Simply Recipes: Recipes Only

Mom's Macaroni Salad

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:27:45 -0800

When you have a week straight of over 100� temps, you start looking for cooler things to make. My mother whipped up this macaroni salad earlier this week and I think I ate half of the whole bowl. Think macaroni and deviled egg make love child and you'll be in the vicinity. There is a hard boiled egg, some roasted red bell pepper, chopped spring onions, a generous amount of mayo, and seasoning with sweet paprika. Perfect for a summer BBQ or picnic salad.

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Blueberry Pie

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:49:23 -0800

It's blueberry season! From the recipe archive. ~Elise

When blueberries are in season, what better to do with them (other than eating them straight from the basket) than make blueberry pie? Blueberries have been found to be a "superfood", so good for you that you should go out of your way to eat them. They neutralize free radicals, protect your heart, improve your vision, and protect against degenerative brain diseases. (See the whole story at The World's Healthiest Foods website.) Yet another good reason to make and eat blueberry pie.

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Spicy, Citrusy Black Beans

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:34:53 -0800

I do believe these are the best black beans I've ever eaten in my life. My friend Suzanne has been teaching me some of her favorite recipes this summer (lucky me!), and this spicy black bean recipe is one she couldn't wait to share. Suzanne usually makes a big batch for her family (husband and three hungry teenagers included) with enough for some leftovers during the week. The beans have layers of chili flavor, balanced with zesty orange, lime, and cilantro. They are spicy, but you can control the level to your taste, depending on which and how much chili to include.

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Apricot Riesling Jam

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:49:36 -0800

Please welcome Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic, who shares with us his latest jam recipe. ~Elise

I'm surprised that the food obsessed don't consider Ernest Hemingway a proper food writer. Go pick up a copy of A Farewell to Arms or "Big Two-Hearted River" and pick any random page and the characters are either drinking or eating, though it's more likely the former. He even titled his memoir, A Moveable Feast.

Recently I was working on a paper for a class in my Master's program that was discussing the use of food and drink in Hemingway's works as a form of escapism. Now after so much reading and writing I usually have to escape myself and do so through food, which proves once again that life imitates art (and academia, apparently). However after all this food lit. study I decided to see if I could cook up something inspired by Hemingway.

I decided to make a jam since Catherine in the novel A Farewell to Arms is pining for it as she crosses into Switzerland in a paddle boat in the middle of a storm to escape the Italian army. As for using apricots, Nick in "Big Two-Hearted River" downs a few cans of them in his pastoral journey for inner peace. Finally, since it was Hemingway I was dealing with, booze had to be used, no question. Finding a nice Riesling that paired well with the apricots I was all set to go. The result was a jam that I'm sure Catherine, Nick, Hemingway himself, or any literature lover will find perfect for smearing over some warm bread. The perfect accompaniment to your Summer reading.

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Shrimp Cocktail

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:08:45 -0800

Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of the oh-so-steamy SteamyKitchen.com as she shares an oh-so-spicy shrimp cocktail recipe she found on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. ~Elise

I�ll be honest with you, I never order shrimp cocktail at a restaurant. Why? Because almost always the shrimp is too cold, the sauce is jarred and the dish is way overpriced.

But for some reason, a couple of weeks ago while on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, I was possessed. It might have been the shock of the fresh mountain air (in Florida, the largest mountain we have is a speed bump)

With the waitress hovering over me, my finger stopped at the �Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Fresh Homemade Cocktail Sauce.�

The finger paused a little too long at the word �Sauce� and she took it as a sign of my order and zoomed off to make it happen.

Woooaaahhh.... $18.00 for a shrimp cocktail, are you kidding me? I was too embarrassed to change my order, because really, it was my own lingering finger fault.

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Quinoa Pilaf

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:58:55 -0800

Have you ever cooked with quinoa? It's a South American grain-like seed that one prepares in a fashion similar to rice, simmered in water until the liquid is all absorbed. I first started cooking with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa) when I lived in San Francisco years ago. It has this wonderful nutty flavor, that actually doesn't need much added to it; I used to make a quick batch, pour on some flax seed oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and gobble it up. If you have never tried it, I encourage you to track some down. It's inexpensive, easy to make, tastes great, and is surprisingly high in protein. For those of us who are sensitive to the gluten in wheat or barley, it's entirely gluten-free. You can find it at Trader Joe's or at Whole Foods.

The following is a quinoa pilaf recipe based on one given to me by my friend Steve. The first time I made it I thought I would improve upon it by using chicken stock in place of the water. Bad idea. The pilaf ended up tasting like chicken stock, not quinoa. All of the lovely nuttiness of the quinoa was drowned out by the chicken flavor. This time I stayed with water, and instead added fresh herbs from our garden, and a just-picked lemon cucumber. I served it cold, more like a pilaf salad, though it would work warm too.

Do you have a favorite quinoa recipe? If so, I would love to hear about it.

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Apricot Berry Cobbler

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:40:07 -0800

My friend Suzanne has been coming over a lot recently, helping my mother and me raid my next door neighbor Pat's Blenheim apricot tree (with Pat's blessing of course). Suzanne has 3 growing teenagers to feed, so she can put those apricots to work! This week she walked me through her steps of making a fruit cobbler, using blackberries and Pat's apricots. What I love about cobbler recipes is that they are so forgiving. If they end up runny, that's okay because you aren't trying to contain them in a pie shell. If they're a little too tart, just serve them with some vanilla ice cream. Cobblers travel well for potlucks and you just serve them with a spoon. Best of all, they're a wonderful way to enjoy the fruit of the season.

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Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:47:57 -0800

"I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill..." While I'm pretty sure this song isn't about blueberries, every time I hear it all that comes to mind is a huge mound of them waiting for me to dig in. (Like Rock Candy Mountain, but made of blueberries.) During the summer when they're in season, I can't get enough of them. I'll buy baskets of blueberries just for me to eat, all by myself. No guilt. No justification needed (though if you do need a reason, they're great for your brain and are considered a superfood). Half a basket gets dumped into the morning's cereal, the rest nibbled throughout the day. We keep bags of frozen blueberries around for pancakes or smoothies; fresh ones are usually just eaten straight. With this blueberry frozen yogurt recipe, you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries, though you might want to lean to the frozen as you are going to freeze them anyway, and the frozen berries are usually cheaper. The tartness of the yogurt seems to just intensify the flavor of the blueberries, and a little cinnamon adds a touch of spice.

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Easy Grilled Salmon

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:04:17 -0800

Well, summer has finally come to Sacramento. After weeks of remarkably pleasant 80-degree weather, the hundreds have arrived. Yesterday 108�F. Today, 104�F. And when the mercury goes up, the grill comes out. Who wants to heat up the kitchen when the AC is barely hanging in there? My friend Suzanne cooks outdoors on her grill all summer long. A few days ago we got together to cook some salmon, and she showed me her favorite method of grilling salmon, quick and easy. There are lots of marinades you can use with salmon; I've included four here. Suzanne usually just uses a simple soy sauce and minced garlic marinade. I tend to get a little fancier with the addition of mirin rice wine, ginger, and sugar.

Do you have a favorite way to prepare grilled salmon? A favorite salmon marinade? If so, please let us know about it in the comments.

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Rhubarb Crumble

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:16:07 -0800

When my father was a kid growing up in Minnesota, in the summer he used to love to chew on rhubarb that grew like a weed around there, RAW. That's right. Raw. (The stalks, not the leaves which are poisonous.) Have you ever tried biting into a piece of raw rhubarb stalk? I dare you. It's like a hundred times more sour than a lemon (okay maybe a little exaggeration here). It's screaming tart. It's "what was I thinking?" tart. Anyway, rhubarb is not safe around this house. The refrigerator half life for rhubarb is a couple hours at best. This last bunch we put to work into a lovely rhubarb crumble, based on a recipe dad found in Oprah magazine (yes, I had to get over the shock of that too, my dad, reading Oprah? then again she does have good recipes). Taking a tip from The Flavor Bible, I added a touch of cardamom to the vanilla and rhubarb in the filling, rhubarb+cardamom+vanilla being one of those match-made-in-heaven flavor combinations.

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Salmon Macaroni Salad

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:45:15 -0800

I distinctly remember the tall cans of dark pink salmon that used to be in our pantry when I was a kid. Although we could any time open a can of tuna or sardines and eat to our hearts content without permission, the canned salmon was off limits. Although the excuse my dad gave was, "it's special" (followed by "keep your hands off"), I think the real reason was that he loved the stuff and always wanted to make sure there was a can or two in the pantry when he wanted it. Nothing lasted that long in the pantry of a family with six kids.

One of my favorite things to do with canned salmon is to make a simple salmon macaroni salad with it, a riff off our family favorite tuna macaroni salad. You can choose to add sliced lettuce (iceberg works best) to the salad, but it works best as is, without lettuce, if you are planning to bring it to a picnic or have it last for leftovers.

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Beef Wellington

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:33:10 -0800

A few months ago my father got an inkling to make Beef Wellington, beef tenderloin smothered with mushroom duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry and baked. Who knows where he got the idea, maybe just curiosity. Beef Wellington is one of those dishes that was a lot more popular 40 years ago than it is now. But once my dad decides he wants to make something, come hell or high water, it will be made. It also helps that Chef Gordon Ramsey has a video online on how to make his version of Beef Wellington, using Parma ham wrapped around the fillet instead of the more traditional p�t� de foie gras. So, we recently set out to make it, dad channelling Chef Ramsey, albeit without the yelling and swearing (though I'm guessing that if dad thought he could get away with acting like Chef Ramsey around the rest of us, he would). It's actually a lot easier to make than it looks, assuming you are using ready-made puff pastry, and the result is fantastic. A great idea for a father's day dinner for the beef-loving dads out there.

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Apple Walnut Gorgonzola Turnovers

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:51:51 -0800

Yes yes I know it's June and it's not apple season here yet, but we make cooked apples every year and freeze them, we grow our own walnuts and thyme, and this was just plain good, so there. Remarkably it is the middle of June in Sacramento and we haven't had a day over 90 degrees in weeks, in fact, it's barely been getting up to the 80s. So, the oven is still in use. Ever have one ingredient that you have left over from something so you devise an entire recipe around it? I had some gorgonzola cheese begging to be eaten, some puff pastry in the freezer, and my mother's book club potluck event at our house coming up. Apples and walnuts we always have on hand. Apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, thyme, and honey make up the filling of these mini-turnovers and let me tell you, this is a great combination. Put the filling on a pizza, keep the apples fresh and make a gorgonzola version of Waldorf salad, or place it on a flour tortilla and roll it up and eat it as a wrap, whatever you do these ingredients belong together. Big hit at the book club too, nary a turnover was left.

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Cherry Clafouti

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:19:15 -0800

Guest author Garrett McCord made this cherry clafouti for my mother and me using freshly picked cherries from our neighbor Pat's tree. So good! And incredibly easy. ~Elise

I've been making clafoutis for years now and it's become a regular spring and summer dessert staple. The reason being is during these seasons I often find myself with too many cherries, blackberries, or Italian plums around on the verge of turning bad on me which is where the clafoutis comes in. Since it requires only a small amount of the most basic baking ingredients I can whip it up in a flash, use the neglected fruit, and impress the friends I feed it to. ("Oh this?! It's just a simple French clafoutis I bammed out. Nothing fancy.")

There are dozens of different clafoutis recipes, each unique to their owner and this particular one is my own. I find it has just the right texture between custard and cake. A smidge of brown sugar gives it a slightly darker flavor, and a small smattering of slivered almonds along with splash of Amaretto give the clafoutis a certain je ne sais quoi. If you're a fan of desserts with little work and a lot of payoff, then clafoutis is the way to go.

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Circassian Chicken

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:49:43 -0800

Please welcome guest author Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook who shares one of his favorite chicken salads with us. ~Elise

Not sure where I first heard of this variant on chicken salad, but I�ve been making it for years. Presumably it originated in the Caucasus Mountains, which is where the Circassians live. I�ve net yet met a Circassian, although I suspect they may be something like an Armenian. Or not. Who knows? What I do know is that there are plenty of recipes for this dish out there, but what ties them all together are walnuts, garlic, paprika and poached chicken or pheasant.

I�ve tended to make this with pheasant, but a good chicken breast is just as good. Try to use an older bird, like a stewing hen or rooster. If none are available, use a roasting chicken of about 3-5 pounds, not the smaller fryers. The reason is because this is a bold salad, and I think young birds lack the flavor to stand up to it.

This recipe is a great way to get away from typical mayo-based chicken salads, and is wonderful either as a sandwich, or simply served with crusty bread and a pickle or two. Once made, it keeps well in the fridge for at least 3-4 days.

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