The Kosher Chef

Black Friday: The Foodie Edition

2013-11-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of obsessed with bargain hunting, so this holiday weekend is perfect for my ~~expensive~~ pastime. I've come across many things I think fellow chefs and foodies would enjoy on my Amazon hunt this morning, so I've compiled a random list of deals here. Enjoy!

Awesome Chef Supplies

Gourmet Kosher Food

Kosher-Friendly Cookbooks
In some of these cookbooks, all the recipes are already kosher. In others, many of the recipes happen to be kosher and those that aren't can usually be made kosher with simple substitutions.

Mexican Polenta Pizza with Tomatillo Salsa (gluten-free)

2013-09-03T23:28:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Rosh Hashana is upon us, and so I thought I would post...something entirely unrelated to apples, honey or brisket! But tonight's recipe is in part motivated by the upcoming holiday. Specifically, we got a really great haul from our CSA this week and we have been scrambling (figuratively and literally as well, we made scrambled eggs this weekend with some of it) to use up the delicious produce we get from Windflower Farm - with the abbreviated week, we needed to make sure we cooked up some good stuff before heading to family for the holiday.

Among our haul: tomatoes, bell peppers, chili peppers, arugula, red onions and tomatillos. The last one being, I think, the most interesting of the bunch. I've heard professional TV chefs like Bobby Flay talk about how amazing tomatillos are, and I've heard of them used in lots of Mexican dishes. I've seen them in the supermarket too, but I've always been a little afraid to buy them, being unsure what they taste like or how to use them. So naturally when we got them in our CSA it was my job to use them up.

The trouble with tomatillos is: no one else really seems to know how to use them either! That's an exaggeration of course, but in my research it seemed like all people really used tomatillos for sauces - the most popular being salsa verde, along with some other tasty-sounding sauces for enchiladas, or as mix-ins for guacamole. I recently even saw a tomatillo ketchup from Saveur recently. But in all these recipes the tomatillos were just playing second fiddle as a condiment. I nearly gave up and planned on just buying some avocadoes and dicing them into guacamole...

When I asked Faigy what proteins we had on hand, she mentioned chicken. I figured I'd be stuffed with chicken for the next three days over the holiday, so I wanted to go for something else. The only other things she mentioned we had were pasta and polenta. Hmm...polenta sounds good, but we always have it sliced into rounds, how could I come up with a new presentation...?

A few more minutes mulling it over and it hit me! Being a sauce didn't mean the tomatillo couldn't play a starring role. What if I just treated it like a tomato and made a sauce out of it for pizza? But the better answer was to let the tomato inspire it, but not treat it like one.

I went back to the tomatillo salsa idea. I could bake a pizza "crust" from polenta, spread a tomatillo salsa doctored up as a pizza sauce on it, sprinkle cheese and bake! The result was a recipe with a number of different variations to fit all sorts of different tastes and requirements.

Some notes: I tried the salsa raw and cooked. The raw had much more of a spicy kick, but way more vibrant flavor and a beautiful color. If you're looking for something punchy with a great bright green color, keep the salsa raw before spreading onto the crust (you may need to strain it a bit). On the other had, the cooked version has a much deeper, more caramelized flavor, with a taste that vaguely resembles a tomato but not quite.

This can also be made vegan by using vegan cheese (or omitting it entirely). It is also entirely gluten-free naturally!

Finally: if you want a quick version: skip the tomatillo sauce entirely and just use regular tomato sauce. The polenta crust is way healthier than dough (350 calories for the whole thing) and it takes 5 minutes active time to prep.

Mexican Polenta Pizza with Tomatillo Salsa and fresh CSA veggie salad

Mexican Polenta Pizza (with optional Tomatillo Salsa)

For the crust:
1 tube pre-cooked polenta (we love Trader Joe's brand)
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
About 2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
Black pepper to taste
Cooking spray

For the pizza:
Note: these ingredients are hard to measure. The numbers here are an estimate; you should use as much as appears to be good to you - use more or less sauce or cheese if you prefer, and use enough to cover all but the edge of the crust.
~1 cup pizza cheese (we get a blend of mozzarella and cheddar)
~1 cup Tomatillo Sauce or other tomato sauce
~1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a pizza stone or other oven-safe pan (cast iron skillet would work well too) with cooking spray.
Slice polenta into 1-inch thick rounds. Stack them, then cut them into quarters (will make for easier processing). Transfer the sliced polenta into a food processor fitted with the chopping blade.
Add cornstarch, water, garlic, salt, basil and pepper to the food processor bowl.
Cover the food processor and turn on. Open the feeder chute and slowly drizzle in olive oil until polenta is no longer chunky and blends smooth, about 2 tbsp. You may need to stop a few times and break up larger polenta chunks by hand. They don't have to be completely blended, just mostly smooth.
Spray a rubber spatula with cooking spray (the polenta mix is quite sticky, I assure you). Transfer all the polenta mixture onto the pizza stone or pan and spread it out so that it is all an even layer (don't spread it too thin, about 1/4 - 1/2 inch is fine).
Bake the crust by itself for 15 minutes.

The blind-baked polenta crust.
If you are making the tomatillo salsa, now is a good time to start preparing it (you can also make it in advance).
When the crust is done, remove from the oven to cool a bit. Sprinkle or grate about half the Parmesan cheese onto the crust to taste.

Parmesan beneath the sauce and on top works quite well.
Spread sauce evenly on crust. Sprinkle cheese on top of sauce.
Bake for another 25 minutes (this will make the cheese nice and golden brown, my favorite; if you like it less crispy, start checking after 15-20 minutes).
Remove from oven, sprinkle more Parmesan, slice into eighths and enjoy!

Serves 2 as a main dish; 4 if used as a side; more if cut up into hors d'oeuvres

Tomatillo Salsa

If you are using the cooked version of the salsa, I promise you using the whole chili pepper is not too hot (not very perceptible on the pizza). On the other hand if you are using the raw version, it's got a good, medium kick to it. You can add another pepper to make the final version spicier, but I strongly suggest you not to leave it out if you aren't a big fan of heat - the fruitiness of the pepper really helps the tomatillo and if you cook it, it won't be too spicy.

Ingredients

4 medium tomatillos, husks removed and washed well, quartered

1 banana pepper, jalapeno or other green chili pepper, seeded and inner pith removed (or leave it in if you want it hotter), coarsely chopped

1 medium red onion (or 2 small ones), cut into eighths

2 cloves of garlic, quartered

1 tbsp. lime juice or juice from 1/2 fresh lime

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt

Put all the ingredients into a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse 10-15 times to combine well till it is mostly chopped smooth.

The raw salsa is a more vibrant green and still has the pretty purple color from the onions, but is much more pungent and spicy.
If using raw salsa, strain some of the liquid out and stop here.
Transfer salsa to a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes until most of the liquid has boiled off, stirring periodically to avoid burning.

The cooked salsa has a deeper caramelized flavor which tastes a little tomato-like, but still unique.

You can also just use this as a salsa for chips!

Makes about 1 cup.

Cheeseless Mushroom Quiche

2013-07-27T23:12:00.000-04:00

Going through the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, I came across a recipe I knew I had to try: the wild mushroom tart. However, as I needed to take the dairy out of the recipe to serve it as a side with our meat meal, this tart actually became a new recipe entirely!

Much of the binding in the filling comes from milk and cheese, so I decided to use silken tofu and miso as a replacement. The former replaces the creaminess and the latter replaces the cheesiness. Yes, you read that right - miso can imitate a cheesy flavor. It's a trick I learned from the meatball recipe on the blog Supper for Two.

Another big change I made to this recipe is the cooking time, as the tofu takes much longer to set than cheese. While cooking, I was getting nervous about leaving in the tart for nearly double the original cooking time, but it turned out perfectly.

In the end, this tart came out so delicious, meaty from the mushrooms and savory from the miso. We had absolutely no leftovers, which is always the best sign of all.

Ingredients:

20oz Cremini and/or Baby Bella Mushrooms, thinly sliced
4oz Shitake Mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 Medium Shallots or Onions, finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Large Eggs

1/4 cup Silken Tofu

1/4 cup Original Soy Milk

2 tsp Light Miso
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh thyme
fresh ground pepper
2 Graham Cracker Crusts

Each tart serves 8-10 as a side:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Saute the shallots in the oil on medium heat and stir occasionally until they are soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue to stir for another minute.
Turn up the flame a bit higher and add the thyme and mushrooms. Don't worry, keep stirring the mushrooms and they should all fit very shortly. Saute them until all the liquid comes out and then completely evaporates, which should take about 10 minutes.
Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate to cool.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the tofu, miso, soy milk, and eggs. Then, add the mushroom mixture and mis everything together well.
Pour the filling into the pie crusts about 3/4 of the way up in each one - if you're crusts are bigger than the ones I used and it's not filling up enough, feel free to mix some more silken tofu into the filling . Then put the tarts in the oven.
Cook the tart on 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until the tart looks golden. After taking them out, let them cool to at least warm before serving.

BBQ-Style Stuffed Peppers

2013-07-07T11:37:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, I made a dish of onions stuffed with a ground beef mixture from Joyce Goldstein's Cucina Ebraica. It was quite delicious, and I'd resolved to make it again (in fact, in my cooking notebook I'd written down a variant which I have yet to make, but perhaps will appear here one day), but sadly that resolution was lost between the pages of numerous cookbooks I've acquired since.

Fast forward to last week. I had ten people coming for dinner and only a package of ground beef in the freezer. I thought to myself, "how can I make one pound of ground beef stretch for ten people?" My first thought was to fall back to my reliable sweet & sour meatloaf. But then in the back of my mind I recalled the deliciousness of those stuffed onions, and thought of another iconic form of stuffed produce: stuffed peppers.

As it happened, I recently had some stuffed peppers at Abigael's - but they were stuffed with barbecued brisket. I liked the idea of barbecued beef inside the pepper - instead of the classic tomato sauce-drenched dish. But my one complaint about that dish was that the brisket felt a little dry. I knew I had to get the barbecue flavor and ensure a moist, juicy texture to the meat.

The key to that was to cook the meat almost like a stew, with plenty of liquid in a heavy-lidded pot which retains heat well. I created my own savory-sweet barbecue sauce to be cooked in with the beef, and when combined with soft basmati rice, the mixture retained moisture and flavor excellently. Most stuffed pepper recipes call for pouring tomato sauce on top. I debated this for a while but Faigy advised that doing so would drown out the flavor of the meat and the pepper too much.

The rice and meat mixture can be made ahead of time. Just stash them in the fridge for up to a day or two. Reheat the meat in a dutch oven (add a little extra water or broth if it seems dry), then add the rice and warm together (the rice should absorb the remainder of the liquid).

Also, you can make this dish pareve/vegetarian/vegan by using a good ground beef substitute (we like Trader Joe's Beef-less Beef) and vegetable broth.

Red and green peppers will lend different flavors - experiment with both!

BBQ-Style Stuffed Peppers

1 cup white basmati rice
10 green or red peppers

For the meat
3 scallions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. majoram or 1.5 tsp. oregano (oregano is a close cousin of marjoram)
2 tsp dried basil
1-2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. allspice

Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1 15 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes (I actually use a bit less than the full can, about 12 oz.)
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup beef broth (or just water, if you don't have broth on hand)
Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 10

Cook the basmati rice according to package directions. If the package offers differing amounts of liquid for soft or firm rice, choose the soft directions.
In a dutch oven or other pot with a heavy lid, saute the scallions over medium-high heat. After 2 or 3 minutes, add the garlic and saute another 2 minutes.
Add the beef, salt, pepper and other spices/herbs. Stir and saute until the beef is thoroughly browned and most of the liquid has evaporated.

I started with only a skillet - bad idea. You'll need a dutch oven or larger pot for the sauce.
Add the wine, crushed tomatoes, molasses, syrup and broth or water.
Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes (check after 30 minutes and add additional broth or water if it seems like it's a bit dry, though it should be fine).

After 45 minutes of cooking, the meat will be tender and delicious!
While the meat is cooking, slice the tops off the peppers. Remove all the seeds and the white pith and rinse out the insides to clear out any remaining seeds.
Uncover for 5-10 minutes and let a little liquid evaporate.
If making this in advance, let cool and store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
Mix the cooked rice with the meat and heat together for 5 minutes.
Arrange peppers into a baking dish or pan (probably two separate dishes). Spoon the meat and rice mixture into each of the peppers. You should have enough to just fill 10 average sized bell peppers to the top.

Peppers stuffed to the brim
Bake peppers in an oven preheated to 350 F.

The pepper after being cooked. This was the sole leftover that I could photograph..

Creamy Cheesy Grits

2013-02-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

Faigy and I just got back from our two week trip to Southeast Asia. And in honor of that we've decided to bring you...the furthest thing from Asian cuisine we could think of! Well, not really. But I did make this for breakfast to give us a taste of being back home.

Because of the 12-hour time difference, we are extremely jetlagged, to the point that we were up and about at 4am. Faigy managed to get back to sleep but I was up for quite a while more, so I decided I would surprise her with breakfast in bed. The problem with that, I realized, is that before leaving we had completely emptied our fridge. This left us with no eggs, which are quite a staple of breakfast foods. I was originally thinking of making an omelette or pancakes but that obviously wasn't possible. So I did a quick search to get some ideas for egg-less breakfast ideas.

The first thing that I saw was oatmeal, which we had. I went to grab it from above our fridge and saw behind it that we also had a container of quick-cooking grits, which also doesn't require eggs. My first inclination was to make a sweet version with some jams we had in the fridge, but a recipe on the side of the box gave me the idea to do a more savory version.

I applied a few technique tricks to amp up the flavor of the grits (since they can tend to be bland) including browning the butter and toasting the grits; these steps can be skipped if you're in a hurry though. The box calls for water for cooking the grits but I used milk (yes, it was still good after 3 weeks! Ah, the joys of ultra-pasteurization) for added creaminess, and some garlic and paprika for enhanced flavor and color. I topped the cooked grits with additional cheese and wheat germ (we had some in the fridge; if you don't, it's not a big deal) and broiled it.

Since I took the savory route, I complemented it with some jam on toast to fill in the sweetness. Here's what it looked like (on our new serving tray from Vietnam).

Breakfast in bed

Creamy Cheesy Grits

I made this recipe to be enough for just the two of us but it can easily be expanded for four.

1 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup quick-cooking grits (not instant) [1/2 cup for 4]
1 1/3 cups milk (skim is fine) [2 1/2 for 4]
1/2 + 1/4 cup grated cheddar or pizza cheese [increase the 1/2 to 2/3 for 4]
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
A heavy pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 tsp. wheat germ [1 tsp. for 4], optional

Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. If you are not in a rush, lower the heat to medium-low and cook the butter in for an additional 3-5 minutes until it begins to foam and then take on a caramel color. Be careful not to burn it though. This is easier to judge if you use a light-colored pot.
Pour the grits into the butter and toast them for about 3-5 minutes until they too begin to brown a little bit.

Pour in the milk and add the salt. Simmer for 10-12 minutes over medium-low heat until grits thicken to your desired consistency (cook more for thicker grits), stirring occasionally to ensure the bottom doesn't burn.
Preheat your broiler. Mix in the 1/2 cup of cheese, garlic and paprika and stir well. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally till cheese melts.
Transfer the grits to an oven-safe dish and spread them out. Cover with some additional paprika, 1/4 cup cheese and top with wheat germ.

Put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes until browned (our broiler tends to work much more slowly, so for me it was closer to 10 minutes; if you have an exposed-flame broiler, it might take less so keep checking constantly after 5 minutes to ensure you don't burn it!).

Browned cheesy goodness

Serve with jam on toast if you like.

Tangy Tempeh in a Red Wine Balsamic Reduction

2013-01-20T09:45:00.001-05:00

I'm a much bigger fan of eating more meat substitutes during the week than Ari is, so I've been trying to find ways to make them tastier. Though I'm not a vegetarian, I do believe that it is better for us and for the treatment of animals to eat meat less often. Therefore, I've been looking for ways to incorporate tofu, tempeh, seitan, and more into our food in ways that taste good and is still healthy for us

One of the healthy and protein-filled options, tempeh, has been particularly challenging to get right, but I believe I finally did it with this recipe. Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and can be particularly tough in texture. The trick is to steam it first so that other flavors can permeate it, turning it from a tough and flavorless substance into a hearty and delicious dish. Then, the tempeh marinates so that it fully absorbs the flavor, followed by quickly pan-frying to make it crispy on the outside.

As Ari is a meat lover, I also wanted to incorporate some of the flavors typically found in meat rubs and marinades to imitate some of that meaty, savory flavor. I had some red wine leftover from the weekend, which was still ok to drink, but not as great as it had been before, so I decided I had to use it here. Turns out this is a great recipe to use up some red wine you have on hand that is going but is not quite gone yet. Then, using this sauce recipe for inspiration, I composed an easy marinade that would compliment the heartiness of the tempeh well.

It came out really delicious - savory and sweet, soft with a bit of crispiness. After tasting it, Ari declared that using this recipe will actually make him crave tempeh for dinner! Knowing my husband, that is quite an endorsement.

Tangy Tempeh in a Red Wine Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients

8oz Tempeh, sliced thin
1 cup Red Wine
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Maple Syrup
3/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

Serves 2 as a main, 3-4 as a side.

Place the sliced tempeh in a steamer and place it in a pot with water that goes up until the bottom of the steamer. Boil the water while keeping the pot covered and then turn the flame to medium high while leaving it covered for about 10 minutes. Then turn off the flame but still leave the pot covered for another 2-3 minutes. The tempeh should look light in color and plump up a bit.
While the tempeh in steaming, begin making the marinade in a sauce pan: bring the wine, balsamic vinegar, honey, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and pepper to a boil. Make sure to whisk the mixture so that everything is mixed well while boiling. One it comes to a boil, turn the flame low and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes
Place the steamed tempeh in a bowl and pour the marinade over it. Let it cool a bit, then cover the bowl in place wrap and put it in the refrigerator to sit for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Take out the tempeh and place it in shifts in a pan with the bottom sprayed with a mist of oil or Pam. Every slice should fully touch the bottom of the pan and let it sear on each side for a minute or two, until the color deepens and carmalizes a bit. Transfer each shift to a plate.
Once all the tempeh is fried, pour the rest of a marinade into the pan and simmer it for a few minutes until it thickens a bit. Pour it over the plate of tempeh. (Note: marinades for meat need to reduce longer to kill the bacteria. Please only use this shortened method for non-meat items)

Some Process Pictures:

This is about how thin I sliced the tempeh: not so thin that they would break
after steaming, but not so thick that they wouldn't absorb flavor.

While the tempeh is steaming, it should be about a single layer, with a
double layer if needed. Unlike in this picture, make sure the pot is covered!

When searing the tempeh, it's important to keep it to a single layer with
some space between the pieces so you can flip them.

This is what the tempeh should look look before you reduce and add the
rest of the marinade. The color starts deepening on the outside, looking almost
burnt in spots where in fact the sauce is caramelizing.

Hearty Wild Rice Soup

2012-12-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

Reading through the latest issue of Cooks Illustrated, a recipe called "Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup" caught my eye. It looks hearty, healthy, and perfect for winter. However, I knew I'd have to do quite a bit of tweaking to make it kosher because it uses chicken stock and heavy cream.

I decided to use the chicken stock because it seemed that the meaty flavor would be too good to pass up with the wild rice and mushrooms. I also further highlighted this aspect by incorporating many vegetables that boosted the umami flavor, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Instead of the cream, I used vanilla almond milk because I liked the idea of having a sweet nuttiness in the soup. I also added a lot more vegetables because I love a very chunky soup and they add nice color and flavor. I also made a bunch of other tweaks, changes, and adjustments just based on my own preferences and what I had on-hand.

So in fact, I would bet this soup tastes quite different than the original, but it was delicious all the same. There are some great tricks in here from the original recipe, including the use of baking soda to speed up the cooking time of the rice and cornstarch to thicken the soup.

This soup is unctuous and has a sweet and earthy flavor with an almost velvety texture. It has a nice blend of creamy thickness and chunky heartiness. It's perfect on a chilly or rainy day.

Hearty Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients
4 1/4 cups water
1/4 tsp thyme (or a fresh sprig)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup wild rice
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cup baby carrots, cut into thirds
1 onion, chopped fine
1 large sweet potato, chopped medum/small
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes (preferably the kind that comes in a jar, preserved by olive oil)
2/3 cup red wine (young Cabernet or other semi-dry)
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Serves 6

...in case you're wondering what baby
carrots cut into thirds looks like

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil with the bay leaf, thyme, garlic clove, 3/4 tsp salt, and baking soda.
Once water is boiling , add the wild rice. Make sure the water returns to a boil, and then put the saucepan covered in the oven. Leave for about 30-35 minutes until the rice is tender or almost-tender.
Strain the rice and save the cooking liquid. Discard Bay leaf, garlic, and thyme if you used a sprig. Add more water to the liquid to get a total of 3 cups of liquid.
While your saucepan is in the oven, put the oil in a dutch oven on a high flame and add the mushrooms, carrots, onion, sweet potato, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Cook and stir until veggies are browned and soft - about 15 minutes on a medium-high flame, followed by 10 minutes simmering on a low flame.
Add the wine to the dutch oven and cook with the vegetables until reduced, about 2 minutes.
Add reserved cooking liquid, chicken broth, soy sauce to the dutch oven and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, and then add the cooked wild rice. Then continue simmering for another 10 minutes.
Whisk together the cornstarch and last 1/4 cup water in a bowl. Pour and stir the mixture into the soup, and then cook until it gets a bit thicker, about 2 minutes.
Turn off the flame and then cover the soup and let it stand for 20 minutes.

Notes:

To make this recipe vegetarian/vegan, simply replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
I found that when leaving the soup to warm for a while or later on when reheating it, sometimes it got a bit too thick just add water in increments until it's the consistency you want again and reheat it together.

Balsamic Avocado Brunch Toast

2012-12-09T15:36:00.000-05:00

This year for Chanukah, Faigy got me a book I've been eyeing for a while: The Flavor Bible. It's great because it's not a cookbook, but rather a guide to creating dishes by pairing flavors that have affinities for each other. Most of the book is just long lists of every single kind of ingredient and a bit about its character and what it goes well with.

So of course I began leafing through the "A" section and hit one of the best parts of it: Avocado. Avocado to me is a little bit of a magical superfruit (as indicated in Faigy's Spaghetti Squash with Avocado Garlic Sauce recipe) because it just makes whatever it's in instantly more appealing (aside from its many health benefits). It's got a creaminess and fruitiness which, when complemented with a bit of salt, is heavenly all on its own.

There was one particular pairing that caught my attention: avocado + basil + tomato + red onion + balsamic vinegar. I've known about the first four for a long time (in panini or guacamole for example) but the last bit, the balsamic vinegar, intrigued me. Normally I am not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar raw, because it's a little too pungent for my tastes. But I wondered if I could take inspiration from this and make a delicious and quick brunch the next morning.

As it turned out, we had left over challah from Shabbat. No fresh tomatoes, red onion or basil though; we did have sun-dried tomatoes and dried basil however, which would suffice. I also thought I would use sea salt rather than my standard of kosher salt to get a little more flavor contrast with the avocado. Taking a little bit of inspiration from a co-worker who prepared an avocado open-faced sandwich for breakfast once for me, I decided to top some toast with eggs. It turned out to be incredibly filling and was less than 15 minutes from start to finish (I'll note the order of preparation in the recipe that I found to be fastest).

Faigy likes eggs-over-easy; I prefer scrambled - you can prepare them any way you like!

Balsamic Avocado Brunch Toast

4 eggs
4 slices of bread (leftover challah works great)
1 avocado
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Several handfuls of sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into strips (fresh will do also)
Dried basil
Sea salt (or kosher salt if you don't have any)
Black pepper
Hot sauce, optional

Turn on your oven to 350. You don't need to wait for it to preheat - right after you turn it on, you can put the slices of bread on a sheet of aluminum foil and put it in the oven; by the time everything else is ready, these will be perfectly toasted.
Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan and heat it over medium-low heat. Let this reduce, shaking the saucepan occasionally, till it's down to about 2 tablespoons and has a syrupy consistency, somewhere between 7-10 minutes. Check the consistency by swirling the pot around and seeing how the vinegar flows. You can tell when you're close when there are many smaller brown bubbles sticking to each other (as opposed to the random bubbles you'll see which break up instantly in the beginning) - this means most of the water is evaporating and you're getting to syrup consistency.
While the vinegar is reducing, slice the avocado in half length-wise, then into slices you can layer on the toast.
Mix the eggs with salt, pepper and some dried basil. Also sprinkle some sea salt over the avocado slices. Prepare eggs to your liking! (e.g. over-easy, scrambled, omelette, fried, etc.)
By the time the eggs are done, your toast will probably be finished in the oven and so will your balsamic syrup. Layer on top of the toast as follows: avocado slices, 3 or 4 sun-dried tomato strips, eggs, hot sauce (if you're using it; I like sriracha with eggs), balsamic syrup.
Enjoy with a fork and knife or as finger food!

The layering of the toast helps you taste all the flavors together.

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Avocado Garlic Sauce

2012-11-20T19:41:00.000-05:00

As I was roaming around Trader Joe's this week wondering what else I "need" (at TJs I use this term very loosely), I came across a large pile of spaghetti squash selling for under $3 each. In your typical supermarket, squash is usually sold by the pound, usually making it cost more than I want to spend. So, needless to say, I was very excited by this discovery and just had to have one. I figured I'd come up with what I "needed" it for when I got home. And indeed I did.

I love treating spaghetti squash like regular pasta, and often eat it with tomato sauce and cheese. It's delicious, but I was getting tired of it and wanted to try something new. Ari already made a pumpkin sauce for pasta, so that was out of the running. I moved on to one of my favorite naturally creamy fruits - avocado! I have yet to meet someone who doesn't love this stuff. Turns out it goes perfectly with spaghetti squash and it's just as good as its tomato and pumpkin sauce peers.

This recipe is really simple, healthy, and delicious. We had it for dinner tonight, and Ari loved the avocado with the spaghetti squash, calling it the "perfect complement for the squash, much better than tomato sauce." I like my guacamole with some chunks, and so I decided to leave my sauce this way and mash the avocado by hand. Feel free to adapt this recipe and just put all the sauce ingredients in the blender for something much smoother.

I also found the chopped leeks add a nice mild onion-y flavor with a bit of crunch to what is otherwise very mushy, soft recipe. This recipe is very adaptable, so feel free to experiment. One variable I thought of but didn't try this time is roasting tomatoes and leeks or red onions with the squash in the oven for the last 20 minutes, and then chopping them and mixing them in during step 5.

One last thing I love about this recipe is that it is very filling because of the protein and fat in the avocado. Spaghetti squash in general can leave you feeling less than satisfied, but this dish works perfectly well as a main course because of how filling and satisfying it is.

If you try the suggested variation, or any other for that matter, please let us know how it goes in the comments - we'd love to hear about it!

Although it tastes delicious, the green sauce on the squash alone doesn't
look so appetizing, hence why I highly recommend garnishing before serving.

Squash with Creamy Avocado Garlic Sauce

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash
oil in a spray bottle or can
1 whole avocado
3/4-1 tbsp minced garlic (very to very very garlicky, your choice)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
dash of salt
dash of pepper
1/2 cup leeks, plus some extra reserved for garnish, chopped (optional)
smoked paprika (optional)

Serves 2 for a main course and 4 as a side dish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the pits. Spray each half with oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Put both halves on a baking sheet, skin-side up, covered in foil in the oven. Bake it on the top rack in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until it is tender. Let is cool for 10-15 minutes.

Your roasted squash should approximately look like this.

While the squash is cooling, cut open the avocado, chop it into pieces, and put it in a bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper (to taste) to the avocado chunks. Use a fork or masher to mash the avocado until it's creamy with only some smaller chunks remaining.

All the sauce ingredients, right before mashing...

...and right after mashing.

Scrape the inside of the squash with a fork to pull out the spaghetti strands and put them in a bowl.

Just in case you haven't worked with spaghetti squash before,
this is the what the squash should look when you scrape it.
Mix the avocado, leeks, and spaghetti squash together in a bowl
Garnish with the paprika and chopped leeks

The finished product, garnish and all.

Apple Cider Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple Glaze

2012-11-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

So, I have a confession: I'm addicted to Pinterest. And since I love to cook, I follow many fellow foodies and constantly see awesome cooking and baking ideas. Recently, many different kinds of homemade doughnuts have filled up my feed and caught my attention (really, are doughnuts the new cake pops?). I couldn't find a recipe that had all the flavors I wanted in a fall doughnut, so I did what I usually end up doing and made up my own recipe inspired by a few of the recipes I found (like this one or this one).

We happen to have delicious apple cider made on a farm from our CSA, and I wanted to make sure to incorporate it into my dough. A lot of the recipes I found for doughnuts seemed to include sweet potatoes, squash, or pumpkin, which sounded amazing so I wanted to include that element in my recipe as well. I also decided to replace most, but not all, of the eggs and oil this recipe would require with applesauce, which usually makes for a nice baking substitute, is healthier, and would complement the other flavors well. Lastly, I wanted these doughnuts to be baked and not fried, as I try to be pretty health-conscious in my cooking.

I did need to go out and buy doughnut pans, which I was (not so) secretly happy about because I love getting cooking gadgetry at the HomeGoods near our apartment. Any excuse to go there is a good excuse, even though our credit card bill might protest. Normally I try to avoid specialized gadgets that only have one kind of use, but these were cheap and don't take up too much storage space, so I went for it. However, in case you don't have and/or don't want to get doughnut tins, I left the option open to make these as muffins as well, which are also delicious. Actually, this recipe made more batter than you need for a dozen doughnuts, so I ended up making doughnuts and muffins.

These taste as good as they look

Apple Cider Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple Glaze

Dry Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus a heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pumpkin purée (or canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp apple cider or water
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Recipe makes 12 doughnuts & 8 muffins OR a dozen larger muffins OR 24-30 mini doughnuts or muffins

The doughnut version

The muffin version

Mix the dry ingredients very well with a whisk. Then add all the wet ingredients and mix well. I prefer to use a spatula when mixing in the met ingredients.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 2 hours. You can leave it there for up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to prepare your doughnuts and/or muffins for baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fill your doughnut mold with the batter about 3/4 of the way full. Use the extra batter to make muffins in muffin cups or a muffin tin.
Place the doughnuts and muffins in the oven for about 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (do not wait or look for browning).
When they're done, let the doughnuts cool for 5-10 minutes, and then gingerly remove the doughnuts from the pan using a knife to wiggle them out and place them on a cooling rack. Let them sit out until they are completely cooled.
Then you can add the glaze or you can wait until right before serving them. This step is optional, as these do have a great flavor on their own.
When you're ready, mix the glaze ingredients until you get a sticky, syrupy consistency without lumps. If you need it thicker, cut down on cider or water, and if you need it thinner, add a bit of water.

PS- You could also coat or the doughnuts and muffins in a cinnamon and sugar mixture; it's as easy as mixing equal parts cinnamon and sugar in a bag and tossing the baked goods in it while they are still warm.

Glazing the final product

I had to taste test them, of course. The texture is perfect,
and the middle is chewy and moist and delicious.

Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

2012-11-12T23:40:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wanted a bowl of pasta but were quite tired of the same old tomato or marinara sauce on pasta? Or if you're a little more old school and keep it clean with just garlic and olive oil, haven't you wished you could bring a new, fresh flavor into your bowl of pasta? I felt exactly that way last week, and I wanted a new sauce quickly (in about the time it took the pasta to cook).

I had a can of pumpkin around, and if you've been reading this blog from the beginning you might have gotten the hint that I am a culinary sucker for pumpkin. It's really just so versatile in how you can use it in so many dishes, either as a star or as part of the supporting cast. Faigy and I (if you haven't noticed, my wife and I are co-bloggers now; I lucked out with someone just as (if not more so) culinarily talented and inclined as myself) have been toying with the idea of making pumpkin gnocchi for quite some time now. Unfortunately it was a rather lazy Sunday so that wasn't happening. But we could do the next best thing - have pasta with some sort of pumpkin sauce.

I wanted to really highlight the savory notes of pumpkin this time, which stands in contrast to a lot of other pumpkin recipes I'm a fan of. I decided to use dairy as the platform upon which to build these flavors - first and foremost starting with frying (not just sautéeing) onions in butter. Some milk thins out the thicker canned pumpkin and gives the sauce some creaminess, but what really steps up the flavor is fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. It's sometimes hard to find blocks of Parmesan kosher, so in a pinch the bottled pre-grated Miller's stuff will do, but it's hard to beat the fresh stuff. The cheese brings out some of the nuttiness dormant in the butter and pumpkin, and is enhanced if you add the toasted crushed walnuts.

The last really crucial thing to this recipe is the finishing touch: extra virgin olive oil. Now, I am often one to just skip garnishes and like accoutrements to recipes I see; you are free to do so with the others in this recipe, but I warn you, DO NOT SKIP THIS. The fruitiness of the olive oil adds a really powerful contrasting accent to the savory sauce we've built up and teases out some of the fruitiness the pumpkin is hiding. Since it's raw, definitely use the extra virgin stuff (we just used generic Fairway brand and it was fantastic).

You can in fact make this entire recipe pareve/dairy-free (as indicated) but be aware that if at all possible, you should re-make it in its dairy form another time to compare and contrast.

A fresh autumn take on pasta sauce

Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

1 lb. penne or other short pasta

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp butter or olive oil

1 can pumpkin

1/3 cup milk or coconut milk

1/4 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp ground sage (I didn't have dried or fresh; either of these are preferable)

1/3 cup grated parmesan (dairy-free version: use about as much toasted ground walnuts)

~1/4 cup toasted crushed walnuts, optional (don't use more if you're already replacing the parmesan)

1 tbsp brown sugar

~1 tsp salt

~1 tsp white pepper

For serving:

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil , NOT optional

dried parsley or fresh chives, optional

Bring a pot of water to boil. Set pasta cooking when water is boiling. Cook to desired doneness.
Fry the onion in butter or olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the edges of the onions are brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.
Add pumpkin, milk, spices, sugar, salt & pepper. Cook through about 5 minutes.
Add Parmesan cheese and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Optional: if using crushed walnuts, add them now too.
Serve over pasta. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top liberally.

Enlarged for texture. And deliciousness.

Chewy Fruity Breakfast Bars

2012-11-04T09:46:00.002-05:00

Some days I have classes really early, so I was looking for the perfect breakfast bar recipe that would be filling and last for a long time in the fridge (so I don't have to start baking weekly before class!). Of course, I also wanted to look forward to eating this thing early in the morning. After some searching around the internet, I didn't find any recipe that seemed just right, so of course I just mashed together a couple of recipes and then took it from there to make up my own.

I took inspiration from recipes by Alton Brown and another blog I found called One Hundred Eggs. Actually, the baking instructions are almost entirely from the latter, as the method of cooking these bars generally stays the same. It's a pretty flexible recipe in general, so you should feel free to swap some of the dried fruit for other dried fruit you like, or some of the nuts for other kinds of nuts. Just make sure the moisture to dry content ratio stays about the same to get the chewy bar texture we're seeking here.

A single portion of the finished product

Chewy Breakfast Bars

1/2 Cup Rolled Oats

1/4 Cup Chia Seeds

1/2 Cup Dried Blueberries

1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds

1/2 Cup Wheat Germ

1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 tspn Cinnamon

1/2 tspn Kosher Salt

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

2 tbsp Molasses

1/4 Cup Honey

2 Large Eggs

Water, by tspn as needed

Shredded coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Lightly oil an 8 inch square pan, line with parchment paper, and lightly oil the parchment.
In a large bowl, loosely mix together the first ingredients. Process (in batches, if necessary) in a food processor until the mixture is finely chopped.
Meanwhile, in the large bowl, whisk together the second set of ingredients. Add the chopped oat and fruit mixture, and mix until evenly blended.
In a bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and eggs. Add to the dry ingredients, and stir until all dry ingredients are moistened (mixture will be very stiff). Add the water by tablespoons as needed to fully moisten.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Using a nonstick spatula or moistened hands, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan. Sprinkle coconut.
Bake at 350º F for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges and just set in the middle. Let cool before slicing into 12 bars. Bars can be individually wrapped, and frozen or refrigerated.

Recipe instructions adapted from One Hundred Eggs

A side-view of the chewy goodness

Apple Blueberry Muffins

2012-10-29T18:07:00.005-04:00

Ari has been encouraging me to add some of my own recipes to this blog, and I've finally gotten around to it now that I'm home-bound due to Hurricane Sandy!

These delicious muffins are healthy and dairy-free. I based this recipe on a another health-conscious mini muffin recipe I found. While it looked great, I didn't want my muffins to have dairy or to be small, and I had no bananas on hand. What resulted was an entirely new recipe that are great to have around the house for breakfast or snack.

I specifically used pastry flour to get an airy texture, and I picked dry over fresh blueberries so as not to over-saturate the muffins with moisture (and a pervasive blue dye!). The original recipe calls for a cup of vanilla yogurt and half a cup of milk. As I was seeking something dairy-free, I thought that the vanilla pudding mix would add the flavor and some of the moisture the yogurt adds, while also adding to the amount of milk to ensure enough liquid in the mixture.

This recipe can be adapted in many ways, especially by swapping out the apples and blueberries for other add-ins, like chocolate chips, nuts, or other fruit.

Enjoy! What are your favorite ways to modify dairy recipes?

Apple Blueberry Muffins

1 Box of My T Fine Vanilla Pudding Mix

3/4 Cup Unsweetened Soy Milk

1/2 Cup Instant or Quick Oats, dry

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Large Egg

2 Cups of Apples, fresh chopped small

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Dried Blueberries

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1 & 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/2 Tsp Salt

Cinnamon, 0.5 tsp

Preheat oven to 375
Combine soy milk, vanilla extract, pudding mix, and egg with oats. Let the mixture sit for five minutes for oats to soften.
Combine in a different bowl the flour, brown sugar, baking sode, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Combine and mix the bowls of both wet and dry ingredients.
Mix in the apples and blueberries.
Spoon the mixture into 12 muffin cups or tins
Cook for 18-20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean)

Cranberry & Caramelized Apple Chicken

2009-12-25T11:41:00.004-05:00

Here's another fall/winter favorite. I came up with this recipe sometime last year when I was thinking about cranberry crunch and I decided it would be great to turn it into a chicken recipe (well, maybe minus the crunch).

This is a fairly easy recipe which packs HUGE amounts of flavor. There's something special about the combination of brown sugar, apples, cinnamon and cranberries. It's very important to make sure you get the cranberry sauce with whole cranberries - that give the necessary texture, to the final sauce; plus, it's already sweetened so you don't need to add anything extra to it.

Also, there are two ways you could go about caramelizing the apples: you can use white sugar and melt it, creating caramel, and then toss in the apples; or you can use brown sugar, which seems to dissolve a lot more readily (probably because it's got the moisture of molasses built-in) and then toss the apples in that. The first time I made this recipe I used white sugar, but this last time I was in a rush so I used brown.

The difference is the time and care that the caramelization takes with white sugar (it does take quite a few minutes for it to melt...using the oil was my shortcut to make this happen slightly quicker since oil is a good conductor), and the fact that you need to be careful to stop the cooking before it burns (accomplished by adding the apples to drop the temperature of the skillet). With the brown sugar, it seems you just don't need to wait as long and it doesn't seem to be as finicky a process. The end result though, in my opinion, is that the white sugar method tastes a lot richer and sweeter than the brown, but the brown works just as well if you're short on time.

Is it chicken? Is it dessert? I don't know but it's very addicting.

Cranberry & Caramelized Apple Chicken

2 apples, diced (I like Fuji, but any kind works well)
1/2 cup sugar OR 1/2 cup brown sugar (see note about caramel above)
1 whole chicken cut in 1/8th pieces
1 can cranberry sauce w/ WHOLE cranberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2-1 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Allspice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken pieces into a dish on the side.

2. Combine oil, sugar and lemon juice over medium-high heat in a skillet.

2a. If using white sugar: Heat till sugar melts and takes on a deep brown color. This will probably take something like 6-8 minutes. Be careful not to burn!

2b. If using brown sugar: Heat till the sugar seems to dissolve in itself and is liquidy enough to coat the apples (about 3-5 minutes).

3. Immediately add the diced apples and lower the heat to medium. Also add the spices and cook until the apples are soft.

4. Add the cranberries, and reduce the sauce by about half. Season with salt and pepper, as well as additional spices as needed.

5. Pour sauce over chicken, cover and cook at 350 for 1 hour or until chicken is done (170 degrees for white meat, 180 for dark).

Serves 8-10.

Pumpkin Potato Kugel

2009-11-25T12:27:00.005-05:00

Just in time for Thanksgiving! Still looking for that unique side dish that will make your guests go "Hm! Mm!"? You're in luck! This autumn take on a Shabbat classic will definitely bring a host of interesting flavors to the party.

Now, I'll admit, I did not use fresh pumpkin - and I should have since it's pumpkin season. Shame on me. But, I've had a lonely can of pumpkin puree sitting around for a long time and it's been begging me to use it in a fall-themed dish. If you have the time to cut open a pumpkin and scoop out its flesh (use the rest of it for other goodies - e.g. stuff it with fruits and nuts and bake it!), you should do that. If not, the canned stuff works just fine.

If you don't have a food processor, the classic way of grating by hand is the old standby (that's how I used to do it before I got my food processor). I like using the grating disk to fool people into thinking that I slaved over grating it by hand, therefore they must all enjoy. Also, I like the texture of grated potatoes over shredded.

This is actually a modification of my standard potato kugel recipe - which I will probably post at some later point when I have a picture to show for it. In the meantime though you can probably reverse engineer it. If you're into that sort of thing. I know I am.

A fall variation on a classic courtesy of your favorite gourd - pumpkin!

Pumpkin Potato Kugel

6 potatoes
1 large onion
1 can pureed pumpkin (fresh is good too)
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
1/4 tsp allspice
A few sprigs fresh thyme, optional
2 tbsp brown sugar, optional
Heavy pinch of salt
Ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Grate the potatoes and onion together, by hand or in a food processor. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

3. Dump potato and onion into a boil along with remaining ingredients (except 1 tbsp. brown sugar, if using). Mix very well until you can no longer see flour and everything is well-incorporated.

4. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth out the top. If using, sprinkle remaining brown sugar all over the top to add a deeper molasses color to the top.

5. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (normally I would say bake until brown but color is hard to tell with the pumpkin orange).

Serves 12-16, depending how big you cut it.

Asian Tuna Steak

2009-11-25T11:48:00.004-05:00

Ever since I was young I've loved tuna steak. Something about it just tastes so unique - it doesn't quite taste like fish, it's not exactly a steak, and it's definitely worlds apart from the canned stuff. So, as I've been settling in to my "fish renaissance" in which I actually bother going out and buying good fish to cook with naturally I have reclaimed the tuna steak as my own.

The problem, I find, is finding the perfect recipe for tuna steak. It's got such a wonderfully complex flavor. Often it's grilled, since it can take the heat of the grill. I once read in Cook's Illustrated (though I can't seem to find the issue right now) an article with a guide to how certain fish can/should be cooked. Tuna was definitely up at the top with the more heat-intense applications.

Anyways, I often find that one of the most common things involving tuna steak you'll see on a menu is some sort of Asian-style tuna. Makes sense - Asian flavors blend a whole lot of savory and umami, which is exactly what tuna needs. So, building on that, I saw an Asian-style preparation as the entry point into my quest for tuna perfection.

This recipe reuses the marinade as a sauce - but you need to make sure to cook it to avoid cross-contamination! I only had one tuna steak on hand but I think the marinade can be enough for two.

Though I don't think this recipe has brought me to tuna nirvana yet, I think it's a good way there - and so you'll see me continue experimenting in the future, trying to find the ideal tuna steak recipe.

One step closer to tuna nirvana...

Asian Tuna Steak

1 or 2 tuna steaks

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mustard

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp honey 1

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1/4 tsp dried basil

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp lemon juice

1. Combine all the ingredients (except tuna) in a bowl and mix together very well.

2. Place tuna steaks in a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 min to 2 hours.

3. Heat your broiler to high. Remove tuna steaks from marinade and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle extra sesame seeds on top of tuna and broil - 2 minutes each side for medium rare.

4. Pour leftover marinade into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat down to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened to the consistency you desire.

5. Serve sauce on top of the tuna steak.

Serves 1-2.

Vanilla-Pineapple or Blueberry Pudding Cake

2009-11-13T15:10:00.005-05:00

This is part 2 of the suite of dessert recipes I created recently. As I mentioned in my previous post, I originally sought out to create a sugar-free, diabetic-friendly dessert without artificial sweetener. But I didn't think stopping at pudding was enough - I needed to go all out for this to prove that it's possible for a home cook to make a good dessert under those kinds of constraints.

I racked my brain trying to think of what I could do with pudding. And then I remembered I had seen some recipes for cakes using yogurt. So I figured, why not replace yogurt with pudding!

The problem was I couldn't really find anyone with a decent pudding cake recipe. So, I bravely decided to try my own - which was a big deal for me. I had never created my own cake recipe before, always sticking to the lore that baking must be precise, you must always stick to the recipe.

However, I entered my endeavor adequately prepared - I cross-referenced Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food with Michael Ruhlman's Ratio and decided to use the muffin mixing method - my cake would essentially be an oversized muffin. Borrowing a little from the basic ratios/recipes in those books, as well as the technique I was able to come up with a recipe that turned out to be quite a hit.

The cake does in fact look like an overgrown muffin (it's even a little poofy in the center) and the crumb texture has uneven air pockets, also classic muffin texture. I reserved half the pudding mixture to create a delicious creamy topping for the cake as well. The cake is incredibly moist and addicting. Beware.

Also, note that if for some reason there are any leftovers of the blueberry cake for some odd reason, if you keep in in the fridge (you should do so) it seems like the color of the cake turns from a grayish-blue to a greenish color (I'm guessing because of the blueberries oxidizing or something). Fear not the color change - it still tastes just as good!

Vanilla Pineapple pudding cake, made with no sugar or splenda

Vanilla Pineapple Pudding Cake (sugar-free, no artificial sweetener)

1 batch sugar-free vanilla pudding
1/2 cup applesauce, divided
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, unsweetened
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp honey
pinch salt

1. Mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt

2. Mix wet ingredients: 1/2 of pudding (=1 cup), 1/4 c applesauce, oil, 1/4 c honey, eggs, 1/2 can of pineapple

3. Add wet to dry & mix. Do not overmix.

4. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min or until a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

5. Combine remaining pineapple, pudding, applesauce & 1 tbsp honey in a bowl and mix - this will be the topping for the cake.

6. Let cake cool for 20 minutes. Prick cake with holes using a fork and spread topping. Let cake continue cooling. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Serves 12-16.

Blueberry pudding cake variation with blueberry topping

Blueberry Pudding Cake

Make cake as before, except use 1 batch of blueberry pudding. Leave out one egg and pineapple, and add an extra 3/4 cup applesauce to the cake batter.

This is what the cake actually looks like before the topping

Sugar-Free Variation, using Splenda

Make cake as directed except swap 8 packets Splenda for honey.

Pareve Vanilla or Blueberry Pudding (with Sugar-Free and Diabetic variants)

2009-11-13T14:23:00.007-05:00

Okay. Here it comes. So I have this set of 4 recipes that kind of all belong grouped together and I've been meaning to post them for a while but haven't had time. Now I finally have the chance, so get excited!

So, the first recipe was for vanilla pudding. Let me give you some background on the genesis of this recipe first. I was going somewhere for Shabbat and I wanted to bring a dessert. The problem was, one of the people there was diabetic, so I couldn't bring anything with sugar. Another person was allergic to artificial sweeteners - so using splenda or such was out. So, I had to sweeten everything with honey (apparently some diabetics can have honey? who knew?). That's what led to the diabetic-friendly version of this recipe.

I later made this recipe again a few weeks later, but did not have the artificial sweeteners constraint, so I chose to use splenda since I wanted to minimize the sugar content anyway for calorific reasons. That's when the blueberry variation came about - I had a box of frozen blueberries I had been saving for a tasty dessert, and this seemed like the time to use it.

One big difference though was (kinda obviously) the flavor profile - the honey-sweetened one had a much more rich, full, even a little cloying (but not bad) taste than the splenda version. I kind of preferred it to the version with artificial sweetener.

I should note that these are actually just variations on the basic Joy of Cooking recipe for cornstarch pudding. I was surprised how easy it was - it's basically just a really simple custard. I hope that people will start realizing how simple it is to make a good pareve pudding and bring it more often to Shabbat meals! You can, of course, swap out the soymilk for regular milk for a dairy version.

Basic pareve vanilla pudding - can be made sugar-free or diabetic-friendly!

Regular Pareve Vanilla Pudding (not sugar-free)

1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups soymilk (divided into 1/4 cup and 1 3/4 cup)
1 large egg, well beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt in a pot or saucepan.

2. Gradually mix in 1/4 cup soymilk into pot, whisking well so the mixture becomes a slurry (this will avoid lumps of cornstarch).

3. Whisk in remaining soymilk.

4. Turn on heat to medium and heat through until mixture comes to a simmer.

5. Extract about 1/2 cup of the mixture from the pot. Gradually stir this into the egg slowly, so you temper the egg (you want to raise the temperature of the egg without curdling it by sudden application of heat).

6. When egg mixture is sufficiently tempered, pour it back into the pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute beyond the boil.

7. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

8. Pour pudding into a glass bowl, serving cups or ramekins and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly touching the surface (actually, I'm not sure this is 100% necessary since this is meant to avoid forming the 'skin' on top, but that's formed by the casein proteins in regular milk, which aren't present in soymilk). Chill for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

Serves 2-4.

Blueberry pudding variation!

Pareve Blueberry Pudding

Follow recipe as above.

Combine 1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries with 1 tsp. lemon juice in a pot, along with a little bit of sugar/splenda/honey (maybe 1 tbsp - that's like 2 splenda packets I think) and a splash of water.

Cook over medium heat until blueberries are mostly dissolved (some can be intact - it adds texture to the pudding).

Mix blueberries with pudding well and chill as directed.

Cook the blueberries till they are about this texture

Sugar-Free Pudding Variation

Replace 1/4 cup sugar with 10 packets splenda. Follow directions as above.

Diabetic-Friendly Pudding Variation

Replace 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup honey.

Onion Chicken

2009-10-30T15:48:00.004-04:00

Well I've done it again. I've said I'd post soon and slacked off. But worry not! I've been collected recipes and photos this whole time and I have a whole bunch of stuff to post (including an exciting 4-for-1 pudding cake to come soon!). In the meantime, I think I'll start with my most recent creation that I made last week and was extremely pleased with: onion chicken.

Onions are a really fundamental part of my cooking but they're always the aromatic, they're always there to enhance the flavor, they're never the star of the dish - that ends today! This recipe is really easy, delicious and healthy, and I hope will become a favorite of yours too! I've been savoring the leftovers all week.

A lot of times I use chicken breasts because they are easier and quicker to deal with - but I decided to go for on-the-bone chicken this time. Though what I did do was remove all the skin and trim the fat. The way I see it is: so many people I know make such delicious chicken and they have some cool spices and flavorings or sauces but they always put it on top of the skin!

I know there's some sort of American ideal to have crispy skin with poultry but I don't buy it. I almost never eat the skin of chicken (except wings which just aren't worth the effort of taking it off), and so I always end up having to try to wipe some of the flavorings on the skin onto the pale, minimal-flavor chicken beneath it, never with much success.

So instead, I strongly prefer to take all the skin off usually when I make on-the-bone chicken. Not only is it healthier, but the flavor you worked so hard to create pervades the meat of the chicken, and doesn't just rest on top - and that's exactly what I did here.

The basic idea is your standard breaded chicken, with a layer of sauce/binder and a layer of coating (different from your standard frying dredge since there's no bottom layer of flour). The effect that occurs is kind of cool though - some of the sauce drips out, mixes with the little bit of melted fat left on the chicken, and the juice of the onions all mix together in the bottom of the dish to form a really tasty savory sauce which can (and should) be spooned on top at serving time (probably would also be good on top of rice).

Anyway, enough talking, on to the deliciousness!

Tasty chicken where onion is the star of the dish

Onion Chicken

4 thighs + 4 legs chicken (you can use any chicken pieces, I happen to like dark meat)
4 tbsp Smart Beat mayonnaise (or regular mayonnaise if you can't find the healthier one)
3 tbsp honey or dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 c bread crumbs
4 tbsp Osem onion soup mix
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 tsp cardamom (optional, if you can find it)
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
2 onions sliced crosswise into rings
2 tbsp canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. Pour oil into an empty pan/tin and let heat in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Make sure you have enough space in your dish to allow all the chicken pieces to lay flat in one layer - if not, use multiple dishes.

2. Remove skin from chicken and trim off excess fat.

3. Mix mayo, soy sauce and mustard in one bowl/plate, and crumbs, spices, soup mix, herbs, salt and pepper to taste in another.

4. Dip chicken pieces in to sauce mixture, then into crumb mixture, coating fully.

5. Remove the preheated pan, and place chicken pieces face-up in the pan (you should hear a little sizzle as you do since you preheated the oil). Make sure the chicken is only in one layer!

6. Place sliced onion rings on top of chicken, and bake uncovered for 20 minutes (to crisp up the crumbs)

7. Lower the temperature to 300 and bake covered for another 20 or so minutes (to get the onions caramelizing) until the chicken is fully cooked - use a meat thermometer! (180 for dark meat, 170 for white meat). If your chicken is too close to this after the first 20 minutes at 375, you may want to lower the temperature to 250 or 275 to slow down the cooking - remember, you don't want to overshoot your mark or you'll get dry chicken!

Serves 6-8 or however many pieces of chicken you prepare.

Nutritional info per serving: 300 calories, 11g fat [2.4g saturated], 17g carbs, 29g protein

Mango Carrot Chutney

2009-08-28T12:24:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago, a friend and I had a fun experimental cooking day, involving meat pies featuring delicious chile peppers (Serrano and yes, Habanero). Anyway, I was left with some of the leftover ingredients, including carrots and mango. Later in the week, I had a craving for fish - and yes, I admit, I did not make my own but rather just picked up a piece of fried flounder from Supersol (shame on me).

I stared down the store-bought, ready-made fish with some degree of embarrassment, and so I decided I would repent for my sin by creating some sort of sauce or topping for the fish (it looked pretty dry and like it could use some help in the flavor department). Luckily, I had those leftover mango and carrots, so I decided to do a Carribean-themed meal for myself (previous attempts with this theme were wildly successful; unfortunately I did not record my recipe for Jamaican Chicken Skewers which involved mangoes, onions and chicken in a delicious coconut jerk sauce. I will eventually try to recreate it though...).

I aimed for a pretty savory chutney, though I found I did need to add some brown sugar to really bring out the mango flavor. The carrots also provide a textural contrast to the mangos (which are nearly mushy by the time it's done) since they still have a little bite to them after4 minutes. If you want softer carrots, precook them (in the microwave or boiling them) for an extra minute or two.

I ate this on top of fish, but it would also be quite delicious on top of chicken, rice, couscous, or even just on the side by itself!

Quick and easy mango carrot chutney - no stove required!

This chutney was great on top of fish - but goes well on chicken, rice & couscous too!

Mango Carrot Chutney

1 mango, diced
1-2 big carrots, diced
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger (fresh if possible)
2 tsp brown sugar
pinch of salt

1. Combine ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and mix well.

2. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes, mix again, then microwave another 2 minutes until carrots are mostly cooked through. Serve on top of fish or chicken.

3-4 servings

Beta Recipe: Coconut Lime Bars

2009-08-10T22:46:00.006-04:00

I was asked to make a dessert recently and I had a very difficult time deciding what to make. I was torn between pies, cakes and other pastries. After much searching, someone suggested to me that I make lemon bars. Now there's a nice, simple dessert that's got a clean, refreshing taste and is always a crowd-pleaser.

Of course, I needed to figure out a way to make this dish mine. I started perusing the Joy of Cooking for its basic recipe for lemon bars (just to get a baseline) and then it hit me: swap the lemon for lime. It's unexpected, but will likely have just as much appeal. To sweeten the deal, I decided to add coconut to the crust for an extra tropical flavor. Also, to cut the pungent flavor of the lime, I chose to sweeten the curd with honey instead of regular sugar, which gave it a fuller, more rounded off taste.

I consider this to be a beta recipe because I'm not quite happy with the proportions just yet. The taste was quite good, but I may need to scale up the volume of the curd, or scale down the size of the pan. It's not quite perfect, but it's a good chunk of the way there!

You'll notice I call for egg substitute - this is my attempt to make up for the whole stick of margarine in the crust. Sorry, but there was just no way around it - oil just doesn't cut it (baking pun not intended). I used margarine simply because I wanted this dish to be pareve (non-dairy) - but you can easily make this in dairy form (which will likely be even tastier) by swapping the margarine for butter (I haven't tried this, but you may want to keep in mind that butter is 20% water, so the swap ratio may not be exactly 1-for-1 - but I would probably try that first anyway just as a test). I also think I might need to up the powdered sugar in the crust.

When you make the curd, you'll notice that it is in fact not lime green but yellow, from the eggs. You can leave it like that and watch as unsuspecting tasters sink their teeth in expecting lemon only to be fooled and surprised by the lime deception; or, you can beat them over the head with it by adding a few drops of green food coloring to turn it a bright neon green (admittedly, this was not the color I was looking for - but it sufficed).

Finally, one last note, you may notice that in a 9x13 pan (as in the picture), the curd does not quite completely cover the crust (my own underestimation). I would either use a smaller pan (such as an 8x8 - this may mean you will have a thicker crust, which you may like) or increase the volume of the curd recipe (though I can't quite tell by how much yet - this is an experiment for next time I make this).

I hope these few reservations won't deter you from making this on your own - and if you figure out a way to improve it, please let me know!

A tropical twist on your everyday lemon bars

Coconut Lime Bars

For crust:
1.5 c flour
1 stick margarine
Pinch salt
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 - 3/4 cup flaked coconut

For curd:
1/4 c flour
1 c sugar
Less than 1/2 c honey
1/3 c lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
1 tbsp lime zest
1 egg
3/4 c egg substitute (equivalent of 3 eggs - you can use real eggs if you like)
3-4 drops green food coloring (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine crust ingredients, cutting margarine into flour, forming a dry dough.

2. Press dough into an ungreased pan. Bake for 15-20 min until the top is golden.

3. Whisk curd ingredients together.

4. Pour curd on top of crust and bake for another 25-30 minutes until semi-firm.

5. Dust with extra powdered sugar before serving.

Serves 12-16.

The Ultimate Sweet & Sour Meatloaf

2009-08-10T21:42:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I must admit, after just having seen Julie & Julia last night (very good movie), I am re-inspired to continue my quest to post my collected recipes on my blog. Most notably, I'd like to finally share the Ultimate Meatloaf recipe that I came up with a couple weeks back.

So basically, I was kinda stuck for dinner one Friday night, and I decided I was going to just eat at home and try to invite whoever I could over (I ended up not finding anyone, so more meatloaf for me!). I was also in the mood for a ground beef dish, but I find meatballs very time-consuming (I am picky about the shape). So, I decided to try my hand at meatloaf (another first for me) - something that growing up I was never a huge fan of because it was often dry and flavorless.

I decided to construct the meatloaf in two layers: the first layer being the meat, which I wanted to be very savory and flavorful, yet moist and juicy. The second layer would be the glaze, which I had scribbled down in my cooking notebook over a year ago as an idea to try out - an applesauce-based glaze. I wanted to take this a step further and turn it into a bit of a sweet-and-sour glaze, so I added some cider vinegar and teriyaki sauce.

It came out ridiculously well, but I want to stress one thing. There was one flavor in the meat that absolutely made all the difference: the Chinese five-spice powder. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN THE RECIPE (maybe besides the beef), DO NOT SKIP IT!!! I cannot stress this enough. In the past few months I have been learning the ways of Chinese five-spice, and I have concluded that it is amazing with ground beef (my meatballs on Purim were also a testament to that - but alas, I didn't write down the recipe!). If you don't have any, it is incredibly worth your while to go out and get some (sometimes hard to find - I only found Fairway carried it, but I am certain you can find it online easily). It gives this complex flavor of cumin and a hint of anise (licorice) that makes you go, "ooh, hmm!" on every bite.

Okay, okay, enough of plugging the spices. On to the recipe!

The best meatloaf I have ever tasted.

The Ultimate Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

For meatloaf:

2 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. parlsey
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1/4 tsp ginger
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz finely chopped pecans or hazelnuts (you can add up to 8 oz. if you wish)
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 can diced tomatoes
Salt (at least 2-3 heavy pinches)
Pepper

For glaze:

1/2 cup applesauce (preferably unsweetened)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. teriyaki sauce

1. Combine all meatloaf ingredients and mix very well.

2. Transfer to a loaf pan (or other baking vessel) and pack well. Smooth off the top.

3. Combine glaze ingredients well and spoon evenly onto top of meatloaf.

4. Bake at 350 for 1 hr 30 min or till meat reaches 160 F. Please, use a meat thermometer on this if you have one available.

5. After it's done, allow it to rest at least 10 minutes before serving. If desired, pour off excess fat (carefully please!)

Serves 10-12. Depends how you cut it really.

Chili con Carne

2009-07-17T19:20:00.004-04:00

So, I have a confession: I've made plenty of cholents but I have never made chili before. Well, at least, I hadn't until a couple of weeks ago. But when I did finally set out on the brave endeavor of making my first chili, I borrowed a few techniques from my cholent-making skills, namely: the crock pot.

I like using those crock pot liners (sometimes hard to find in some supermarkets) to make crock pot cooking a lot easier to clean up. Some people put water underneath the liner which I find does nothing and it makes it take longer for the heat to transfer into the food. Besides, these things are purposely made to withstand the kinds of temperatures crock pots can put out. Especially when you cook a cholent overnight and things have a tendency to stick to the sides or the bottom, these things really help. OK, end of product plug (no I am not paid for this. If you are a crock pot liner manufacturer and would like to pay me I will graciously accept. Let's do lunch).

Of course, you don't have to use a crock pot for this recipe - a Dutch oven will do just as well (or so I hear, since I don't happen to own one; again, if you would like to purchase one for me, I will graciously accept. Let's do lunch. Dinner if the crock pot liner guys call me first). If you don't have either, I suppose a large-ish pot will suffice on the stovetop for roughly the same time, but keep an eye on it (since the meat is already cooked by the time it goes into the pot, you're really looking to cook for the right consistency, i.e. when the liquid level is at your liking).

You'll notice this chili contains both beef and chicken. That was the result of buying beef and having additional guests added later on and needing to add some additional protein to make it a larger batch. This turned out to be an extremely good choice and I now am a big fan of polyproteinous chili (I think I just made that word up).

Anyhow, apparently the chili came out really well - I've still been getting compliments weeks afterwards. Hopefully you'll find this chili just as memorable. And if you don't, I hope you'll at least find it tasty. Cause that's all that matters in the kitchen in the end.

This is the chili only 2 hours into cooking (which is why it's liquidy still)

Chili con Carne

1 lb. chicken breasts, cubed
1 lb. ground beef
1 bunch scallions, chopped
3-4 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, mined
2 tsp chili powder
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can cannellini beans
1 green pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, diced (or canned diced jalapenos)
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp flour + 2 tbsp water
Salt & pepper

1. Saute scallions, garlic, carrots till soft in a cast iron skillet.

2. Add chili powder, salt, pepper, chicken and beef and cook through.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer skillet contents to a crock pot (discard the leftover fat, or use for something else).

4. Add corn, beans, pepper, jalapenos, spices, bay leaves to crock pot.

5. Mix flour and water together thoroughly to form a clumpless slurry. Add the slurry and stock to the crock pot.

6. Add salt & pepper to taste and mix well. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until it reaches the desired consistency.

Serves 10-12.

Spanish Rice

2009-05-22T17:19:00.004-04:00

So, I have to admit - when I'm in a pinch and need to make a side dish, I will often fall back on good old Near East rice or couscous. The truth is, their mixes are really good, so why would anyone want to make anything but that? (some people don't...) Of them all though, their Spanish rice mix is the king. I've always wondered what's in the spice packet they include with them, but never bothered to really try and figure it out.

Well, until recently, that is. I was determined to either replicate Near East's mix or top it. When done right, Spanish rice is extremely flavorful and I often cannot stop myself from several more helpings. So, I set out to do it - but the challenge to myself was, I would not look at the ingredients or any other recipes for Spanish rice for this. This time, I was on my own.

You'll notice there aren't any particularly authentic Spanish ingredients (such as adobo, sofrito, etc.). That's mainly because I don't have them in my kitchen. But also, I was curious to see how close I could come with only basic kitchen supplies.

In the end, this rice does taste different from the Near East version - but I still think it's a great homemade version of Spanish rice, and it was definitely a delicious challenger to the classic standard. As expected, I could not keep myself from having several servings.

A homemade variation on the classically boxed dish

Spanish Rice

2 cups white basmati rice
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can corn kernels, drained
3 tsp smoky Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp onion powder
1-2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp cumin
2 heavy pinches salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups water
1-2 tbsp. oil for sauteing.

1. Pour oil into a pot and coat the rice with it. Saute the rice for a couple of minutes.

2. Add tomatoes and corn to pot and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add spices, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly till well coated. Add water, and bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 20 min.

Serves 6-8. Unless you are serving me. Then it probably serves 2 or 3.

Skirt Steak with Asian-Whiskey Glaze

2009-05-22T16:58:00.006-04:00

I'm baaack! I know, I've taken quite a long hiatus from my blog - I assure you, it has nothing to do with you! I've still been cooking, I just haven't had time to sit down and focus on writing entries for everything I've made. But fear not! I still have pictures and notes of what I've been up to. Hopefully, I'll be able to dump a slew of these recipes up here within the next few days.

Anyway, let's talk steak. I love steak. I haven't had it very much since being on Weight Watchers. In college, I discovered that my favorite steak cut is skirt steak. I had it grilled one time with NOTHING - no salt, no sauce, nothing - and it was quite possibly the most flavorful steak I had tasted up till that point. Well, why mess with perfection then you ask? Because I can.

I wanted to make a really nice main entree for a special Friday night dinner - just for two. I decided that steak was the best choice. A few months back, I went to Wolf & Lamb steakhouse for my birthday and ordered a Jack Daniels steak - a nice ribeye with a whiskey sauce. I combined this with an idea from Quick & Kosher for Asian-style steak and with Cook's Illustrated's May 2009 issue's recipe for Beef Teriyaki, along with their "Guide to Marinating" and voila! my skirt steak recipe was born.

Marinating is very good for skirt steak, because it is a thin cut. According to Cook's Illustrated, marinating only penetrates up to 1/2 inch through meat's surface - which is great, because skirt steak is usually not much more than an inch thick - so lots of flavor abound! Make sure you don't use up all the marinade! You will be sorely missing out if you don't have extra reserved for the glaze.

This is also great for summer barbecues - you can make the glaze on the side!

Skirt Steak with Asian-Whiskey Glaze

1 lb. skirt steak
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp whiskey
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp white wine
1 large shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. water
Chopped scallions, for garnish

1. Combine all soy sauce, oil, wine, whiskey, shallot, garlic, brown sugar and dry mustard in a bowl or measuring cup and whisk well together - this should make about 3/4 cup.

2. Place skirt steak in a ziploc bag, and pour 1/3 to 1/2 of marinade into bag (depends how much you need to coat meat). Press the air out of the bag and seal it well. Refrigerate for at least half hour, but more is fine.

4. When ready, preheat a cast-iron skillet (strongly recommended - if not, use a pan without non-stick coating - or a grill!) to screaming hot. Sear meat for 3-4 min on both sides. Remove and let rest on a plate for 10 min.

5. In the meantime, lower the heat on the pan. Mix flour and 1 tbsp water together in a bowl to form a slurry (to prevent flour clumping). Pour slurry, and remaining water into the remaining marinade, and pour into skillet (careful - this will boil very fast in a hot skillet!). This will let you deglaze the pan and scrape up any of the fond (yummy brown bits) at the bottom of the pan. Mix very well (and fast) until sauce comes to a glaze consistency.

6. Spoon glaze over steak and serve. Garnish with scallions.

Serves 4 (or more, depending how you cut your steak).