Urban Kitschen

SoCal Inspired Grilled Fish Tacos

2012-08-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Fish tacos from our little rooftop grill

After visiting my sister in San Diego, we’ve been on a huge fish taco kick. This SoCal local favorite has been creeping onto east coast menus, which is awesome news for us NYC folk.

We decided during an impromptu rooftop grilling session to try our hand at making our own east coast fish tacos. The grilled variety is incredibly simple to make and delicious.

The best part was that you can make these with just five ingredients! Of course if you wanted to get fancy you could add more toppings like pico de gallo, cilantro, or sliced radishes, but the simple flavors here really worked well.

Ingredients – serves 2-4 people

2/3 lb of firm white fish (we used Trader Joe’s garlic chili seasoned tilapia fillets)

1 package of shredded coleslaw mix

1 package of small corn tortillas

2 limes

½ cup sour cream

4 TBS of Cholula hot sauce (Cholula is good here because it has a Mexican flavor profile)

Just six ingredients!

Make your sauce by mixing the sour cream, hot sauce, and the juice of half of a lime with salt and pepper to taste. You could also use Mexican crema here or Greek yogurt as a replacement for the sour cream.

A bit of lime for brightness

Cholula for spice and depth of flavor

Stir and you're done with the sauce!

Slice the other half of a lime into wedges and reserve for serving.

Next, prep the slaw mix. Add roughly two cups of the shredded mix to a bowl. My grocery store's mix is just red and green cabbage and carrots. You can shred your own cabbage too but this was an easy timesaver and cheap too!

Season your slaw with salt, pepper, and the juice of one lime. You’ll want to do this just before the fish goes on the grill to prevent the slaw from getting soggy.

Mix the slaw up - clean fingers are ok!

The purple cabbage will bleed a bit when you add the acidic lime, making a vibrant candy color #foodscience

Have your toppings set up and ready to go since the fish will cook quickly

Heat up your grill and prep the surface with a piece of tinfoil or a small aluminum tray to prevent the fish sticking.

Raw tilapia on the grill

Cook the fish for about 5 minutes on each side or until it is firm and flaky.

Tilapia ready to be flipped

Remove the cooked fish to a plate and set aside.

Flip over your tin foil or aluminum pan and use this as your tortilla warming surface. Heat each side of the tortilla for 30 seconds just until the tortilla is pliable.

Your foil pan will become an excellent tortilla toaster, preventing overly brittle tacos

Fill each taco with a thin piece of grilled fish...

Flaky grilled fish

...a generous mound of slaw...

Slaw for crunch

...and a drizzle of dressing.

The dressing mellows everything out.

These can definitely be a stand alone dish or a fun food to serve with drinks.

Enjoy these on a sunny day for your own slice of SoCal

Egg Tostadas with Fresh Salsa Verde

2012-07-29T08:25:00.001-07:00

Egg tostada with fresh salsa verde, cotija cheese, and Cholula sauce

On the weekend I am a homing pigeon and bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches are my home. On this particular weekend I must have caught a strange breeze because I was determined to brunch on something new.

Conveniently, I had leftover taco night fixings, including homemade roasted tomatillo salsa verde. Really, any leftover taco fixings would work as substitutions here – salsas, avocado, chopped veggies, etc. so feel free to customize.

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 small flour tortillas

2 Tbs coconut oil

4 eggs

½ cup crumbled cotija cheese

Fresh salsa verde (homemade or store bought is fine)

2 TBS white vinegar

Hot sauce (optional)

Some of the ingredients

Start by prepping a pan of water for poaching the eggs. Add a splash of white vinegar to the water to ensure that the egg whites shape up nicely. You’ll want to have the water almost boiling before you add the eggs in.

Crack the eggs one by one into a small cup and add to the water with the heat on low. Cracking the eggs into a cup first also helps keep the whites together when you add them to the pan.

A small measuring cup works nicely

While the eggs are cooking, add the coconut oil to a separate pan on medium high heat. I like using coconut oil here because you can get really crispy tortillas and it lends a slight sweetness that really balances out the dish.

Add a tortilla to the pan and toast on either side (about 30 seconds per side).

When the tortilla begins to puff up and brown on one side, flip it over to toast the other side.

Transfer your toasted tortillas to a plate with paper towel to blot.

In the meantime, you’ll probably want to give your eggs a gentle flip in the water to ensure even cooking, when the white appears solid your eggs will likely be ready to fish out.

Eggs mid-poach

Use a slotted spoon so that the poaching water can drain and gently place one egg in the middle of each toasted tortilla.

Try not to bust the yolk like I did

Top the eggs with crumbled cotija cheese (a Mexican cheese with a similar flavor/texture to feta) or whatever your taco cheese of choice is.

Cotija adds some nice salt to this dish

Add a liberal dressing of salsa verde on top. The brightness of this salsa has a great contrast with the richness of the eggs, cheese, and fried tortilla.

Egg tostada with fresh salsa verde, cotija cheese, and Cholula sauce

If you like a little spice, accent your tostadas with a hint of hot sauce for added punch and a burst of contrasting color. Cholula was great here because it’s more flavorful and just a little hot.

Spicy start to the morning!

BLT and BLP (Peach) Lettuce Wraps

2012-07-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

BLT lettuce wrap

I’m of the opinion that tomatoes are simply not worth eating unless they’re in season. That being said, I usually let my insatiable BLT cravings run wild in the summer when tomatoes are at their flavorful peak.

The coexistence of BLT season and swimsuit season, however, is unfortunate so the BLT lettuce wrap is a fun way to get delicious BLT flavor in without the bulky bread. This recipe isn’t “healthy” per se, but you won’t feel like a beached whale after eating a bunch either.

BLT Lettuce Wrap Ingredients

8 slices of thick cut bacon

Small head of leafy lettuce

2 ripe tomatoes

Mayonnaise for dressing

Additional BLP (Peach) Lettuce Wrap Ingredients (if you’re feeling crazy!)

1 ripe peach or nectarine

Balsamic vinegar for drizzling

Simple ingredients

Lay your bacon out on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Thick cut bacon

Depending on the thickness, it may take more or less time for your bacon to crisp up, so keep an eye on it. I prefer baking versus frying because the strips come out more evenly crispy and the mess is contained within the oven.

Crispy bacon in need of a good blotting

Blot your cooked bacon on paper towels once it’s cooled slightly and set aside.

Take your lettuce and remove eight of the prettiest leaves. Choose leaves that don’t have holes or are torn as these will act as your bread. Save the rest of the lettuce for salad. Wash your lettuce and spin dry.

Slice your tomato and if you’re feeling kinda kooky, your peach or nectarine slices.

Assemble the BLT wraps by adding a slight swipe of mayo.

Just a schmear

Top the BLT wraps with one strip of bacon, and tomato slices and you're done!

That's all you need

Wrap it up and take a bite!

If you decide to go the more adventurous BLP wraps route, skip the mayo. Add a bacon strip to your lettuce.

BLP lettuce wrap in the works

Top the BLP wrap with peach slices.

Peachy

Dress the BLP wrap with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Drizzling

The combination of smoky/salty bacon and the sweet/tangy fruit and balsamic are pretty awesome and totally worth deviating from the typical BLT flavor profile.

Summer Watermelon Punch

2012-07-06T19:58:00.004-07:00

Festive and refreshing watermelon punch

Ok so I confess - I saw a blog post about a watermelon made into a keg and I almost lost it out of sheer excitement. However, the mechanics of adding a keg tap to a giant fruit are a little beyond my skill set.

Carving the watermelon jack-o-lantern style seemed a bit more practical, so I opted to make a watermelon punch bowl. The great thing about using the watermelon shell as your punch bowl for an outdoor party in the summer is that it's insulated and keeps the drink cool. Just pop the lid back on top and you're all sealed up!

Cool, refreshing, and naturally sweet!

Most importantly though, this punch is amazingly refreshing. We drank it during a rooftop BBQ with temperatures running in the mid 90s with full humidity and it totally hit the spot. With no added sugar, this punch packs all of the flavor and none of the sticky sweetness of your typical bowl of powdered drink mix.

Ingredients

1 ripe seedless watermelon (preferably one that will stand up on it's own without rolling)

1 bunch of mint roughly chopped

1 lemon juiced

1 lime juiced

2 cups of reposado tequila (or any other strong spirit of your liking)

A few dashes of your favorite bitters

Pick a good ripe one that stands up nicely on its own

Start by slicing off the top of the melon. Keep in mind that this will be the top of your bowl so the opening will need to be large enough to be able to ladle out the punch.

Chop the top

Scoop the flesh of the watermelon into a bowl or pitcher.

Scoring the flesh before scooping it out helps make things a bit easier

Use an immersion blender to puree the watermelon.

You can use a juicer or a traditional standing blender here too.

The puree will be very liquid but you'll want to strain it into a fine mesh sieve to prevent any chunky pieces from making it into the punch.

Straining

You'll have almost a full watermelon full of juice

Once your watermelon juice is fully strained, add it back to the pitcher, as you'll end up with way more punch than the watermelon shell can hold. Next, stir in the mint, citrus juices, tequila, and bitters.

Squeeze in the citrus

Chop the mint and toss it in

Someone (I'm not naming names) was too eager to dump in the tequila so here's the empty bottle

Add some pizzaz with a few dashes of bitters. We used whiskey barrel bitters this time.

You and your punch can now chill until it's party time. Serve it up in your watermelon punch bowl reserving the top as a lid to keep things chilled.

Enjoy on a hot, sunny roof!

BrunchBQ Kabobs

2012-06-11T13:37:00.002-07:00

Brunch Kabobs on a tiny grill - Breakfast sausage, potatoes, red bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes

Rooftop grilling is one of my favorite things about summer in the city. A tarred roof is like paradise on a breezy June day. Since the plan for this BBQ was to start the party early, BBQing brunch food seemed like a novel idea.

With rooftop cooking, any food prep needs to be done ahead of time in order to avoid running up and down to the kitchen. I also wanted some easy finger food for folks to eat. Enter the kabob – the perfect make-ahead, fun food on a stick.

Kabob Ingredients

1 package breakfast sausages

2 russet potatoes

1 package cherry tomatoes

1 red bell pepper

Marinade Ingredients

2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS hot sauce of your choosing

6 TBS cider vinegar

2 TBS olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

The ingredients that I selected were to play off home fries a bit with the tomato and pepper. You could certainly add onion or any other veggies as well to the mix. I made a few vegetarian ones as well in case any of our veggie friends showed up.

These were easy to pull together the night before and I highly recommend doing it this way to avoid scrambling in the morning. The marinade will also have some time to soak in.

You may also want to soak your skewers in water if they’re wooden in order to prevent them burning on the grill.

Chop the potatoes into ¼ inch thick slices then quarter the slices. It’s important to keep the potatoes thin so that they cook through on the grill. Drop them into a bowl of salted water.

Thread the veggies onto the skewers along with one breakfast sausage per skewer. I tried to alternate the potato slices between other veggies so they would cook more evenly and not be squished together.

Store the kabobs in a baking dish with a rim.

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and drizzle over the kabobs and cover with plastic wrap to store in the fridge. The vinegar prevented the potatoes from getting discolored.

On a medium hot grill, these cooked for around 10 minutes, flipping and rotating spots on the grill to avoid burning.

Breakfast on a stick

Eggs can also be made on a roof - word!

Barrel-Aged Tequila Cocktail with Grapefruit Juice and Tarragon

2012-06-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Barrel-Aged Tequila Cocktail with Grapefruit Juice and Tarragon

We went out for a night of pre-vacation drinking that started out with an tasty oyster and beer happy hour (Upstate)...

Coffee Imperial Stout at Upstate

migrated to a smelly yet loveable dive bar (International Bar), slightly upgraded to an Irish pub (St. Dymphna’s), meandered to a hot dog joint for some cheesy tots (Crif Dogs)...

Post-cheesy tots empty table at Crif Dogs

...then stumbled into the fantastic mixology of a faux-speakeasy (PDT).

Mosaic mirrored walls in the PDT bathroom made by an EV artist

Not to be outdone, we figured what better way to end the evening than with a nightcap back at home.

What resulted was a bit of intoxicated genius. They say Faulkner wrote his best work while on the sauce so I suppose a bit of alcohol can, in fact, expand your thinking.

Ingredients

1 TBS fresh tarragon leaves (frozen is ok too)

1 part barrel-aged tequila (or reposado tequila)

2 dashes angostura bitters

3 parts grapefruit juice

1 big old ice cube

Cocktail ingredients - bitter/sour fruity/boozy/green/cold

I can’t take credit for the oak barrel sitting on my kitchen cabinet. The silver tequila that were poured into said barrel and eventually aged until it was a caramel-colored reposado, was also out of my hands.

Just your standard issue kitchen oak barrel

If you don’t have a man who will age tequila for you, I suggest giving it a whirl yourself or just buying some golden tequila like a normal person.

Formerly clear tequila is now dark and mellow

Start by adding the tarragon leaves to your glass and muddling gently with the back of a spoon. The really just need a few nudges to give off their essential oils.

Muddling

Next add 1 part tequila along with your giant ice cube.

Booze and cube

Shake in two dashes of angostura bitters and stir.

Dashing!

Top with roughly three parts grapefruit juice and give the glass another stir.

Cheers!

Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2012-05-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

These taters one of my favorite simple sides. The best part is that coconut mashed sweet potatoes are just as easy to make as your standard mash but are arguably much more nutritious than their pale cousin. The harmony of coconut and sweet potato creates a mildly exotic natural sweetness that pairs well with grilled meats and fish. I served these up with a seared skirt steak and it was delightful.

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes

1/3 can coconut milk (not cream of coconut)

Salt and pepper to taste

Very simple ingredient list

Scrub, peel and cube the sweet potatoes. I prefer to steam them because it’s amazingly fast and better for keeping in nutrients than boiling. Bamboo steamer baskets can be picked up in your local Chinatown or kitchen supply store for under $10 and are a fantastic investment for making easy healthy meals.

Spread the sweet potatoes out so they steam evenly

Layer the sweet potato cubes in the steamer baskets in a single layer. Use as many levels of steamer baskets as is necessary (I used two) and pop the lid on top. Set the whole steamer basket on a frying pan with an inch of water in the bottom and set the stove burner on high.

Steam for 10 minutes or so or until a sharp knife can be inserted into the sweet potatoes with no resistance. Add to a bowl and mash away. Stir in the coconut milk, salt, and pepper and you’re good to go.

Sweet, savory and a great way to get your veggies in!

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Spring Farmers Market Vegetables

2012-04-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

The name is a mouthful but these are simple enough for a Saturday morning after a late night out. We picked up a few of my favorite spring veggies, eggs, and a sharp cheddar at the farmers market and whipped this up in no time.

Ingredients

1 bunch of ramps (wild onions)

6 thin spears of asparagus

¼ lb. sharp farmhouse cheddar

5 fresh eggs

2 Tbs butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by prepping the veggies. Wash the grit out of the ramps and trimmed off the roots.

Veggies with a Fire Escape View

Chop the whites and add them to a frying pan on low with the butter. Snap the ends off the asparagus and chop into inch-long segments and add them to the pan with the ramp bottoms and cook for 3 minutes or until tender.

Chop the ramp tops and add them to the pan.

Chop the tops

These cook a bit more quickly and will wilt like spinach. Be sure to season the vegetables as they’re cooking. Remove from the heat once the greens have just wilted.

Add to the pan with the other veggies

The greens will look like this once they've wilted

Whip the eggs together with a tablespoon of water, salt and pepper to taste, and set aside. Cube the cheddar and set aside.

Cheese!

The scrambling phase begins now! Put the pan back on the heat on the lowest setting and add the eggs and then the cheddar.

Dump 'em in

Cheese 'em - don't worry, the cubes will melt and it's way easier than grating in the morning

Stir the eggs to keep the mixture uniform. You want to think of the mixture as being a soft custard. If you keep the heat low and the mixture moving in the pan, the eggs will set slowly and stay tender. This will take 5 minutes or so but your patience will be rewarded.

Scrambling in progress

Large curds will eventually form and this is the telltale sign that the eggs are almost done. Remove the pan from the heat when liquid no longer spreads from under the scrambled eggs. Plate right away so the residual heat from the pan doesn’t cause the eggs to set further.

Enjoy on a sunny fire escape or rooftop!

Grilled Ramps (Wild Onions) with Gnocchi

2012-04-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things about the farmers market is having access to all sorts of seasonal goodies that you wouldn’t usually find in the supermarket. I tried ramps for the first time last yeah and was only able to find them once due to the many restaurants and foodies in NY scooping them up right away.

Fresh ramps - look for tops that are crisp and green

If you’re not familiar with them, ramps are a wild green onion with a strong garlicky note that are only available for a few short weeks in the Spring. This year I was lucky enough to score a bunch early in the season.

Ramps are pretty awesome with a little caramelization on them so pan grilling is one way to get the job done. I grilled them last year and put them on some toasted Italian bread with fresh ricotta and they were amazing. This time around, I added them to some gnocchi for a pretty bangin’ main dish.

Ingredients

1 lb. gnocchi (homemade* or store bought, I ain’t judging)

*Recipe here http://urbankitschen.blogspot.com/2012/04/leftover-mashed-potato-gnocchi.html

1 cup gnocchi cooking water reserved

1 bunch of wild ramps

1 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs butter

3 Tbs chopped walnuts

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Clean the ramps by separating the green leaves a bit and rinsing out any sand.

Chop the roots off and separate the green leaves from the white/red bottoms. These parts cook a bit differently so it’s best to cook them separately to ensure that they cook evenly.

Prepped ramps with the roots trimmed and the greens separated

Cook and drain the gnocchi and reserve a cup of cooking water.

The gnocchi will be ready when they float to the top

Add olive oil to a frying pan on high heat and add ramp bottoms. Cook until golden brown and remove.

They should be lightly browned but now too dark as they'll take on a less appealing burnt garlic flavor

Add ramp tops on medium heat and wilt as you would spinach and remove from pan.

Lightly wilted is just enough

Allow to cool slightly and chop coarsely.

Chop and set aside

Add butter and walnuts to pan on low heat, toasting the walnuts and browning the butter.

The butter will foam up a bit when it's ready

Add a bit of the gnocchi cooking water and simmer to create a sauce.

Reduce the sauce slightly to thicken

Add the chopped ramps and gnocchi to pan and toss with the sauce.

Add 'em in

Stir sauce to mix

Then add the gnocchi and gently toss with the sauce

And keep tossin'

Add Parmesan cheese and toss again to coat.

Parmesan will melt into the sauce

We garnished with a shaved hard goat cheese from Dipalos.

Amazing cheese if you can find it!

Epic Friday Night dinner.

Leftover Mashed Potato Gnocchi

2012-04-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Gnocchi ready to be cooked

Potatoes are tricky buggers. Even when I make what seems a conservative amount of mashed taters, I always end up with a mountain of leftovers. The unfortunate thing is that mashed potatoes end up a bit dry and flabby when reheated so I gravitate toward one crafty solution – leftover mashed potato gnocchi.

I’ve been intrigued by these little dumplings since I first saw them on the Frugal Gourmet as a kid in the 80’s. I made my mom help me make them and I’ve been a fan ever since. You should make them too since they’re literally so easy a child could make them. In execution, think edible Play Doh, in taste, think fluffy pillows of delicious.

Ingredients

2 cups of mashed potato

1 cup of flour (add more if you’re mashed potatoes were looser in consistency)

1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

Leftover 'taters and flour

Add some nutmeg

Gently knead the dough just to combine the ingredients.

The dough will be a little lumpy

Once the dough comes together, break off a fistful and roll it on a flat surface fo form a inch thick snakes.

It's ok if your hands are covered in dough

Cut snakes into 1/2 inch bits.

Chop!

Gently roll each bit across the back of a fork to add a bit of an indent.

The indents catch sauce and make the dumplings lighter

Drop the gnocchi one by one into boiling salted water. Once the gnocchi float, they're ready to be fished out and served.

They’re delicious as is with a bit of parmesan cheese or tossed in some brown butter and crispy sage.

Homemade Baked Beans from Scratch

2012-04-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

Saucy, saucy beans!

If you’ve ever been to a great BBQ joint, you’ll know how awesome homemade baked beans are. They’re tender, sweet and spicy in a way that syrupy mushy canned baked beans could only dream to be.

The best part is, these will only set you back a few cents for the dried beans and you can likely cobble the seasonings together out of things you already have in your spice rack and in the condiment shelf in your fridge.

Ingredients

1 cup dried white beans

2 cups water

½ onion diced

½ cup ketchup

3 Tbs molasses (or black treacle syrup)

2 Tbs honey

2 Tbs mustard

2 Tbs Sriracha hot sauce

1 Tbs Worchestershire sauce

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp bacon fat (optional)

Some of the key players

These do require a little pre-planning. Soak your beans in water the night before so they can hydrate. I prefer dried beans here because they hold up better to the long baking process and they’re practically free ($1.54 for a half pound bag).

Add at least double the volume of water to dried beans

In the morning when your beans are plumped up, you’re ready to go.

Dice half of an onion and add it to a baking dish with the beans.

Chopped

Add the molasses or in my case British black treacle (a darker and more licorice-flavored syrup) to the dish along with the honey, spicy mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper.

I'm a sucker for good packaging

Treacle your beans

Like a stress ball but edible

If you’re going vegetarian with the recipe, you’re all set now, but to add some smokiness, I slipped in a teaspoon of bacon fat that I keep reserved in the freezer for just such an occasion.

Stir the beans to mix, and add water to top (about 2 cups), then stir again.

Dressed up uncooked beans

Adding water to top

Cover the pan with foil and let it bubble in a 325 degree oven for 4-5 hours or until the beans are very tender. Give them an occasional stir to check that they aren’t sticking. If the beans are still undercooked and are drying out, additional water can be added to the dish.

They may look dry on the top, but give 'em a stir and you'll see that they're pretty saucy

Serve at your next picnic or with a tasty hot dog. Leftover beans freeze and reheat well so make a bunch!

Smoked Kielbasa with Polish Caramelized Cabbage (Kapusta)

2012-03-15T20:58:00.002-07:00

This cabbage is anything but cabbagey. Hours of slow cooking transform this humble vegetable into something incredibly mild, sweet, and dare I say decadent. Most of the work is done once you park it in the oven to cook, so plan to make this on a cold day when you can cuddle up on the couch waiting for a great meal.

Ingredients

About 4 dried Borowicki mushrooms

One small onion finely sliced

2 Tbs butter

One small head of purple or green cabbage

One small can of sauerkraut

½ teaspoon truffle oil

4 short links or one long smoked kielbasa sausage

Horseradish or spicy mustard for dipping

Dried Borowicki mushrooms have a very distinctly meaty flavor with a truffle-like, umami background note. They’re sold at Polish markets and online, but shitake mushrooms and a bit of extra truffle oil would probably be a fair substitution. To prepare the mushrooms, cover in a small bowl with boiling water (1/3 cup) to rehydrate.

Floppy but delicious rehydrated Borowicki mushrooms

In the meantime, slice your onion and sauté until translucent then add to a large baking pan (the more surface area the better).

Onions - duh!

Cut your cabbage head into quarters, remove the core, and slice thinly – think coleslaw – and add this to the baking pan.

I chose purple because it was prettier (and color supposedly = more nutrients in food)

After about 15 minutes, the mushrooms can be chopped finely and added to the pan as well. Add the soaking liquid to the pan as well, pouring slowly so none of the grit at the bottom of the bowl makes its way into the pan.

Chopping the 'shrooms on a purple cabbage stained cutting board

Drain your sauerkraut into a fine mesh sieve and press to remove most of the juices. The end dish will be much too tangy if you skip this step.

can of 'kraut

Add a bit of truffle oil, a few generous grinds of pepper, and salt to taste to the pan and mix with all of the ingredients to combine. Place the pan in a 325 degree oven. You’ll want to check on the mix every 30 minutes or so to give it a stir.

Truffle oil is a good investment and a little goes a long way

The full cabbagey mix ready to be baked

The goal now is to reduce the amount of moisture in the cabbage mix so that it slowly begins to caramelize. The mix will be very wet as when the cabbage begins breaking down, but over time you will notice the mix beginning to dry out. Check on it and give it a stir every 30 minutes or so. You’ll want to cook the cabbage until it is very soft and there is no moisture in the pan when stirring (typically a little over two hours).

Once you cabbage has caramelized, nestle the kielbasa into the cabbage and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees or until it has warmed through.

Delicious and not overly salty smoked kielbasa from Heritage Meats

Caramelized cabbage with kielbasa ready to be heated

The finished product

All dished up!

Serve hot with spicy mustard or horseradish and a good dark beer.

Honeysuckle Fizz Cocktail

2012-02-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

If you love honey in drinks, this libation will really knock your socks off. This recipe works excellently in a drink carbonator like the Twist and Sparkle or Soda Stream but can also just be made with seltzer rather than still water if you don’t have a drink carbonator.

Ingredients

(Makes 4 drinks)

3 Tbs honey

1 ½ cups water (seltzer water if you’re not using a carbonator)

Juice and of 2 lemons (save zest for garnish)

4 dashes Angostura bitters

5 shots whiskey

Add your honey and water together and shake to combine. If you’re making ahead of time, you can heat them together to dissolve then chill for a few hours in the fridge as well.

If substituting seltzer, you may want to mix the honey with equal parts still water to create the syrup then top your drink with seltzer

Peel off a few pieces of lemon zest for garnish then juice the lemons and add to the carbonator bottle with the honey syrup.

Add a few dashes of bitters and your whiskey and shake to combine, then fizz according to your carbonator’s instructions.

Serve immediately – preferably with an obnoxiously oversized ice cube and a twist of lemon zest.

Crispy Sea Salt Kale Chips

2012-02-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

Kale, if improperly prepared, can be a challenge to choke down. I love me some greens, but Kale in particular needs a little love to be palatable.

Big bunch o' kale

Enter kale chips – the high temperature causes the compounds in kale that taste of cabbage funk to caramelize and become mild. The crisp saltiness makes these delicious and downright addictive.

One large bunch of kale makes a mountain of chips.

Ingredients

1 large bunch kale

4 TBS olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Easy ingredient lineup

Start by picking the kale leaves off of the stem in 2 inch long pieces.

Stripping leaves from the stem

Throw the leaves into a large bowl full of water and discard the stems (they’re woody and not very tasty). Swish the kale leaves around to remove and dirt or grit.

Rinsing

The most important step to ensure crispy kale chips is completely draining and drying the leaves. A salad spinner is really is really the best tool for the job but you can use a clean tea towel in a pinch. Any dampness when cooking will cause the kale to steam rather than crisp up.

Spread half of the dried kale leaves into a large metal baking pan. Make sure that the leaves are in one even layer. I usually bake the kale into two batches.

Oiling

Drizzle the kale with olive oil and give them a scrunch to make sure the leaves are fully coated in oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, keeping in mind that the kale will shrink significantly with baking and concentrating the salty flavor.

Scrunch!

Bake on the bottom rack of a 400 degree. Baking on the bottom rack seems to prevent the delicate leaves from charring too quickly. Check on the kale every 5 minutes, giving it a stir to make sure that the leaves aren’t sticking or darkening too quickly.

This is how kale chips should look after about 5 min of cooking and aren't crisp enough yet

Full cooking time usually varies between 10 and 15 minutes. You’ll know the kale chips are done when they have just a touch of golden brown at the end. The chips will also sound crisp when you stir them.

Once you remove the kale chips from the oven they’ll continue to become more crispy as the cool slightly.

Golden and crispy - enjoy warm

Old Timey Egg Cream Soda

2012-02-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

Let’s be clear here – this drink has neither egg nor cream. This blend of milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer is a delightful, refreshing dessert beverage reminiscent of fizzy chocolate milk. It sounds strange, but trust, it is like a more sophisticated Yoohoo and conjures up fantasies of sitting in an old timey soda shop, clicking your saddle shoes together, and sipping through a swirly straw.

Ingredients (serves 1)

3 generous Tbs of Fox’s U-bet Chocolate Syrup

Equal portions of whole milk and seltzer water

The Fox’s brand syrup is really the key component here. Hershey’s has nothing on this stuff. It can be found across NYC in places like Economy Candy and specialty stores as well as online.

Even a child could attempt this mixology so hang onto your seats. Add syrup to a tall glass. Fill glass halfway with milk. Top with seltzer (I carbonated my own out of convenience but this is completely unnecessary). You want to allow an inch of room at the top for the drink to fizz. Then stir to mix in the syrup. You’ll want to follow this order exactly to achieve the rich foamy head on top.

I served mine in a moustache glass but a regular glass will do just fine.

The star ingredient and a finished egg cream

Fancy-Up Your 50's-style Green Bean Casserole

2011-11-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

Haricot Vert, Carmelized Onion, and Mushroom Gratin

I've always been a fan of classic green bean casserole. It was one of the first dinner side dishes that my mom let me make all by myself as a kid. Open two cans of French cut green beans and one can of mushroom soup, stir together with some French fried onions and bake. It was delicious and I don't care that it was homemade in a Sandra Lee kinda way - I loved it. I still have a fondness for this canned concoction but my upgraded version takes the dish from kitschy and humble to earthy and ever so slightly more refined.

Ingredients

1 bag frozen haricot vert (I like the kind from Trader Joe's)

About 3 cups mushrooms (I like a mix of baby bellas and shitakes here but have used oyster mushrooms in the mix as well)

4 Tbs butter

1 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs flour

2 cups whole milk

2 tsp truffle oil

1 large yellow onion

a pinch of dried thyme leaves

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 can French fried onions

The frozen haricot vert taste just as good as fresh in my book, and don't get too watery (unlike many frozen veggies). You could substitute fresh for frozen but considering that this is a casserole where the beans will be slowly baked in a sauce, it hardly seems worth the trouble to clean them and the extra cost. Allow them to thaw as you cook the rest of the ingredients so they're easier to incorporate later.

Start by making a roux with 2 Tbs butter and the flour in a saucepan and mix in the milk. Bring to a bubble, add salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat.

In a large frying pan, saute sliced onions with 2 Tbs butter and dried thyme over medium heat. You're going to be caramelizing the onions so watch them closely so they don't burn. If the pan gets dry add a small splash of water and keep cooking. This might be cheating but I don't care because it works. It'll lift some caramelization from the bottom of the pan and the onions will continue to soften and turn sweet. I find that it takes longer for the onions to caramelize if you salt them, so hold off until the end.

After 15 minutes or so add in the Worcestershire sauce and add to the pot of white sauce. If you have an immersion blender, pop it in and blend halfway to flavor the sauce but allow some pieces of onion to remain chunky.

Clean your mushrooms and cut into chunky pieces. Add to the baking dish that you will be assembling the final casserole in. Toss with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven until lightly browned.

Add haricot vert to the baking dish with the mushrooms and toss with the sauce so everything is evenly coated. Top with French fried onions (I'm not throwing tradition completely by the wayside!). You could of course fry your own shallots or thin onion slices, but these really are fantastic so why fight it?

This casserole can be made ahead or heated immediately in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes or until bubbling.

Mini Caramel Apples

2011-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

I whipped up a big spread of Halloween finger food for my Pre-Halloween Eve party this year. One major (or should I say minor) additional this year were mini caramel apples. I’ve made them before but thought that they’d be perfect for a Halloween party.

Party apples!

Ingredients

1 bag lady apples (tiny apples about the size of a doughnut hole)

15 or so chopsticks (1 per apple)

1 bag caramels

non-pareils, sprinkles, or chopped nuts to add some flare and keep them from sticking to everything

I've only ever seen lady apples in the fall so this is definitely a seasonal treat. Local produce only markets are probably your best bet. I found them at Essex Market and Stiles Farmers Market in NYC.

Tiny lady apple

Wash the apples and set them on a clean dish towel to dry completely. Once they're dry, insert chopsticks (pointed end first) into the stem end of the apples.

Prepped and ready to go

Set up a plate with whatever toppings you'll be dipping the apples in after the caramel. These little guys will be sticky when dipped (see below) so you'll want to have the toppings be ready for them so they don't stick to the plate.

Picture from a previous experiment. Get your toppings ready in advance so they don't stick to the plate.

Unwrap your caramels and add them to a small pot with a teaspoon of milk (as an alternative - you can microwave them for :10 at a time, stirring in between).

Heating up the caramels

I use a metal steaming pitcher (like baristas have) to heat small quantities of things.

If you're heating the caramels on the stove, keep the flame as low as possible and stir continuously. If it even kind of seems like the sugar might be sticking or burning, remove from the heat immediately. Once the mix is fully liquefied, you're ready for dipping.

I found the when the liquid caramel is really hot, it's thinner and runnier which wasn't great for the apples, so you may want to let it cool for a minute to firm up a bit. Dip each apple, leaving just the top of the apple by the stick bare, then rolling in your topping of choice.

Arrange in a vase like a boquet for easy grabbing during a party.

Pork and Tofu Baos (Steamed Chinese Buns)

2011-07-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Sweet, salty, nutty, spicy, oniony - the BAO!

One of the best things about living close to Chinatown is being able to buy authentic Asian ingredients at my local grocery markets. When I saw that you can actually buy the fluffy bread bao buns at the Asian market I was beyond excited.

At $1.35 for 10 you can't go wrong!

These can practically be filled with anything. Think of them as an Asian taco shell. This is my first experiment with them and I was inspired by the flavors of the steamed pork buns from places like Prosperity Dumpling and the Baos of the formerly LES snack haven, BaoHaus.

Full disclosure – this recipe is in not necessarily a traditional or authentic bao recipe but the flavors came together well and they were quite delicious!

Ingredients

Bao bread (can be found refrigerated or frozen at most Asian markets)

Ingredients for Pork Filling

½ lb of a cheap cut of pork (I think I used a cut like pork shoulder with the bone in)

1 TBS canola oil

5 red chili peppers chopped

½ bunch scallions chopped

2 TBS Chinese five spice

2 TBS Mirin

2 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp fish sauce

2 TBS soy sauce

1 tsp ground black pepper

Ingredients for Tofu Filling

1 typical large brick of fried tofu

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

Ingredients for Toppings – prepare these in advance and set aside in small bowls as you would for taco night

Handful of roasted peanuts and 4 TBS raw sugar ground together in a food processor

Small bunch of cilantro and 1/2 bunch scallions chopped

4 TBS Sriracha sauce and 4 TBS mirin heated and stirred together

A few of the key ingredients

If you’re making the pork filling, you’ll want to start with that first as it takes the longest to prepare. In a large stock pot, heat the oil and brown the pork on both sides. Reduce the heat to low and add the scallions, chili pepper, and five spice and stir. Add in the mirin, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and pepper and top with about two inches of water. Cover the pot and braise the meat on low for 90 minutes or until it is tender. You can uncover the pot for the last 15 minutes or so to help reduce the sauce.

Pork braising in chilis and spices

Chop the meat into small pieces and reserve in a bowl covered with foil with a few tablespoons of the flavorful reduced cooking liquid.

Juicy, flavorful chopped pork filling

To prepare the tofu, simply sprinkle all sides of the fried tofu with Chinese five spice and warm slowly in a dry frying pan. There is already a good amount of oil in the crust of the fried tofu so you won’t need to add any extra. Once it has been warmed through, slice into ¼ inch slices.

To prepare the bao bread, simply add them to a steamer basked over a pan of simmering water and steam until tender and pliable (about 3 minutes).

Fill with your desired pork or tofu filling and sprinkle with any of the reserved toppings.

A topped tofu Bao

There’s definitely room for creativity with these so I’ll definitely be experimenting more with bao bread in the future.

Homemade Orange Nacho Cheese Sauce

2011-07-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of my guilty favorites is liquid orange nacho cheese. I doesn’t matter how much health food my mom raised me on, when I see that glistening, spicy orange cheese I just have to have it.

Orange cheese inspiration on a foot long dog at Madison Square Garden

My lazy Saturday experiment was to make my own. I happened to have a tub of pickled hot peppers from the great NY pickle shop, The Pickle Guys, kicking around in the fridge. They were the perfect tangy, spicy bedfellow for a pot of melted cheese.

This was way simple to whip up and unfortunately just as addictive as the stuff from the jar!

Ingredients

1 Tbs butter

1 Tbs flour

1 cup milk

1 cup grated sharp cheddar (I used the good stuff from Saxelby's Cheese Mongers)

6 hot pickled peppers (I had a mix of jalapenos and cherry peppers) finely chopped

1 tsp Sriracha sauce (for color, heat, and garlic)

1 tsp Cholula sauce (for heat and vinegar tang)

Tortilla chips for dipping

Pickled peppers and cheese sauce

In a small saucepan (or frying pan - because it was out on the stove already and I was being lazy) heat the butter and flour, whisking until foamy and golden brown. Add in milk and heat until simmering and slightly thickened. Let the white sauce cool for 5 minutes (if you don't the cheese will seize up and get lumpy), then whisk in the cheese. Once the cheese has melted, whisk in the peppers and hot sauces and you're done.

Whisking

The nacho cheese even reheated well in the microwave (set on low) which made it easier to portion control and just heat up a little of the leftover nacho cheese at a time.

Dip!