Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Goodbye, March!

March was a pretty crazy month for us weather-wise.  We were teased with our first taste of spring but also exposed to several consecutive days of pouring rain and wind.  Needless to say, I am hoping to see more of the sun in April.

A couple weeks back on a mild Sunday afternoon, we had dinner at my parent's house.  I think it was my dad's first use of the grill this year.  On the menu: Asian-spiced chicken roasted on the grill rotisserie. 
I had to take a picture of this, since it looked so good (even though I don't eat chicken!).  My husband said it was perfectly cooked - crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  To accompany this my mom made my favorite roasted potatoes and a salad with homemade sesame dressing.
 
But the best part of the meal was the special entree my mom made for me.  Crab Au Gratin - butter, crab meat, cheese, paprika - what could be better?  This decadent concoction paired with the potatoes and some white wine was heavenly.  

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice


When I saw this recipe on Closet Cooking, I was intrigued.  It had so many ingredients that I love but would never think of putting together in one dish.  Since I am always up for trying new combos, I gave it a try.  I was not disappointed.  I made a couple changes to the recipe,  which are included below.  Definitely try this one out!

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
adapted from Closet Cooking
(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
2 shallots (sliced)
1 clove garlic (chopped
2 tablespoons Thai red chili sauce
1 red pepper (diced)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 lb large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
water (as needed)
2 tablespoons fish sauce 
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups cooked brown rice (preferably a day old)
1 cup pineapple (cut into bite sized pieces)
1/4 cup frozen peas 
1/4 cup raisins
2 green onions (sliced)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the shallots, garlic, chili sauce and red pepper and stir-fry until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the egg and stir-fry for a minute.  
4. Add shrimp and stir-fry for a minute or two.
5. Add the water, fish sauce, curry powder and sugar and stir-fry.
6. Add the cashews and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add the rice, break up any clumps and stir-fry for a few minutes.
8. Add the pineapple, peas and raisins and stir-fry to mix them in.
9. When shrimp is done cooking (pink and stiff), remove from heat and serve garnished with chopped green onions and cilantro.

The great thing about this dish (other than it being delicious), is that most of the ingredients are things that most people should already have in their kitchen.  Also, it can be made very quickly.  I prepared the rice a day ahead as suggested and it saved a lot of time.  The best thing of all is that now I have leftovers for the week!

Friday, March 26, 2010

My Favorite Pancake Recipe

Buttermilk is not a staple that I keep in my fridge, but I do buy it for certain recipes (most recently Irish Soda Bread).  I had some leftover, so what better way to use up extra buttermilk than for pancakes?  I found this recipe a couple years back and it's become my favorite.  The pancakes come out so light and moist that you don't even need to put butter on them -just a couple drizzles of pure maple syrup (which, by the way is good for you!) and you're all set.

I prefer blueberries in my pancakes, but you could substitute anything you have on hand (nuts, chocolate chips, bananas) or just eat them plain.  This batch had fresh blueberries and chopped pecans. Here is how I made them (with a few substitutions):

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
adapted from Epicurious
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons Splenda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup each fresh blueberries and chopped pecans
Pure maple syrup

To keep the pancakes warm: Preheat oven to 250°F. Place baking sheet in oven.
Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons butter in medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients.  If mixture is too dry, add some more buttermilk; if too wet, add some more flour.  Fold in berries and pecans. [If using frozen berries, drop the blueberries into each pancake rather than folding in]. 
Heat large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat; spray with Pam.  Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle.  Cook pancakes until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm.  Serve pancakes with maple syrup.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Mussels with Thai Red Curry

I found this recipe on Epicurious and it is so quick, easy and delicious that it has become part of my regular rotation.  It's a perfect weekday meal.  The most time consuming part is scrubbing and rinsing the mussels - a chore in which I happily designate to my husband. (What? He does a great job!!) 

Here is how I make it for 2:

Mussels with Thai Red Curry
adapted from Epicurious
2 tbsp butter
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 14oz can unsweetened lite coconut milk
1 tablespoon (or more to taste) Thai red curry paste
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or basil
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, garlic and ginger; sauté until garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Mix in coconut milk, curry paste, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and salt. Simmer 4 minutes to blend flavors. Add mussels; cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open). Transfer mixture to serving bowl. Garnish with 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro. 

Make sure to have some crusty bread on hand to sop up all the broth at the end.  It is so good, you'll want to eat it like a soup!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Falafel Sandwiches

As a chick pea lover, I am constantly finding ways to incorporate them into my diet.  I eat a lot of hummus and often add them into salads, pasta, veggie burgers and veggie chili.  I also love falafel and have recently started to make my own.  Falafel is usually formed into a ball shape and deep fried.  Because I am not very good at deep frying, I shape mine into patties and pan fry (similar to how I would make crab cakes).  This results in a healthier, albeit less crunchy falafel.  With the right sauce and toppings, it still tastes pretty darn good. 

Falafel Sandwiches
adapted from Ellie Krieger's Baked Falafel
Falafel Patties:
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup minced onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup parsley leaves
1 tablespoons olive oil
bread crumbs, as needed
Combine all ingredients except bread crumbs in a food processor until it forms a course meal.  Transfer mixture to bowl and add bread crumbs as needed (mixture should not be too wet).  Form into patties (size of a small crab cake) and put aside.  
Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in large pan over med-high heat.  When pan is hot, add falafel patties to pan.  Pan fry for about 5 minutes on each side, making sure they don't burn and there is enough oil in pan (the patties will absorb some oil). 

Spicy Tahini Sauce:
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2-3 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (depending on how spicy you like)
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
water, if needed to thin out
Combine all ingredients until mixture is smooth and well incorporated.  For best results, make a day in advance.

Salad:
Chop up some romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber.  Toss and dress with a lemon vinaigrette (I use Newman's Own Lite Italian con Limone).
To assemble the sandwiches:
Lay out a piece of flatbread.  Liberally spread sauce in middle of bread.  Top one side of bread with patties (so that bread can be folded).  Top that with the salad.  Fold flatbread in half and devour.  Dip into more sauce if necessary!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

My Irish Dinner

While I love celebrating St. Patrick's Day (several times over), there is one thing I do not partake in: eating corned beef.  As a pescatarian, I don't touch the stuff.   Luckily, there are plenty of other foods to eat to celebrate the day.

This year I made a souped up version of mashed potatoes and broiled cod with dill sauce (not sure how Irish that is, but dill is green!).  Here is a quick rundown of how I made them. 

Cabbage and Potato Bake
Preheat oven to 400. 
In a large pot, prepare mashed potatoes to your liking (I used 5 Yukon golds, kept skin on and left a little lumpy)
Add parboiled cabbage (cut into 1 inch squares) to the pot of potatoes.
Stir in some scallions and mustard (Coleman's is best).
Put potato mixture into a sprayed casserole dish. 
Top liberally with shredded Irish cheddar.
Bake for about 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly.
  
 

Broiled Cod with Dill Sauce
Rinse and pat dry cod filets. 
In a small bowl, mix together mayo, dijon mustard, horseradish, and fresh dill.  Make enough to cover the cod filets; use as much or as little as you want according to taste.
Place cod in sprayed shallow baking dish.  Season with salt and pepper and fresh lemon juice.
Put cod under broiler for about 7 minutes.  Take out and spread dill mixture over top of cod.  Put back under broiler for another 2-3 minutes.  Cod is ready when it flakes with a fork. 

 
Who needs corned beef?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Chocolate Guinness Cake!

Guinness is one of my favorite beers, especially this time of year.  I figured there was not much you could do to improve a Guinness...until I saw this recipe!  Even those who do not like beer or Guinness will love this cake.  It's very chocolaty and dense but still moist and gooey in the middle (mine was a little underdone, but I think that made it even better).  It's also super easy to make - everything is combined in one pot.  I would recommend making this cake any time of the year.  It is truly that good.

Chocolate Guinness Cake
From Feast by Nigella Lawson
Yield: One 9-inch cake (12 servings)
For the cake:
Butter/flour for pan
1 cup Guinness stout
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

For the icing:
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (I used more)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch salt
Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.
Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Irish Soda Bread

There is nothing better than homemade bread, but the thought of making it might be a little intimidating.  Such is not the case for soda bread, which is made with baking soda and baking powder and therefore is more like a quick bread than a regular yeast bread.  I have always been a fan of soda bread, but did not know the extent of how delicious it can be until I made it from scratch last year.  I cut off a little piece to try when it was still warm and eventually found myself eating half the loaf.  The same thing happened this year - I guess it's going to be an annual St. Patrick's Day tradition.   

The recipe I use can be found here.   The only thing I changed was I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour.

Here is what it looks like before going into the oven:


 And here is the final product.  The crusty top is the best part!



Friday, March 12, 2010

Weekday Pad Thai

During the week, I try to plan meals that don't take too long to prepare.  Stir fry-type dishes like Pad Thai are definitely on this list, especially when I use a prepared sauce. One of my favorites is this sauce from Whole Foods (brand = Maesri).  It's made in Thailand, so I'd like to think it is pretty authentic.

Weekday Pad Thai 
(makes about 3 servings)

8 oz rice noodles (I used thin)
2-3 tbsp vegetable/canola oil
1-2 eggs, depending on size
1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Pad Thai sauce (as much or little as you want)
1/2 cup bean sprouts*
1 bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
chopped cilantro and lime, as a garnish

Bring large pot of water to a boil. 
As water is getting hot, prep the other ingredients.  Rinse shrimp under cold water, pat to dry and season with salt and pepper. 
Heat oil in large wok or pan.  Add egg and season with salt and pepper.  Scramble egg in wok.  After egg starts to cook, add shrimp and stir.
Once the water in the pot is boiling, add salt and noodles to water.  These will cook like pasta, but not take as long.  They should be done in about 5 minutes.  Drain noodles and immediately rinse in cold water (this helps to prevent them from sticking).
Add the rinsed noodles to wok and stir.  Start adding sauce by spoonfuls and stir.  After noodles have cooked a little in wok and shrimps are done, add the sprouts, scallions and peanuts.  Add more sauce if needed, stir one last time and serve.  Garnish each plate with cilantro and lime wedges, if desired.

*I did not have bean sprouts.  While I do like them, they aren't very easy to find. Usually, I will just do without, but this time I chopped up some baby bok choy added it in with the shrimp. 

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Sunday Dinner

This weekend we got our first taste of spring.  It was wonderful.  Having the sun out and windows open just transforms my mood.  Hopefully, it's here to stay!

While doing some things around the house, I had on an episode of Barefoot Contessa.  She was making all sorts of things with fresh produce.  One of the dishes was something she calls Scalloped Tomatoes.  When I hear the word "scalloped" I usually associate it with the creamy, heavy potato dish that I would prefer to eat on a cold winter night.  This was nothing like that.  This dish screamed spring to me.  Right away, I knew what I was making for dinner.  
Here is how I made it,  I changed the name to what I thought was more appropriate.


Baked Bruschetta

Ingredients
olive oil
12" Italian baguette
1-2 cloves minced garlic
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I would have used more if I had)
pinch of sugar or splenda
salt and pepper
fresh basil, chopped
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preaheat oven to 350. 
Coat large pan with olive oil on medium heat.  Cut baguette into cubes; add to pan.
Coat bread cubes with oil.  Heat for 5 minutes to toast on all sides. 
In the meantime, combine tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and garlic into a bowl.  [I like to use a microplane grater for my garlic -I find it's easier that mincing with a knife].
Add tomato mixture to pan.   Cook for another 5 minutes. Take off heat and mix in basil. 
Put into sprayed casserole dish.  Grate lots of fresh parm on top.  
Bake for 30-45 minutes.
Drizzle with olive oil and serve!

This made 3 - 4 servings as a side dish.  Next time I make it, I will definitely plan to use more tomatoes.  I suppose you could use canned diced tomatoes in a pinch, but would drain them first because the extra moisture might change the bread's consistency. 


I served it with spinach and walnut stuffed founder.  I wanted to keep the meal light and felt like this would be a perfect fish in keeping with my spring theme.  While the fish was excellent, I think the star of the show was the bruschetta.  I will definitely be making this again!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Pizza, Pizza

Pizza is one of my favorite foods, hands down.  I have been eating really good pizza all my life, but my favorite is still the kind I make at home.  I have tried making my own crust, but actually prefer to skip that part and use pre-made dough.  My favorite brand is House of Pasta - it comes frozen with two separate doughs inside the package.  Just leave it out for a few hours to thaw and rise, and the dough is ready.  One dough will make a pretty good sized pizza (enough for 2 - 4 people depending on appetites).  Instead of making one big pie, I usually split the dough and press it into two lightly-oiled 9" cake pans.  It's easier to work with and not as messy when the dough contained.  It also allows me to make 2 kinds of pies without the different toppings running together.

So, last night I was in the mood for pizza but didn't have any tomato sauce or mozzarella cheese. No problemo.  I had fresh basil.  I made a quick pesto with basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, freshly grated parm, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil using my mini-prep food processor.  Pesto served as the sauce on my first pie.  I topped it with goat cheese and (after the pizza was cooked) sundried tomatoes.


I made the second pie in the style of a white pizza.  I topped the crust with slices of provolone then added a mixture of sauteed onion, spinach, artichokes and ricotta cheese.  After baking in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, dinner was ready.  I think my favorite last night was the white pie - it was fabulous.


The beauty of it all is that although I did not have traditional pizza ingredients, I was still able to make delicious pies with other ingredients I already had in the fridge.  Yet another reason to love pizza...it can be anything you want!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies

The month of February was a snowy one. This was good for one reason - getting out of work early!! There were 2 days in which we were dismissed early, and on both of those days I came home and immediately started baking.

One recipe I have been meaning to try for a long time is Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies from Epicurious. I had a ton of carrots in the fridge, so I figured it was the perfect thing.

I made the recipe as directed, except for the icing. Instead of just cream cheese and honey, I used my traditional cream cheese icing - cream cheese, butter, milk, confectioners sugar, salt. To top it off, I added coconut (why not?) since I had it.

Overall, the cookies tasted great, but I am not sure if I would make again. One batch broke apart when I took them off the sheet pan. To salvage these, I combined all the broken pieces in a large ramekin and piled the remaining icing on top - not the neatest application, but still very tasty - like a dense cookie-cake with tons of icing. Either way, I am glad I tried them but will most likely make a traditional cake or muffins next time I find myself with an abundance of carrots on a snow day.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ziti with Tuna and Olives


Yeah, yeah I know what you're thinking: another food blog. I toyed with this idea for a long time and after many years of reading others, I decided to try a hand at my own.

My first post is inspired by Lidia Bastianich. We watch Lidia's Italy regularly every week and just about everything she makes looks fantastic. Last week she made ziti with tuna and olives and I had to try it out. Needless to say, it was awesome.


Ziti with Tuna and Olives (adapted from Lidia's Italy)
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
pepperoncini
28 oz can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
handful of Sicilian green olives
8 oz Ziti
7 oz jar of Italian tuna in olive oil, drained
fresh basil or parsley

Bring water in a large pot to a boil; cook ziti until al dente
Meanwhile, heat olive oil (enough to coat pan) in large pan on medium heat
Add garlic and pepperoncini; cook for a couple minutes until fragrant
Crush tomatoes by hand and add to pan. Add salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes while ziti is boiling.
Pit the olives and add to pan; stir to incorporate.
When ziti is done, drain and add to pan; coat with sauce
Add tuna and stir so it breaks up a bit. Toss with fresh parsley or basil. Serve immediately.
Look at the steam coming from the bowl!