The Flexitarian Foodie

Gremolata Mashed Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:25:00 +0000

If you aren't familiar with gremolata, get ready for a treat! Essentially a finely chopped mixture of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic that's traditionally served with osso buco, I use gremolata on everything from chicken (drizzle in some oil and use as a rub for roasted chicken) to fish to soups to simply sauteed veggies like green beans (just sprinkle on top before serving).

One idea that had never occurred to me, though, was using gremolata in mashed potatoes--until last week, when one of my culinary instructors suggested we give it a try. The result was not only delicious, but also tasty enough that you can skip making gravy altogether. So, if you've ever craved mashed potatoes but refrained because your dinner wasn't conducive to gravy-making, this is your lucky day!

Gremolata Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes: peeled, cut into 2-inch chunks, and dropped into cool water
zest from 2 lemons
3-4 cloves garlic: minced
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 tbsp room temperature butter
1 cup hot whole or 2% milk
salt and pepper

Drain the potato chunks and place them in a medium pot. Cover with fresh water, add salt, then bring the pot to a boil on the stovetop over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, assemble the remaining ingredients and stir the zest, parsley, and garlic into the soft butter in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Once the potatoes are done, drain them and mash as desired into the bowl over the butter mixture (you can mash with a handheld potato masher for a more rustic result, or use a ricer or food mill for perfectly smooth potatoes). Pour in the hot milk, then season with salt and pepper before serving*.

*Potatoes may be spooned into an oven-safe dish, covered, and held in a warm oven until needed.

Pasta fagioli

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:47:00 +0000

For most of us, weeknight dinners need to hit several different marks on a consistent basis: they need to taste good, they need to be nutritious and filling, and they need to be on the table within 30-45 minutes of the time we start to cook. This easy soup accomplishes all three goals with ease, and gives you the flexibility to switch up your veggie components if you're not the biggest fan of carrots and sweet potatoes (which is what I happened to have on hand).

Any sort of chopped squash would work here (toss 'em in with the pasta so that they aren't mush when you serve), and fresh chopped greens would be a delicious last-minute addition. You can use any sort of small pasta shape as well--I happened to see campanelle in the store and thought it looked different and fun, but shells or macaroni or small penne would be fine. If you have half a pound of something sitting in the back of the pantry, this is definitely the moment to break it out. It all comes back to my my new mantra: it's dinner, not rocket science--so no overthinking allowed!

Pasta fagioli

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz pancetta: chopped

1 large onion: chopped

4 cloves of garlic: minced

1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes

6-7 cups chicken broth

1-2 sweet potatoes: peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

3-4 carrots: peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 (15 oz) cans of small white beans

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

8 oz. uncooked small pasta

1/3 cup freshly grated pamigiano-reggiano

salt (if needed) and pepper

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat with the olive oil and add the chopped pancetta. Cook until the pancetta fat begins to liquefy (about 3 minutes) and then add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent before adding the garlic and cooking for 2 minutes longer.

Add the tomatoes, broth, sweet potatoes, carrots, white beans, and thyme to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the pasta and cheese, stir well, and cook until the pasta is al dente--this will depend on which kind of past you've chosen, so keep an eye on it. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed (I found that the pancetta, broth, and cheese provided enough salt, so I added only pepper to mine) and serve immediately.

Pappardelle with tomatoes, corn, and scallops

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:29:00 +0000

I love super-wide noodles, the wider the better. Maybe it's the fact that they often include egg and thus taste a little more like fresh pasta (despite the fact that I generally buy mine dried at Trader Joe's)? Tonight I was in the mood for something with roasted tomatoes and corn and I was on my out of the market with those items in my cart when I spied some really beautiful bay scallops. Because bay scallops are significantly smaller than their ocean cousins, they are naturally bite-sized and cook in a flash, making them a fantastic addition to a quick pasta dish like this one...so I bought them.

That decision was widely lauded by the family, who appreciated the dish overall, but were generally preoccupied with seeing who got more of the piscine morsels than their brothers. Apparently, this proved once and for all who the family favorite is and has always been? Because you know I sat there and counted them out as I was racing to get food on plates before the whole thing was stone cold!

MY favorite part of the dish was actually the vegetable/sauce mixture, which has a strong lemon/wine/butter taste. I'd even go so far as to say that you could eliminate the scallop component, or substitute in medium shrimp, or even ramp up the veggie aspect of the thing with chunks of zucchini. Let your fish market and eating habits be your guide--and then make sure you portion everything out equitably, just in case it comes up 30 years from now. ;-)

Pappardelle with tomatoes, corn, and scallops

2 pints fresh cherry or grape tomatoes

1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn: off the cob

2 tbsp olive oil

6 tbsp unsalted butter: divided

1 lb. bay scallops (or medium shrimp, or cubed zucchini, salted and patted dry)

zest and juice of 1 lemon (you should have about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 lb. dried pappardelle: cooked al dente and drained

salt and pepper

Preheat broiler. Toss tomatoes and corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil until tomatoes are browned in spots and very soft, even bursting open. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper and immediately add to the skillet. Cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes, then toss and cook for another minute or so before removing from the skillet with a slotted spoon (they may still be slightly undercooked, but that's okay). Add the wine to the skillet and allow to bubble for a minute, then add the lemon juice, zest, tomato/corn mixture, and remaining butter. Once the butter has melted, taste and adjust seasonings, then add the scallops and cooked pasta and toss until the pasta is coated and the scallops are cooked through (about 2 minutes). Serve immediately.

Easy Pea Soup

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

It doesn't really get a lot easier than 3 ingredients (not counting water, salt, and pepper). All you need to buy is a little bacon, a few onions, a bag of split peas, and you're in business....

I discovered this recipe years ago in Rozanne Gold's excellent Recipes 1-2-3. If you're interested in super-simple food made with the best ingredients, I think her cookbooks are definitely the ones to check out. I have them all, and think that they're living proof that the best, most sophisticated meals don't have to involve a million ingredients (or ANY processed ingredients, for that matter). Just a little thought, a little care, and a very good appetite!

Easy Split Pea Soup

adapted from Recipes 1-2-3

8 slices thick-cut bacon: thinly sliced

3 medium onions: peeled and sliced

1 lb. bag of split peas: rinsed and picked over

6-1/2 to 7 cups water

1 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

Place the bacon in a dutch oven (or medium soup pot) and cook over medium-high heat until some fat starts to liquify, about 4 minutes. Add the onions and cook until the bacon is cooked and the onions are golden, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Add the peas, 6-1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour. Puree with an immersion blender, then taste and adjust seasoning (you can also add more water now if you feel the soup is too thick). Simmer for another 10 minutes before serving.

Mini Bruschetta Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 21:26:00 +0000

I love figuring out different little savory bites of things, and one of my favorite things to mess around with is bruschetta. It's really hard to make bad bruschetta--and the good stuff is out of this world. I do various versions of the classic as little mini pizzas, foccacia, and now...muffins!

These would be an excellent appetizer or snack pretty much anytime, but we especially enjoyed them as a special treat on a recent "soup for supper" night. The only thing to remember is to use the best ricotta you can find--the stuff in the fancy cheese case is almost guaranteed to be 1000% better than what you find in the processed cheese row of the grocery store, and it's well worth the splurge. The tomato topping can be purchased in small jars--usually in the deli section of my grocery store--or at the antipasto bar of upscale grocers. It's worth noting that the prepared stuff will release less mixture than freshly chopped tomatoes, so if you want to do the tomatoes from scratch, you should definitely plan to cook them down a bit before using them in this recipe, lest your muffins turn out soggy. Soggy muffins are no one's idea of delicious. ;-)

Bruschetta Mini Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter: melted

1/4 cup olive oil

6-8 leaves of fresh basil: chopped fine

1 egg

1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1/4 cup prepared tomato bruschetta topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add liquids and basil (everything through the egg), and stir until well combined. Spoon by tablespoons into 24 ungreased mini-muffin cups and top with a small spoonful (a scant 1/2 tsp) ricotta, then another small spoonful of the tomato topping. Bake for 10 minutes. Move oven rack up and broil for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown (please watch them carefully).

Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature!

A new adventure

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:35:00 +0000

For the past week, I've been cooking nonstop, 6 hours a day--but if you check this blog regularly, you wouldn't know it. There's a reason, I promise! Now that it seems like it's really happening, I'm excited to share that I was able, at the 11th hour, to enroll in the Culinary Arts program at Johnson & Wales University. It was a comedy of errors up until the very last minute, let me tell you--I couldn't find my childhood shot records, we were scrambling to figure out the money side of things (until I got a scholarship, hooray!), we had to find day care for our youngest where the days and hours aligned with my class schedule...you get the idea. Lots of sleepless nights and about a million fruitless phone calls for two weeks, capped off with a case of food poisoning that hit on the DAY of orientation, in the MIDDLE of the Dean's presentation. Not awesome.

But after four days of class, I can tell you what IS awesome--spending 6 hours a day learning the "real" way to do the things I'm passionate about, with a group of young people who are helpful and kind and very welcoming. The snacking is pretty excellent, too. ;-p

Now that things are settling into a rhythm, I hope to resume blogging--both on handy tips that I'm sure to learn at school, and my regularly scheduled home cooking. It's going to be a very foodie year!

What goes with apples?

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:21:00 +0000

Last weekend we packed up the kids and headed off to the Winter Farmer's Market in Pawtucket, RI, not really sure what to expect. I mean, what grows in Rhode Island in February? Turn out, more than you'd think--and in addition to the locally grown / sourced fruits and veggies and seafood and meats, there were plenty of local bakers and coffee roasters and cheese makers to visit and sample and chat up.

People here are so friendly, so we got lots of suggestions for things to do and places to visit (alpaca shearing in the spring! farms where we can pick our own apples and berries!) but possibly the best tip of all came from the cheese lady. As we stood around scarfing all her samples for 10 minutes, she patiently gave us recipe ideas for every single variety we tasted...including the amazing aged cheddar we ended up buying, for which she suggested the "recipe" below. It sounds a little kooky, but if you like apples and peanut butter AND you like grilled cheese sandwiches, you are really gonna want to try this. (We've made 'em three separate times already.)

So, thanks, cheese lady. Tomorrow, I will learn your name and tell you how very, very right you were about the awesomeness of your sandwich!

PBA Grilled Cheese
1 tbsp softened butter
2 slices sandwich bread (wheat or white)
peanut butter
sharp cheddar cheese: thinly sliced
1/2 of a small Granny Smith apple: thinly sliced

Heat a griddle over medium heat.

Spread 1/2 tbsp butter over one side of each piece of bread and place them butter-side down into the griddle. Spread one piece of bread with a thin layer of peanut butter, and lay the cheese slices out to just cover the other piece. Lay the apple pieces out on the peanut butter side and cook until the cheese has melted and both pieces of bread are golden on their "butter" sides. Flip the cheesy piece of bread over onto the apples, press, and remove sandwich from the griddle onto a plate. Slice in half before serving (for ease of eating, trust me).

Squash and Chickpea Soup

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:25:00 +0000

The problem with having a simple vegetable soup for dinner is...no protein. I mean, it isn't the end all, be all, but it is a consideration, especially when you want something that will really stick with you on a cold New England night. Enter butternut squash and chickpea soup, laced with Indian spices, smoothed with coconut milk, and sweetened with tomato. Yep, it's yummy! (Also, it makes a ton, so you'll feed the whole family AND have leftovers for lunch tomorrow...I love that.)

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Soup

3 tbsp. vegetable or coconut oil

1 medium onion: chopped

4 cloves garlic: minced

1-1/2 tbsp garam masala

1/3 cup white wine

1 quart vegetable broth

4 lb. butternut squash: peeled, seeded, and chopped into small pieces

2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans): drained and well rinsed

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, preferably in puree

1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk

Pour the oil into a dutch oven set over medium-high heat, then add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and garam masala and cook for an additional 2 minutes before adding the wine. Cook until the wine has nearly evaporated, then add the remaining ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until the squash is very tender, about 40 minutes. Puree in batches (I needed 3 rounds to get it all done), transferring the pureed soup into a clean pot as you go. Rewarm for a few minutes if needed (or hold on low heat, covered, if desired), then serve!

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:49:00 +0000

You don't really know what a desperation dinner is until you have 2 feet of snow outside of your new house (in your new state), and all the food you prepped before the storm hit has been consumed. But dinner still has to be served, and luckily we had the power to make cooking an option. So, a (quickish) pasta dish that relies on a single onion and a whole bunch of mushrooms to get the job done, using a slightly offbeat technique to do it. Not low fat, I admit...but perfectly delicious on a snowy New England night!

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Noodles
4 tbsp butter: divided
1 large onion: roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic: minced
1-1/3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 lb. crimini mushrooms: quartered
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
1 lb. wide egg noodles: cooked and drained

Melt 2 tbsp butter in your largest skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion in the butter until golden brown, stirring often, about 25-30 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes, then scrape everything into your blender along with the broth. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in the same skillet over medium high heat and add the mushrooms and paprika. Cook until the mushrooms release all of their moisture and the moisture has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the white wine and allow to bubble for 2 minutes, then pour in the onion puree. Reduce heat to low, then add the sour cream and adjust seasoning as needed. Stir in the hot cooked egg noodles and serve immediately.

Quick dinner rolls

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:24:00 +0000

For those nights when you suddenly realize that what dinner really needs is fresh bread--but it's already 5 o'clock and you're not in the mood to hop in the car again.

Fluffy and hot and FAST...dinner rolls in about an hour!

Quick Garlic-Parmesan Dinner Rolls
4 tbsp butter: melted
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 tbsp instant yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp salt
5 cloves garlic: crushed
3 slightly mounded cups of all purpose flour (about 3-1/3 cups)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Combine the melted butter, oil, sugar, yeast, and water in a large bowl and stir well to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Beat in the egg, salt, and garlic, then stir in the flour until just combined and cover the bowl until the dough has doubled in size (about 30 minutes).

Lightly dust a cutting board with flour and cheese and transfer the dough to the board. Divide dough into 12 equal portions, then roll each portion in the flour/cheese before placing it in a greased muffin cup. Allow to rise until doubled in size again while the oven preheats to 425 degrees, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot.

Chicken Pot Pie

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:30:00 +0000

When it's cold and snowy, is there anything better than a pot pie? Sure, it's a little more work to do it all from scratch (no cream-of-anything soup or bags of precooked chicken chunks)...but it's so delicious, you may consider doing it all over again tomorrow!

Chicken Pot Pie
for the filling:
1-1/2 lbs chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 tbsp butter
4-6 carrots: peeled and sliced
2-3 stalks celery: roughly chopped
1 large onion: peeled and chopped
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups whole milk (or 1 cup light cream, 1 cup 2%)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp sherry

for the biscuit crust:
1 tbsp vinegar
1 cup milk (minus 1 tbsp)
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 (slightly mounded) tbsp baking powder
1 (scant) tbsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening or butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken breasts on a small baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until just cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Chop meat into bite-sized pieces and reserve any juices from the bottom of the pan. (Leave the oven on!)

Melt butter in a large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet. Cook the carrots, celery, and onion in the butter over medium heat just until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Allow the mixture to bubble for a couple of minutes to thicken, then stir in chicken and reserved juices. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then set aside while you make the crust.

To make the crust, pour the vinegar in the bottom of a 1-cup measure, then top off with milk to the 1-cup line. Set aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening or butter with your fingers until the fat is in small pieces (this is easier to do with shortening--if using butter, cut it up first to speed things along). Pour the reserved vinegar/milk mixture into the bowl and stir to combine. Pat into a circle the same diameter as the interior of your skillet, then place the dough over the chicken mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling around the sides of the pan. Cool at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.

I'm back! With meatballs!

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Okay, so January was pretty much a wash for blogging. We spent the first half of the month packing up our lives in California (I went down with both shingles and the flu, just to up the fun factor), a week driving across the country in a car packed to absolute capacity, and a week unpacking. If that sounds like a crummy way to kick off a year, it was--and the food wasn't fantastic either. [shudder]

The good news is, it's over now and I've been reunited with my own pots and pans and knives, etc. And just in time for the Superbowl! So I decided to celebrate by combining two of our favorite foods--buffalo wing sauce (equal parts butter and hot sauce) and meatballs. Chicken meatballs, of course. Yumyumyum!

If you can't find ground dark-meat chicken, you can fake it at home without a meat grinder. Cut chicken thighs into chunks (leave the fat on!), then freeze them for about 30 minutes before pulsing them in a food processor. Do this in two batches so that you don't end up making a paste of some of the meat before all the larger pieces are ground up...this is a moment when patience definitely pays off.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
1-1/2 lbs ground chicken thigh meat
1/2 cup butter: melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup Frank's or Crystal hot sauce
1 egg
1 cup panko crumbs
1 onion: grated into a clean kitchen towel and squeezed dry
1 tsp celery salt (or regular kosher salt)

for serving*:
blue cheese dip
celery sticks
carrot sticks

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place the ground chicken in a large bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Mix together thoroughly with your hands. Form into 1-inch balls and place on a foil-lined rimmed cookie sheet so the meatballs are just touching. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn and continue baking another 5 minutes. Broil for just a minute or two if you want to brown them a little more. Serve with dip and veggies.

*If I had been able to find slider rolls, my original plan was to make cute little meatball sliders with a blue cheese / cream cheese/ minced celery spread, garnished with celery leaves as the "lettuce". It only occurred to me too late that I could probably have cut hot dog rolls into thirds and made it work...alas....

Easy cheesy garlic bread

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:52:00 +0000

Because sometimes, you just need cheesy garlic bread...(especially when tomato soup is for lunch)!

Cheesy Garlic Bread
1 fresh (1 lb) baguette: cut into quarters, then sliced open
4 tbsp room temperature butter
1 tsp crushed garlic (2 cloves)
3 tbsp freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
1/2 cup freshly grated sharp white cheddar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place the butter, garlic, and cheeses into the bowl of a mini food processor. Pulse until smooth. Spread thickly on the cut tops of the bread pieces--use it all! Bake for 6-8 minutes, until browned and puffy. Remove from the oven and serve.

Carbonara

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:39:00 +0000

Carbonara, to me, is the ultimate comfort food. The ingredients are so simple--pasta, pancetta, eggs, cheese, pepper--but when they're put together in just the right way, the result is astoundingly beyond those origins. Unfortunately, that isn't to say that you can just toss it all together and sit down to dinner; it's a quick meal that I've been fiddling around with for years, now. But finally, I have a recipe that I love...and I hope you'll love it, too!

Happy 2013...

Pasta Carbonara

1 lb. dried spaghetti

6-8 oz. pancetta: diced

1/3 cup dry white wine

3 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

~12 grinds of fresh black pepper

1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano (you can also do half p.r. and half pecorino)

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil (the water should taste salty). Let it boil for a few minutes while you start cooking the pancetta in your largest frying pan set over medium-high heat. You will hopefully end up with about a tablespoon of fat in the pan by the time the pancetta browns, but if not, add a little olive oil or bacon fat to the pan. Deglaze the pan (with the pancetta still in it) with the wine and allow to bubble for 1 minute, then turn off the heat.

Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and give it a good stir. Whisk the eggs and pepper together and set aside. When the pasta is just al dente, scoop out 1/2 cup of the pasta water and place it next to the pancetta pan, then drain the pasta. Turn the pancetta pan back on to low heat, then toss with the hot pasta. Immediately add the eggs and continue tossing until the pasta is completely coated. If it seems a little dry, add 2 tbsps of the reserved pasta water at a time until the mixture is creamy (not wet!) and coats the pasta smoothly. Add the cheese and toss a few more times before serving.

Back of the bag...biscuits!

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 17:01:00 +0000

Biscuits are pretty much their own food group at my house. I grew up on the canned kind, graduated to frozen in college, and then eventually realized that [gasp!] I could make them myself in about 20 minutes. And thus began a 15 year quest for the perfect recipe.

Over the years I've used Crisco and butter, self-rising, cake, and all-purpose flours, milk and buttermilk and cream. I've even used yeast! I've scoured baking websites, southern cookbooks, my grandparents' memories, and magazines for recipes. But what I had never done--until about a month ago--was try the recipe on the back of the *&@#** flour bag. Apparently I'm a little slow.

These are the best biscuits I've ever made, we all agree. In fact, I double the recipe so we end up with 18 good-sized specimens (also because: if I have to buy buttermilk, I'm using as much of it as possible). Over the past month I've made a few adjustments to the original recipe, but if you ever find yourself in the vicinity of a bag of Gold Medal self-rising flour, you certainly won't go wrong with their immodestly--but accurately--titled 'Extraordinary Buttermilk Biscuits". They're crusty on the outside, tender and buttery on the inside, and rise like I've always dreamed they would!

Biscuit tips, regardless of the recipe you're using:

Make sure your oven is really and truly hot before you put the biscuits in. Most recipes call for a temperature of 450 degrees, and I would be suspicious of any recipe that goes lower than 425.
When cutting the dough, use a cookie or biscuit cutter--a drinking glass isn't sharp enough, sadly--and DON'T TWIST. It's something I have to force myself to stay mindful of every. single. time. But twisting leads to flat biscuits, which leads to feelings of despair, which leads to other terrible things, I'm sure. Just push straight down, lift, and repeat!
Having all your "stuff" out and in place before you get your hands dirty is crucial. My family rolls their eyes at me every time I stop, mid-mix, to sheepishly request the biscuit cutter, baking sheets, and a floured board. Apparently, much as they love biscuits and appreciate the heck out me for making them on a regular basis, this is annoying. Oops.

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits (at last!)

5 cups self-rising flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold butter: cut into small chunks

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening (such as Crisco): cut into small chunks

2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lay out a cookie sheet, a 2-1/2 to 3-inch biscuit cutter, a large bowl, a mixing spoon, and your largest cutting board dusted with flour. Measure out the buttermilk and set aside.

Place the flour and sugar in the bowl and mix briefly. Add the butter and shortening chunks and start rubbing the pieces between your fingertips to break them up. Keep it up until the mixture looks crumbly and has no large chunks remaining. Stir in the buttermilk until the dough is uniformly wet.

Dump the dough onto your floured board--it may be pretty crumbly still--and knead about 8 times to form a smooth dough that holds together. Pat the dough out to about an inch thickness and cut (without twisting, remember!) as many as possible. Gather the scraps and pat out again until you've used up all the dough. You should have about 18 biscuits. Place them ALL on a single cookie sheet (it will be tight, but they shouldn't quite be touching) and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove and serve immediately.

Steak and Chorizo Empanadas

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 22:27:00 +0000

Being married to a nice Puerto Rican boy is wonderful for many reasons, not least of which is that it gives me license to fry excessive quantities of food at the drop of a hat--especially around the holidays. This year, with no extended family around, I decided to focus on those snacky foods for our Christmas lunch, and eventually decided to make tostones, croquetas, and two types of empanadas: manchego/guava and steak/chorizo. The former were yummy, but the steak/chorizo combination--gleaned from this recipe--was truly outstanding. I made a few tweaks, so I'm posting my version of the recipe below, but you really can't go wrong with these!

Steak and Chorizo Empanadas
adapted from Guillermo Gonzalez

4 oz. dry chorizo: diced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Italian frying pepper: seeded and finely diced (about 2 peppers)
1/4 cup yellow onion: finely diced
1 clove garlic: minced
1/2 lb. beef tenderloin: cut into 1/2-inch cubes
salt and pepper
4 oz. manchego (younger, softer cheese if you can find it): sliced
12 5-inch emapanada dough wrappers (thawed if frozen, I used the Goya type marked for baking)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the chorizo in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat until it browns, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a medium bowl. If there is more than 1 tbsp fat left in the pan, drain the excess. If there is less, add a little oil. Add the diced peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan to the bowl with the chorizo. Pour in a tablespoon of oil and allow the pan to get hot again, then season the steak with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan. Cook, tossing once or twice, just until the meat browns on a side or two. Remove and toss with the chorizo and pepper/onion mixture.

Lay the empanada wrappers out and top each with a large spoonful of chorizo/steak mixture. Top with a slice of cheese, then fold the dough over and crimp closed with a fork. Place on a cookie sheet, making sure that each empanada is well-sealed. Bake for about 25 minutes, turning the cookie sheet halfway through, until the emapanadas are browned on top and bottom. Remove from the oven and serve hot. (No sauce is needed, but if you want one, I'd recommend the chimichurri sauce from this tostone recipe.)

Spiced Bulgur

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 03:40:00 +0000

I bought a huge bag of bulgur a while back, while in the throes of a major tabbouleh craving. Made a few batches, was sated, and forgot all about the rest of the bag sitting patiently in the back of the pantry. Oops.

But as luck would have it, today I was scrambling for a QUICK side dish to accompany tamales and salad, and I found the bag again. Fifteen minutes later, we sat down at the table. Thirty minutes after that, there were a lot of clean plates on their way back to the kitchen--a pretty big accomplishment at my house, where "Mommy grains" are regarded with universal suspicion....

Spiced Bulgur

1 cup uncooked bulgur

2 cups unsalted vegetable broth

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Combine the bulgur and broth in a medium saucepot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the broth is absorbed, about 10-12 minutes. Add the oil, spices, and salt and stir occasionally for 2-3 minutes longer, until the bulgur is fragrant and beginning to toast in places. Serve immediately.

Apple-Walnut Strudel

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Where have I been? you may ask--or you may not, and that's fine too. Well, as luck would have it, just after my last post (pre-Thanksgiving!) we learned that we are moving to Rhode Island come the New Year. So there's been a lot of quick planning, a trip across the country to scout schools and houses, blah blah blah...all on top of the usual holiday busy-ness. The cooking has not been exciting, on the rare(ish) occasions that cooking has even happened, especially because I've embarked on my pre-move "try to use up all the random things in the pantry/fridge/freezer before we go" quest. We're eating a lot of distinctly ODD food combinations.

And then, today. I had a little extra time, a lonely box of phyllo dough, the dregs of a bottle of Grand Marnier, a crisper full of apples, and a cup of walnuts. Suddenly, it seemed like strudel time!

It might seem odd to spice this dessert with orange zest and liquor, but just wait til you try it--somehow it actually makes it seem more Christmas-y. Add a small scoop of ice cream, and you've got an easy holiday dessert that's sophisticated and bridges the generational divide...perfect.

Apple-Walnut Strudel
10 sheets phyllo dough (thawed)
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter: melted and divided
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbsp Grand Marnier
1/2 tsp cinnamon
zest of 1 medium orange
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup coarsely ground walnuts (I buzzed them in my food processor)
pinch of salt
3 medium-to-large Granny Smith apples: peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay out two sheets of phyllo, side by side but not overlapping. Brush lightly with butter, then top each with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat until you have two rectangles of dough, each with 5 layers of phyllo and butter.

Combine the raisins and Grand Marnier in a large microwave-safe bowl and heat on HIGH for 1 minute. Add the cinnamon, orange zest, brown sugar, walnuts, and salt, along with 2 tbsp of the melted butter. Stir well, then add the apple slices and toss again to combine.

Divide the apple mixture evenly lengthwise down the middle of each phyllo stack, leaving a small border at each end. Bring one side of the dough over the apple mixture, then roll that over the remaining dough so that the strudel is resting on the seam. Transfer the two rolls to a cookie sheet, brush the tops with butter, and pinch the ends to prevent any apples from escaping. Cut a few slits in the top of each strudel, then bake for 30-40 minutes, until a deep golden brown. Remove and allow cool for at least 10 minutes before serving; it's also very good just warm or even at room temperature.

Cranberry sorbet

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 19:54:00 +0000

It's cranberry season! This weekend I went a little nuts with it, and made my Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, a nut tart with dried cranberries, and then this cranberry sorbet to serve alongside the tart. It's the exact right amount of tart and refreshing--it would be great as a palate cleanser, if you're into that sort of thing--and the tiny bit of corn syrup keeps the texture smooth, which has always been the challenge of homemade sorbet-making. And given that it takes about 4 minutes to put together, how can you not give it a shot? ;-)

Cranberry Sorbet
3 cups 100% cranberry juice (NOT a juice blend)
1-3/4 cups water
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tbsp orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier)
pinch of salt

Combine everything in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until completely cold (or overnight).

Pour the juice mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine as per manufacturer's directions (don't overfill! I had a little too much sorbet mixture for my machine, but not enough to scale back the recipe) and process until frozen to "slush". Scrape into a plastic tub, cover, and freeze for at least 2 hours. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before scooping and serving.

Chile con Queso bites

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Here's an idea who's time has come, I think--the inside out chip/dip snack! Waaay less messy to eat, and just as delicious. You'll get major points if you serve these little guys at any sort of sports-watching event, and you can even take it a step further (add refried beans or pickled jalapenos!) if you're that kind of cook. AWESOME.

Chile con Queso bites
10 oz can Rotel (tomatoes with chiles): drained and squeezed dry
1 cup shredded colby-jack or cheddar-jack cheese blend
20 wonton wrappers (6 oz. package)
oil for frying

Combine the "dry" Rotel with the cheese in a small bowl. Lay the wonton wrappers out onto a damp paper towel and "paint" the edges of two sides of each with a bit of water--it's easiest to use your finger for this, but do one wonton all the way through before wetting the next. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle and fold the dry side over to the wet. Seal well, and set aside while you do the rest of the wontons.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a medium pot for about 5 minutes. Add 5 wontons and cook, flipping as needed, until golden. Remove to paper towels to drain before serving (they are best when warm-to-hot rather than HOT or room temperature).

Thanksgiving recipes I have loved (or hope to love this year)

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:43:00 +0000

As promised, here is my list of go-to recipes for this year's Thanksgiving celebration. You may notice a lack of mashed potatoes--that's for a very good reason--because I don't make any. We starch up with mac and cheese instead, and save our gravy cravings for the stuffing and the bird!

Turkey stock (for gravy, stuffing, etc.)--it isn't that much work, and it is crazily good! My friend Karine once asked if we'd think less of her for drinking the resulting gravy down, straight. ;-p Make it this weekend, freeze, and thaw in the fridge a day or two before--you'll be very glad you did. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/dining/191grex.html

Grilled Turkey--this is the recipe we used until we got a turkey fryer (all hail the fryer!), and it always made everyone very happy. Keep a close eye on the bird's internal temp, though, we've had it finish cooking much earlier than expected, even with someone monitoring grill temperature constantly. The great thing about grilling (or frying) your bird is that it leaves the oven available for everything else! http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/weber/Firehouse_Turkey.html

Pumpkin rolls--this is my seasonal take on potato rolls, always a huge hit (and you don't have to mash any potatoes to get started, just open a can of pumpkin puree and you're ready to go). This recipe makes a zillion, but they go fast... http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/11/savory-pumpkin-bread.html

Bread Stuffing with Fresh Herbs--some things are better left alone, and I feel that stuffing is one of them. Add bacon or apples or mushrooms or dried fruit if you'd like, but you might be surprised at how good plain can be when you use great ingredients. Use your homemade stock (natch) and maybe replace one of the onions with an equal volume of chopped shallots, and you're in business. Side note: Fine Cooking also has a "stuffing recipe maker" if you're really determined to mix things up. http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/bread-stuffing-fresh-herbs.aspx

Bobby Flay's Chipotle Sweet Potatoes--if sugary potatoes aren't your thing (mini-marshmallows, ugh) give this simple recipe a shot. You can bake the potatoes and assemble the whole thing a day or two in advance--it just needs heating through to be finished, and you can do that in the microwave if need be... http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Whipped-Chipotle-Sweet-Potatoes-108756

Tomatillo Creamed Spinach--no recipe, really, just a big bag of frozen (thawed, dried) chopped spinach heated through with a bottle of tomatillo sauce (not salsa, the stuff in the skinny bottle), salt and pepper, and cream to taste.

Holiday Green Beans--as easy as side dishes come, and no "cream of anything" soup mixes required! http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/11/holiday-green-beans.html

Red Wine Cranberry Sauce--this is the favorite of most women I know (maybe it's just my family, but men don't seem to get very excited about cranberries no matter what you do with them), it's just like mulled wine, but with cranberries! I add half a packet of gelatin dissolved in a little water to make sure that it sets up, but you can follow the recipe exactly if you don't care about that. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mulled-Wine-Cranberry-Sauce-233173

Chocolate pecan pie--my husband's must-have dessert! http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-pecan-pie-with-bourbon

Muscovado Pumpkin Pie--I haven't made it yet, but it's on the lineup for this year. PP is my dad's favorite dessert, and this one looks like a winner. http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/muscovado-pumpkin-pie.aspx

Repost: Foodie's Thanksgiving prep guide

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:13:00 +0000

I posted this last year (and the year before!), but as I look forward to making my stock, rolls, and cranberry sauce this week, it occurred to me that it bears repeating...so here's my official guide to how to prepare Thanksgiving without losing your mind in the process! Tomorrow, I'm going to break with tradition and also post a series of links--some from this blog, some from other places--that direct you to some of our family favorites. Every year I try to work in at least one new recipe, and I hope you'll do the same!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, hands down. I love the spirit that infuses the day--everyone stops complaining about the stuff they don't have for 24 precious hours and thinks about being grateful for what they do. Nice.

I have hosted Thanksgiving for a variety of family, friends, and strays (some unknown to us until they walked through our door, but all nonetheless welcome) nearly every year since we got married 14 years ago. The first time it was for 3 people, myself included, but there have been as many as 20 clustered around around our table, and my feeling is--the more people I share the day with, the more I feel I have to be grateful for. We take all comers, if you happen to be at loose ends!

Over the years, I've developed a pretty foolproof T-day prep plan that keeps the actual T-day craziness to a manageable level so that I can interact with our guests as they arrive. In case you're hosting for the first (or second, or tenth) time this year and are wondering how on Earth you'll do it all in time, here's my schedule...which is based on our eating schedule (we like an early afternoon meal) but can be easily adjusted to fit yours.

If you have any tips to share or steps I've forgotten, please share in the comments. Holiday prep is a constantly evolving process, and I have no doubt there's plenty left for me to learn.

1-4 weeks out

Bake rolls, cool, wrap tightly, and freeze.
Make and freeze pie crust dough (wrapped tightly).
Make turkey stock and freeze.
Make cranberry sauce and refrigerate.
Order (a fresh) turkey.
Make shopping plan: list everything you need to buy and sort by where/when you plan to get it. Don't wait too long to buy basics like brown sugar or pumpkin pie spices--they sell out!

3 days out

Pick up turkey. Thaw if needed in the refrigerator--this can take several days, depending on the size of your bird.
Bake bread or cornbread for stuffing, if needed.
Thaw turkey stock.

2 days out

Bake sweet potatoes/yams, if needed.
Peel pearl onions, if needed.
Chop basics such as onions, carrots, celery and bag separately in the fridge.
Prepare any soup you may be serving and refrigerate.
Move the pie dough into the fridge.
Make your (hopefully last) shopping trip.

1 day out

Bake your pies.
Assemble vegetable casseroles (not stuffing) and stack unbaked in the fridge.
Brine/marinate turkey, if needed.
Fill cooler of drinks, if needed (don't forget to chill your white wine).
Set table, set up any bar area.

Day of: early morning

Eat something substantial--you'll need the energy!
Remove rolls from freezer to thaw.
Prepare mise en place for any quick-cook vegetable sides (like my holiday green beans).
Reread your turkey recipe from start to end.
Remove turkey from brine and pat dry inside and out. Rub with spices, etc., and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour or so.

Day of: mid-to-late morning

Get turkey started.
Assemble and bake stuffing. Hold at room temperature.
Assemble serving dishes and silverware.
Prepare any pre-meal snacks you have planned.
Enlist a dishwasher to follow behind you as needed.

30-60 minutes before the meal

Bake prepared vegetable casseroles.
Put any room-temperature foods (like the cranberry sauce) on the table.
Reheat stuffing, if needed.
Finish cooking turkey and allow to rest at room temperature 15 minutes.

15 minutes before the meal

Ask a designated "helper bee" to take and fill drink orders.
Carve the turkey and arrange on a platter.
Make gravy with turkey drippings and stock.
Load the table with stuffing and casseroles as they finish warming/cooking.
Reheat rolls and serve.
Finish your quick-cooking sides and serve.
Leave oven on warm if you plan to reheat your pies.

Give thanks and EAT!

Slow Cooker Mexican Pork Stew

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 02:51:00 +0000

The slow cooker is the savior of moms everywhere, let's face it. When you look at the day's schedule and realize you have one kid with a playdate, one with a sports practice of some sort, and another with an orthodontist appointment, dinner comes down to a simple choice: something in the slow cooker, or take out. Honestly, I always end up feeling like I should take advantage of the energy I know I can muster in the morning to toss something into the slow cooker--by the time everyone is back in the car again, even take out can sound like one challenge too many.

I bought some really nice heritage pork stew meat recently, and was trying to think of a way to use it when I realized that a stew of some sort with white beans could be a winner. From there it was a short rustle around the kitchen to find the direction of stew--a few sweet potatoes that weren't cooked last week...a bag of peppers from the farmer's market that I couldn't resist but didn't really buy with a specific purpose in mind...a lonely can of beer that neither my husband or I particularly enjoys drinking...and VIVA MEXICO!

I used canned beans in my stew, which meant adding them toward the end of the cooking time so they wouldn't dissolve into mush (canned beans really only need to be heated through). If you choose to soak your own (dried) beans, you can certainly add them along with everything else at the start, but keep in mind that you're going need to need additional liquid.

Ole!

Mexican Pork Stew
2 medium sweet potatoes: peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups chicken broth
1 chipotle chile: minced
1 tbsp adobo sauce from the can of chipotles
1/4 cup olive oil (divided)
1 large yellow onion: halved and sliced top to bottom
3 mild green chiles (such as pasilla, anaheim, poblano): cored (seeds removed) and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 lbs. pork (shoulder) stew meat: cut into 2-inch chunks and patted dry
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp oregano (Mexican, if you can get it)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
12 grinds black pepper
1 cup beer
2 cans white beans: drained and rinsed

Place the first 4 ingredients (through adobo) into the slow cooker. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and chiles over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes (they should be starting to brown). Remove to the slow cooker.

Place the flour and spices (through pepper) in a large zip-top bag and shake to combine. Add the pork and shake to coat completely. Pour the remaining oil into the frying pan and cook until the pork is well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Move the pork to the slow cooker and deglaze the pan with the beer, scraping all the brown bits up, and then pour that mixture into the slow cooker as well. Give everything a good stir, cover, and turn the slow cooker onto the low setting. Cook for 6-8 hours, adding the beans in the last hour or two (you may want to skim some fat off before adding the beans, if it seems like there's an excess amount).

Shrimp pasta with beans n' greens

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:34:00 +0000

I was introduced to the idea of shrimp and white beans in a pasta dish at the now-defunct Trattoria Aqua here in San Diego, and it was love at first bite. That version used broccoli and orecchiette, but the idea is pretty much the same. Feel free to mix it up with a drained can of diced tomatoes, a little chopped/cooked bacon, or whatever herbs strike your fancy--the basic recipe below is delicious as is, but also endlessly adaptable!

Shrimp pasta with beans n' greens

2 lbs. peeled and deveined shrimp: rinsed and patted dry

1/2 cup olive oil

5 cloves garlic: minced

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 (15 oz) can white beans: drained, rinsed, and lightly mashed

1 (16 oz) bag frozen kale (or spinach): defrosted and squeezed dry

1/4 cup white wine

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

12 oz (uncooked) penne: cooked just al dente and drained

Toss the shrimp with 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes and set aside while the rest of the oil heats in a large skillet. When the oil is shimmering, add the shrimp and cook without stirring for 2 minutes. Stir and continue cooking until opaque, about 2 minutes longer. Add the white beans and kale and stir. Add the wine, broth, and lemon juice, cover, and cook for 3 minutes longer, until the beans and kale are heated through. Season to taste, then add the penne and allow to simmer for another minute or two. Serve!

Simple plantain hash

noreply@blogger.com (The Foodie) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 02:34:00 +0000

This is a super-easy (but different!) side dish to serve alongside spice-rubbed or grilled anything. If you're tired of potatoes and rice, but don't want to spend much more time coming up with an alternative, give this one a shot!

Plantain Hash

2 tbsp olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper: stemmed, seeded, and minced

2 red onions: chopped

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 ripe plantains (yellow with black spots): peeled and chopped

salt to taste

Heat the oil over medium-high in a large skillet. Add the pepper and onions and toss well to coat with oil. Sprinkle with the sugar and vinegar and mix to combine. Cook, stirring often, for about 15-20 minutes, or until the onions begin to caramelize. Reduce heat to medium and add the plantains. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the plantains are heated through. Season with salt (to taste) before serving.