!