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Posts from the ‘Sides’ Category

Sep 15

87 Comments

2 Recipes Eating Clean And Special Walnuts For Fiesta Friday #33

Fiesta Friday

Fiesta Friday

Eating clean, I’ve heard the term but never really grasped what it means, it’s quite simple really, read about it here in an article on Cooking Light, in a nutshell you eat unprocessed whole foods, nothing new really we should all eat like that, the term is new but not the concept.  I receive emails from Martha Stewart living and really love some of the recipes from her site, I always have admired Martha’s business acumen and respect how she has built her empire and she also has some amazing recipes. This particular email had recipes that focus on eating clean, the recipes are always simple and are prepared on video by Shira Bocar.  The salad contains Tuscan Kale (use tuscan its more tender when eaten raw), apples, beets and walnuts with a dressing made from avocado, white wine vinegar,  dijon mustard and oil. I don’t have a mandolin which is what you are supposed to use to cut the beets paper thin, so as a result my beets were a bit too thick and raw beets really need to be thin, next time I will roast my beets for a little while and then slice,or get over my mandolin phobia and get one of those.

In the same email there was a recipe (I guess you can call it that) for broiling broccoli rabe and chick peas. This was a revelation for me, I always steamed it and the florets become overcooked while the stems are still hard and stringy, I wanted to give this a try, the key is for the broccoli rabe and chickpeas to be dry so plan in advance and let your vegetables and chickpeas drain and dry completely. I must say I love Martha’s clean eating video’s here is the one with the broccoli rabe. Shira serves with some fresh ricotta drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.

The walnuts in the salad were a gift from Patty Nguyen, I love her blog, she is a photographer and a great cook, she also has the most adorable little dog. She came to NYC to visit her brother and we met at the Brooklyn Flea, These walnuts (Chandler walnuts)  were hand cracked and are amazing, fresh and delicious.  I told Patty I would use them in a recipe and post it, so Patty,  here it is. Thank you for the delicious walnuts and I so enjoyed meeting you.

Chandler walnuts

Chandler walnuts

I am bringing both of these healthful vegetable dishes to the party, Angie@The Novice Gardener is hosting this gathering of friends and great cooks, imagine the line up with so many great and talented cooks preparing the food, The co hosts this week are Andrea @Cooking with a Wallflower and Sylvia @Superfoodista enjoy the clean food my dear friends.

Creamy kale salad

Creamy kale salad

Creamy Kale Salad

Ingredients
1 ripe avocado, halved, seed removed
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (You could also use lemon juice) I added an extra tbs of vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil (I used walnut oil)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch kale (8 oz.), stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 small red beet, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a golden beet also)
1 sweet, crisp apple, cored and cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Directions
Combine avocado, vinegar, mustard, and oil in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. (It will be thick.) Season with salt and pepper.
Combine kale, beets, apple, and walnuts in a large bowl. Toss with avocado dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Suggestion: Add Farro, freekeh or some whole grain to the salad, it will be filling and delicious.

salad

salad

ready for the broiler

ready for the broiler

Broccoli Rabe and chickpeas

1 bunch broccoli rabe cleaned and trimmed (Be sure to keep the leaves, they crisp beautifully in the broiler)

1 can chick peas drained and dried

6 tbs olive oil (If you use 2 small sheet pans 3 tbs per tray)

thinly sliced garlic 2 cloves

salt

Really important to make sure your broccoli rabe and chick peas are dry, moisture is the enemy for this dish Place dry broccoli rabe on sheet pan, don’t over crowd. Add the chickpeas and garlic. Spoon or drizzle oil and massage into the broccoli rabe and chick peas, sprinkle with salt and place in heated broiler for 2 minutes, take out of the oven and turn the broccoli and place back in the oven for another 2 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.NOTE: I washed and dried my broccoli rabe and chickpeas the day before I made the dish, just bagged and refrigerated and they were perfectly dry. I think it depend on your oven how long you leave in to broil. I found that after the prescribed 4 minutes in the broiler the broccoli rabe was still quite raw a bit too crunchy, it is probably my oven, I’m sure in the Martha Stewart test kitchen they have commercial grade ovens that have more BTU’s than mine. So I put it in an extra 6 minutes. It was done perfectly, a little toothsome but still tender. So the cooking time will vary.

ready to eat

ready to eat

Sep 7

97 Comments

Italian Tapas For Fiesta Friday #32

Caponata

Caponata

Italian tapas, well it’s not really tapas in the truest sense of the word but it certainly can be eaten on small plates and it’s more of a prelude to the actual meal, I thought caponata, some good cheese and bread would be a nice addition to the party this week. Caponata is a Sicilian dish which is used as a side dish or condiment. I can remember my Mother serving on toasted Italian bread as a starter or appetizer. This is my version of my Mothers recipe, its less sweet and the vegetables are soft but still retain their shape.

Angie@The Novice Gardener is hosting this weeks event, she is always there for us and our co host is Hilda@along the grapevine. I hope everyone enjoys a little bit of Italy or Sicily. Buon Appetito!

Caponata

4 Italian eggplant washed and cut in half lengthwise. Skin on. (Or use 1 large eggplant)

1 Medium size onion chopped

2 Stalks celery (Use the tender inner stalks) chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 Red bell pepper de seeded and chopped

4 Fresh tomato’s chopped (I used 1 very large heirloom tomato and 1 smaller heirloom)

1/4 cup capers rinsed, rough chop

1/4 cup Olives Kalamata or green (I use a little of each) Rough chop the olives

2 tsp – 1 tbs organic brown Sugar (add 2 tsp taste and add more if needed)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 450, clean the eggplant cut the tops off and cut in half lengthwise. On baking sheet lined with parchment brush a little olive oil on each half, both sides, place your eggplant cut side down and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Chop the eggplant into bite size pieces.
In fry pan on med/high flame coated with olive oil add your chopped onion, cook until translucent. Add chopped celery and red bell pepper, continue cooking until they are soft and have started to caramelize. Add your minced garlic, cook for a minute or so don’t let garlic brown. Add your eggplant,tomato,capers, olives,crushed red pepper, sugar and vinegar continue cooking until mixture is thick. Eggplant will break down but thats ok this will take about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit overnight. It tastes incredible when it has rested and all the flavors have blended together.

Caponata, bread and cheese

Caponata, bread and cheese

Fiesta Friday

Fiesta Friday

Jul 25

113 Comments

Summer Vegetable Cous Cous With Feta And Pine Nuts For Fiesta Friday #26

Cous Cous loaded with Vegetables

Cous Cous loaded with Vegetables

I wanted a quick side dish that didn’t require standing over a hot stove, I had some great vegetables that I needed to use and some cous cous in the pantry and thought this will go nicely together. The vegetables I used are tri color small peppers, orange, yellow and red, yellow squash and sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes, I cranked the oven to 400 degree’s prepared the vegetables, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper and they were done in 15 minutes. The cous cous is so easy, I’m sure you know what I mean, boil some water, pour it over the cous cous, cover and let sit. I wanted to make this more interesting so I ran to my garden and got some parsley and mint which I chopped, thought well something crunchy like nuts would be nice and I remembered I had some pignoli in the freezer, I quickly toasted them on the stove top. To finish the dish I mixed it all together with some olive oil and the juice of lemon, sprinkled with more pine nuts and crumbled fets on top. Voila, easy, quick and delicious side or meal.

Fiesta Friday #26 is in full swing and I hope you all like my cous cous dish. Angie @The Novice Gardener is always there to make sure things are running smoothly and the co hosts this week, Prudy @Butter, Basil and Breadcrumbs and Jess @Cooking Is My Sport seem to have eyes in back of their heads keeping everything organized and in order. Great work everyone!

 

So pretty and nutritious

So pretty and nutritious

Here is what you will need for 4 servings:

1 summer squash, cut into bite size pieces

10 cherry tomatoes

4 small peppers with seeds removed and cut in half.

1 cup cous cous

1 cup water boiled

pine nuts about a cup toasted

feta for crumbling

a handful of parsley and mint leaves

salt and pepper

1 lemon juiced

olive oil

Roast the vegetables in a hot oven 400 degrees for approximately 15 miniutes. Remove from oven, you can at the same time toast the pine nuts ( I didn’t think of it at the time but in retrospect it would be a good idea, just watch them carefully stirring frequently or they will burn.

Make the cous cous, when it’s rested the requisite time according to package directions fluff with a fork. Place cous cous, roasted vegetables about 3/4 of the toasted pine nuts,herbs, a little olive oil, lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Sprinkle the remaining pine nuts and crumble feta on top and serve.

Fiesta Friday

Fiesta Friday

 

May 15

71 Comments

Semolina Yeast Herb Pancakes With Eggplant And Garbanzo Stew

 

pancakes

pancakes

A little different spin on the yeast and herb challenge for Fiesta Friday’s Challenge #1. These pancakes are Moroccan in origin, are so simple to make and really delicious. They are the perfect vehicle for whatever you would like to dip or scoop. I chose a roasted tomato,garbanzo and eggplant stew served with a cold yogurt, cucumber and mint salad. The pancakes only need one rise for an hour, the texture is different from your standard pancake because they are made predominantly with semolina. The basic recipe does not contain herbs but for this challenge I gathered some fresh herbs from the garden and added a little dried marjoram.

This very special edition of Fiesta Friday’s is hosted by the always wonderful Angie from The Novice Gardener and  co- host Catherine@Catherine Cuisine, Angie and Catherine will not only host, they will also judge, yes, there will be a winner and a gift. So exciting.

Pancakes:

Serves 4-6depending on serving size

3 cups warm whey or water

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp instant yeast

1 3/4 cup semolina

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp honey

1 tsp salt

1 cup fresh herbs chopped (I used parsley, mint and chives) I used more parsley and chives than mint.

1 tsp dried marjoram

In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the warm whey or water with the baking powder. In a food processor, combine the semolina with the flour, yeast, honey and the remaining 2 3/4 cups of warm water; process for 30 seconds, until smooth. Add the salt and baking powder mixture and process for 30 seconds longer.  Pour the batter into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. I made this in the morning and let it rise for an hour then refrigerated until ready to make. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before making the pancakes.

Heat a crepe pan or skillet coated with olive oil until its hot, a drop of water should dance on the surface. Add the chopped herbs and marjoram and stir to combine.  Ladle some of the batter, it’s fairly thin,into  the pan and quickly spread so it makes a thin layer. Let it cook until bubbles appear then flip and brown on the other side. Keep in the oven on warm until ready to serve.

Stew

Stew

Eggplant and garbanzo stew

1 large eggplant skin removed and cut into approximately 1 inch cubes

1 small onion or 2 shallot minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (I used canned)

2 cups tomato sauce ( I made my own from roasted cherry tomatoes pureed in the blender)

1/2 tsp turmeric

pinch saffron

juice of half a lemon or a dried lime (if using dried lime make sure to use a knife and make slits)

1 tsp harissa or add to taste and heat tolerance.

Salt and pepper to taste

A generous handful of parsley and a few mint leaves chopped

Toss the eggplant in olive oil and bake in 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until browned. In saucepan sweat the onion and garlic in some olive oil, add the garbanzo’s and saute briefly just to warm and coat with the oil, now add the tomato sauce, turmeric, saffron,harissa and lemon and let simmer for 30 minutes, watch carefully and add liquid if necessary, you don’t want it too dry.
Add the eggplant and simmer for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and mint right before serving.

Yogurt,cucumber mint salad

2 cups plain greek yogurt ( I like full or reduced fat not non fat)

1 cucumber peeled and cut into small pieces

1- 1 1/2 tsp dried mint

salt and pepper to taste

Delicious meal

Delicious meal

 

Fiesta Friday Challenge

Fiesta Friday Challenge

 

 

Apr 29

85 Comments

Small Plates- Tapas

Cheese, wine and bread

Cheese, wine,olives and bread

Tapas anyone?

Tapas anyone?

I was recently inspired to make tapas after reading a post on the very beautiful blog Laura’s Mess. She and friends/fellow bloggers get together and prepare a feast frequently and it’s like a culinary tour of the world. I decided since I love the food of Spain and I am particularly fond of small portions that I would make tapas. You can eat a variety of foods and variety is the spice of life!!

For this meal I made some of my favorite Spanish dishes, they are simple and very tasty and I find that when you set out platters of a variety of food for friends it’s fun, add some good wine to the mix and it’s a great party. You can also make some of the food in advance. The meatballs and tomato sauce and the polenta keep very well for a day or two, I also boiled the potatoes for the patatas bravas a day ahead and fried them the day of, you can also make that yummy sauce ahead.

I am not going to post recipes for all,most of the recipes are not mine,  but I will provide the link to the recipe if you want to make. I served the polenta with the meatballs and tomato sauce, the grilled merguez goes beautifully with the patatas bravas.  The shrimp, well they are great on their own and don’t forget  the cheese and olives and bread with some good olive oil for dipping. Wash it all down with wine I chose Rioja. Sangria would also be lovely with this!!

Here is the menu:

Patatas Bravas

Albondigas- Spanish meatballs (Recipe calls for pork, I used pork and beef)

Merguez (grilled)

Roasted Tomato Sauce (No recipe needed see below for instructions)

Gambas Al Ajillo- Spanish Garlic Shrimp

Cheesy Manchego Polenta

Assorted cheese. bread, olives

Lots of wine

Oven roasted tomatoes for sauce

Oven roasted tomatoes and garlic

Sauce-fresh tomato, garlic,thyme and olive oil

Sauce-fresh tomato, garlic,thyme and olive oil

The tomato sauce is very simple, pre heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread cherry tomatoes and at least 3 cloves garlic on sheet pan,  I used assorted heirloom, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and sprinkle generously with thyme. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes and garlic are softened and caramelized. Crush with fork or masher and add the meatballs, simmer on low heat for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Serve with polenta.

Manchego Polenta

Manchego Polenta

Polenta ( You can easily half the recipe if doing tapas)

Serves 4-6 depending on serving size

4 cups whey or water

1 cup polenta (corn meal) I used stone ground

pinch of salt

1 cup grated manchego cheese

2 tbs butter

2 tbs heavy cream, creme fraiche or mascarpone

black pepper (2 or 3 turns of the pepper mill)

In saucepan add the whey or water and pinch of salt, bring to a rolling boil. Whisk in the polenta, don’t dump it all in add slowly while you are whisking it thickens very quickly. Lower heat to low and continue whisking until its done. It takes approximately 3-5 minutes for regular cornmeal and 7-10 minutes for stoneground. Remove from heat add the butter, cheese and heavy cream. Stir until its all incorporated. Cover pan and set aside.

Meatballs

Meatballs

I baked the meatballs at 375 degree’s for 30 minutes then finished on stove top simmering in fresh tomato sauce.

 

Feb 6

67 Comments

The Basics- Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise

Hollandaise

Julia Child calls this one of the Mother sauces. I love Hollandaise, probably because it’s a crucial component for my favorite meal, Eggs Benedict and right there with that is asparagus with Hollandaise. It’s creamy, buttery, citrusy, I could almost drink it, well not really but I do really like it. The classic method of preparation is to whisk over a double boiler which is how the recipe will be written here. I can’t always be bothered to do this and I take a shortcut, blender Hollandaise, pouring the hot butter into a whirring blender or food processor (much like the mayonnaise) the hot butter heats the yolks and is blended into a delicious creamy thick sauce.

Asparagus with hollandaise

Asparagus with hollandaise

Hollandaise Sauce

Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

3 egg yolks

big pinch of salt

1 tbs lemon juice ( I like it very citrusy so I add some lemon zest also)

2 tbs cold unsalted butter

2 sticks ( 8 oz) unsalted butter melted

salt and pepper to taste

Beat the egg yolks with a wire whisk in a stainless steel saucepan for a minute or two until they thicken lightly and turn lemon colored. Whisk in the salt and lemon juice and add 1 tbs cold butter. Set over moderate low heat and whisk continuously at moderate speed. remove pan from heat now and then to make sure the yolks aren’t cooking too fast. When they cling to the wires of the whisk and you can see the pan between strokes, remove from heat and stir in the 2nd tbs of cold butter. Start beating in the melted butter by little dribblets at first, until a good 1/2 cup of the sauce has thickened, then add the rest of the melted butter a little more quickly as the sauce thickens into the consistency of heavy cream. Taste and correct seasoning.

I cut corners because I cannot really hand whisk so I thought why not try a blender or food processor. It comes together in minutes and works well. I whiz the egg yolks, lemon, lemon zest and salt until light and creamy, now add the 2 tbs of cold butter and whiz together and  drizzle in the melted butter with the blender or processor running, stop when thick and creamy. If you have leftover sauce, refrigerate no more than a day or two and heat GENTLY in double boiler.

Troubleshooting Hollandaise:

If you have added the butter too fast for the egg yolks to digest it, or if you’ve kept the sauce over heat too long, it can thin out or separate. To bring back to a creamy state, whisk briefly to blend and add a tablespoon into a bowl, whisk in a tbs of lemon juice and whisk vigorously until creamy. Now whisk in very little dribbles of the turned sauce gradually increasing the amount until is is all creamed and has reconstituted.

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

YUM!

YUM!

Variation:

Bernaise Sauce with steak is one of lifes great pleasures. It is basically hollandaise with some vinegar, shallot and taragon. To make Bernaise to a small saucepan add 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup white wine, 1 tbs minced shallot, 1/2 tsp dried tarragon, 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until it reduces to 2 tbs. Use this in place of the lemon juice and reduce the butter to 1 1/2 sticks. Optional add chopped fresh tarragon at the end.

Nov 24

57 Comments

Holiday Dressing Or Stuffing

Dressing or Stuffing

Dressing or Stuffing

I’ve posted this recipe before, its what I make every single Thanksgiving and have been doing so for many years. This recipe has undergone some changes over time, but has essentially remained the same for a while now. There are a lot of components but it’s pretty straightforward and easy to make. I don’t feed an army but make enough for a small army, everyone wants to take some of this home. I like to use cornbread in my dressing and a little bread cubes, lots of nuts, walnuts and pecans and I add them to the usual suspects, onion, celery etc… You can make it vegetarian by simply omitting the bacon and chicken stock (use vegetable stock instead), I’ve done that and it’s still really good.

Makes A lot of dressing/stuffing

Double your favorite recipe for cornbread (I use the recipe on the cornmeal package)

4 cups  cubed herbed bread

2 cups  ground walnuts

2 cups  chopped pecans

1 Chopped white or yellow onion

1 Chopped Granny Smith Apple skin removed chopped into bite size pieces

2 cups chopped celery chopped

1 Pomegranate with the seeds removed its approximately one cup.(OPTIONAL)

1 pound good quality bacon cooked until crisp and broken into small pieces

2 tbs bacon fat

2-3 cups chicken stock (add in installments you don’t want your stuffing to wet)

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk or half and half

2-4 teaspoons dried sage (If using fresh sage increase the amount to suit your taste)

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper (black, mixed, your choice)

4-6 tablespoons butter to saute vegetables

  1. Double a recipe for cornbread, I like to bake it a day or two before I make the stuffing cut into cubes or break off small chunks and set out on a baking sheet to dry or you can scatter on two baking sheets and bake in a 200 degree oven until dried.You can also air dry uncovered but its quicker in the oven.
  2. You can make your own herbed bread cubes by cutting a day old loaf of artisan bread into cubes, toss with some chopped herbs (I like sage) a little olive oil and bake in a 200 degree oven until bread is toasted or you can use bagged cubed herbed bread if you wish
  3. Grind walnuts in food processor and roast in fry pan on low heat careful not to burn, You will know they are done when you can smell the walnuts.
  4. Chop pecans, onion, apple and celery. Melt butter (You can use olive oil if you like) in saute pan add the onions and celery saute until onions are translucent then add the pecans, pomegranate,apple and the sage continue cooking until the ingredients are cooked through but not mushy. Fry the bacon until its crisp break into bite size pieces set aside.Reserve 2 tbs of bacon fat.
  5. In large mixing bowl add the cornbread and bread cubes. Add all the other ingredients Toss to mix careful not to over mix you want the breads to retain its shape as much as possible. Now add the chicken stock, eggs and milk and mix everything together. Adjust seasoning, add salt if you wish or more sage to suit your taste.
  6. Butter your casserole or baking pan and put your dressing in. Bake covered with foil in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes then to crisp the top drizzle some of the pan juices from the turkey on top and put in broiler for a few minutes until the top is crisp. You can make this a day ahead and then refrigerate.(Let sit at room temperature for an hour before baking) NOTE: I like to cover and bake then crisp in the broiler you can with very good results just bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes.
  7. I like to use as few pans as possible, in the morning I add the dried cornbread and bread cubes to a large mixing bowl and add what I cooked to the bowl as I go using the same saute pan for everything. Since there are so many steps here I find this makes sense. In the end I only have one saute pan to wash.

May 26

65 Comments

Happy Memorial Day- Grilled Short Rib Taco’s And A Heavenly Light Dessert

American Flag

American Flag

I want to acknowledge our heroes who have fought and died so that we can enjoy freedom. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and a day when we gather to enjoy food, family and friends but it’s important that on this day we don’t forget those that served and are serving our great country in the armed forces. Lest we forget!

Memorial Day and our thoughts turn to grilling, its an American tradition. I decided to make something a little different than burgers and hot dogs, a little south of the border flavor peppered with a NYC flair. I love taco’s, they are easy to make and eat and you can add whatever fixings you like, tailoring to your taste. For these taco’s I made some beef short ribs slathered with the most delicious BBQ sauce made by my friend Bevi, I tested her recipe for A Cup Of Coffee BBQ Sauced Steak for Food52 and believe me this sauce is amazing, Now I usually braise short ribs in the oven or on the cooktop until they are fall off the bone tender, but because I wanted to uphold the american tradition of grilling on Memorial Day I did both. First I marinated the short ribs in the BBQ sauce for 2 hours, then I braised  them covered in the sauce and some water in the oven for 2 hours at 325 degrees, they should be fork tender but not falling off the bone, slathered more BBQ sauce on and finished them off on the grill. It may sound like a lot of work but it really wasn’t, the time in the oven was great because they could be left unattended and the grilling only took about 3 minutes to get a nice char. I then shredded the meat, grilled a flour tortilla and there it is, a short rib taco made with a wonderful spicy BBQ sauce.

I wanted something a little different to top the taco’s so I made a sweet corn salad using raw sweet corn, avocado,red onion and  cilantro or parsley and dressed simply with a buttermilk lime vinaigrette. The fresh crunchy salad on top of the rich tender shredded short ribs was really good! Add whatever fixings you want, queso fresco crumbled on top would be delicious, or eat the corn salad separately and top the meat with whatever you like.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

taco

taco

A Cup Of Coffee BBQ Sauced Steak

Makes enough sauce for 2 big steaks

  • 1 cup brewed coffee
  • 1 dried ancho chile, stem and seeds removed
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (use a regular lemon if Meyers aren’t available)
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • Dash cayenne pepper
  • Two 1 1/2-inch thick steaks, prime sirloin
  1. Place the ancho chile in the hot coffee and allow to steep for about 20 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process until the ancho chile is pulverized and the sauce is a nice, thick texture.
  3. Return the sauce to the stovetop, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  4. Place the steaks in a large ziploc bag, and add about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Squish the steaks around so they are well covered by the sauce. Place in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, or longer if possible. Bring steaks to room temperature before grilling.
  5. Slather more sauce on both sides of the steaks. Place steaks on a hot grill, and grill to your liking. We turn the steaks over after about 4 to 5 minutes, first slathering sauce on the steak, to grill for a total of 10 minutes.
  6. NOTE: I used lime instead of the meyer lemon and a strong dark roast coffee

Corn Salad With Tangy Buttermilk Dressing

2 ears sweet corn cut off the cob

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 ripe avocado chopped

2 tbs chopped cilantro or parsley

1/4 cup buttermilk

juice of 1 1/2 limes

zest of one lime

1/2 tsp dried mint

pinch of salt

generous grinding of black pepper

Mix the buttermilk, lime juice, zest, mint, salt and pepper in the bowl you will be using to serve the salad, stir to combine. Add the corn, onion, avocado, chopped cilantro or parley and toss so that it’s throughly mixed with the dressing. Refrigerate covered until ready to use.

Parfait

Parfait

I can’t forget about dessert, I have been on a diet so no cake or pie for me. I found this recipe also from Bevi on Food52, Coconut Crusted Mango Slices With Pineapple Sauce And Whipped Coconut Cream it’s light and delicious, to see the recipe click on the link. I made one little addition that wasn’t on the recipe, I added lime zest to the coconut cream, I think coconut and lime are so good together and also with mango, it was delicious!

Feb 19

35 Comments

Hearty Kale Salad With Kabocha Squash,Pomegranate Seeds And Toasted Hazelnut And An Award

Kale Salad

Kale Salad

I love healthful food, I really do but my style of cooking isn’t really super healthy. I try, I really do but unfortunately I fall short most of the time. Incorporating raw foods, salads into my diet is challenging sometimes. A friend and I hosted a dinner party the other night and we wanted to do a low carb, healthful meal. I found this recipe on Food52, Gena Hamshaw is vegan and has some amazing, balanced healthful dishes. I took one look at this salad and knew it would be on the menu that evening. What does it contain? Lots of super foods, Kale, pomegranate, hazelnuts and Kabocha squash. The kale is massaged with a little of the dressing to soften, then you toss with the rest of the light lemon dressing. It’s delicious, honestly, really really good. I had everything for the salad except the squash so I subbed sweet potato which I prepared in exactly the same way as you would the squash.

Serves 4-6

  • 1 Large bunch curly kale, stems removed and discarded, torn into bite sized pieces, washed, and spun dry
  • 1 Small kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), halved and seeded and cut into 1.5 inch pieces ( I used 1 medium size sweet potato using the same method as described in step 1)
  • 4 tablespoons Olive oil, divided into 1 tbsp and 3 tbsp
  • 3/4 cups Pomegranate seeds
  • 1/2 cup Skinned hazelnuts
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sea salt
  • Black pepper to taste
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the squash in 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until golden, stopping halfway through to stir.
  2. While squash is roasting, place the hazelnuts in a shallow baking dish (or a pie pan) and toast in the oven for 4-6 minutes, or until they are golden. Check them frequently and remove them the moment they start to get brown. Once they’ve cooled a little, chop them roughly and set aside.
  3. Whisk together the remaining olive oil, mustard, lemon, maple syrup, sea salt, and pepper. Pour 3 tbsp over the kale to begin with, and “massage” the kale well with your hands, till it’s coated in the dressing and taking on a soft, almost wilted texture. Add the remaining dressing as needed and according to tastes. Add pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts.
  4. Once the squash has finished cooking and has cooled for 10-15 minutes, add it to the salad and serve.

I am so thankful that Cambios de humor nominated me for the Shine On Award. Thank you so much, I am so honored to have been included in your list of nominee’s. Please visit her blog, you will love the honesty and humor in her posts.  Thank you again!!

shineon1

Nov 18

17 Comments

The Tools Of The Trade

Essentials

There are certain things I can’t do without when making Thanksgiving dinner. I generally start prepping everything 3 days in advance. I make the pie dough and refrigerate, make the cornbread and bread cubes on Tuesday letting it oven dry for hours, make the mashed potatoes on Wednesday cover and refrigerate and make the dressing also that same day along along with the cranberry sauce and pies. You see in the picture my large graniteware roasting pan, the gravy separator and my food mill and you may wonder what that bottle of gravy master is doing there. The answer to that one is, I would not want to make gravy without it, I guess you can say its a habit or a tradition but I find that a dash of that mysterious brown stuff in my opinion makes the gravy better.

I make checklists for each day leading up to Thanksgiving and attach stickies (app on my computer) on the screen, deleting when the task is done. It’s not that I won’t remember, I probably would but I feel more organized when I have my list of things to do in eyes reach.

The gravy separator: Using my method for roasting turkey produces a huge amount of pan juices and because I slather that turkey with compound butter there is also a lot of oil, the separator is essential for me. It effectively separates the oil from the pan juice. To make gravy I scoop from the top of the separator about 1/4 cup of the fat, add to saucier or saute pan and heat on medium high, then I whisk in approximately 1/4 cup of flour and whisk it so there are no lumps it will be paste like in consistency, whisk constantly for a few minutes to cook the flour, you are making a roux. Once thats done, slowly pour in the pan juice whisking while pouring adding more as you need it, once it reaches a thickish but pourable consistency turn heat to low, add salt (if needed) pepper and a dash of gravy master. I always have smooth flavorful gravy every time. If your gravy is too thin, don’t worry make a slurry of flour and water and pour a little in the gravy and continue cooking it will thicken up nicely.

The Food Mill: I make enough mashed potatoes to feed an army. I like Yukon Gold but use russet if you like. I generally figure 1 1/2 potatoes per person. I use 10 largish potatoes, clean, peel and slice (try to get the slices as even in size as possible), place in salted COLD water and place on high heat until they start to boil, then reduce heat to medium and let them cook until fork tender. I place a large mixing bowl in the sink and position the food mill on top of it, the potatoes are then scooped (I use one of those spider scoop thingy’s) and add some to the mill, crank it and repeat, be sure to scrape the bottom of the food mill as potatoes tend to accumulate there. I like to use the mill because the potatoes are perfectly smooth and creamy no lumps at all! I then add softened butter, sour cream and salt and pepper (to taste), mix it all together, cover and refrigerate over night. I re heat the potatoes by placing the mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring frequently. Keep covered with foil to keep hot.

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