Food52

Rhubarb Cordial

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:00 -0400

Every Monday and Wednesday, we'll announce a new Wildcard winner: a recipe that may not have been entered in (or won) a contest, but a recipe that we've tested and loved.

WHO: eatboutique lives in New England and is the woman behind eatboutique.com.

WHAT: The best way to savor the season -- and preserve it for later.

HOW: Throw some chopped rhubarb and sugar in a jar, cover with vodka, and let it sit for a month.

WHY WE LOVE IT: By taking just a few minutes to throw 3 ingredients in a jar, you can make rhubarb season stretch a little bit longer -- and a killer after-dinner drink while you're at it. We also see this mixed with sparkling water (or sparkling wine!) and sipped by the pool.

Rhubarb Cordial by eatboutique

Makes 1 liter

2 pounds rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup organic sugar
1 liter good vodka, local and organic are a plus

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Have you tried a recipe on Food52 that you think should be a Wildcard? Let us know at editors@food52.com!

Grilling with Adam Rapoport: Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:00 -0400

Bon Appetit's Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport is sharing recipes and tips from his latest, The Grilling Book, all week long. We'll be rolling out his ideal Memorial Day feast -- one dish each day -- from his go-to steak to the drink in his hand.

Americans love skirt steak, but a lot of us don't know it -- it's what is often seen on menus as "sizzling steak fajitas." But skirt steak should be on your table for so many other reasons. It's affordable (we're not talking aged rib-eye here), and it's got a ton of flavor.

Beef cries out for salt and pepper, so season aggressively. Bring your steak to room temperature before you grill, and make sure you let it rest after a sear over high heat. And I always finish with Maldon salt after I slice.

The bright, vibrant chimichurri in this recipe complements the steak well, but it'll also be your new condiment for summer. Make a batch, store it in your fridge, and you'll be using it all season long.

Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Serves 4

One 1 1/2-pound skirt steak (about 1/2-inch thick), cut in half crosswise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for brushing
1/2 cup Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
3 or 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 Fresno chile or red jalapeño, finely chopped
2 cups minced fresh cilantro
1 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh oregano
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

This recipe is just one of more than 350 recipes from The Grilling Book, a comprehensive guide to anything you can make with a grill.

Photos by Peden+Munk
Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
Prop Styling by Lucy Attwater

How to Make Any Frittata in 5 Steps

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Here at Food52, we love recipes -- but do we always use them? Of course not. Because once you realize you don't always need a recipe, you'll make your favorite dishes a lot more often.

Today: One of the simplest Not Recipes to date is just a few minutes away from your next spring brunch.

If you've been following along, chances are good you've kept your cookbooks on the shelf for a weeknight dinner or two in the last few weeks. Maybe you've made meatballs, blended up soups, stirred risottos -- all without so much as a glance at a recipe. You're probably a regular pro at stir-fried noodles.

We have more good news: out of all the recipe-less dishes you've made so far, this ranks among the simplest. Why? Because all you have to do is break a few eggs, sauté, and enlist a little help from your broiler.

How to Make Any Frittata in 5 Steps

1. Start by cooking your vegetables over medium heat in a little oil, maybe with a bit of chopped garlic or shallot. This is a great place to use up leftovers. Or, if you're like us, you'll play this step cool with market-fresh fiddleheads and foraged morels. You know, because we're casual.

2. Once everything is tender, add beaten, seasoned eggs. (Add anywhere from 6 to 10, depending on the size of your crowd and also of your pan.) Add cheese (kind: any -- we used ricotta) into your egg mixture before you add it to the pan, or sprinkle it on after if you forgot this step or you want to place it strategically.

3. To make sure all of your foraged vegetables are evenly distributed, stir just a bit.

4. Employ the edge-lift technique: gently lift up the set portions of your frittata and let any egg mixture that is not set run into the space you've created. This will help everything to cook evenly, and will be a good piece of trivia to tell your friends at cocktail parties.

5. As soon as the eggs begin to set over the stove (this should take about 10 minutes), slide the whole thing under the broiler briefly to finish cooking (remember, it will keep cooking in the hot pan after you pull it out). If you're a purist, pull your frittata the moment it starts to color. If you're not, cook it until it's as carmelized and toasty as your heart desires. When you're cooking without a recipe, you can do what you want, right?

Now, you can serve it in the pan if you like the way it looks, or turn it out onto a nice platter (cover pan with platter, carefully invert, hold breath, remove pan -- if it's ugly, flip it back over). Serve warm, at room temp, or cold -- you've got options there, too.

We're looking for contributors! Email submissions@food52.com and tell us the dish you could make in your sleep, without a recipe.

Photos by James Ransom

A Few Bunches of Kale, 5 Dinners

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Put time into dinner now, and you can make it last forever -- or at least the whole week. Welcome to Halfway to Dinner, where we show you how to stretch your staples every which way.

Today: Jeanine Donofrio of Love and Lemons shows us how to get a some extra kale in our lives -- start with her recipe for Spanish Chickpeas with Kale.

As much as I'd like to be, I'm not someone who's usually able to plan and shop for a week's worth of meals at once. Organization isn't my strong suit, and I can never predict on a Sunday what I'll feel like eating on Thursday. But what I can do is stock up on some basics, including a few bunches of kale -- it's my formula for impromptu healthy meals. I know many of you love kale as much as I do, so here are a few creative ways to get some extra kale into your life.

Kale Chimichurri
This is my twist on the classic Argentinian sauce. I serve it over simply grilled whitefish and sautéed kale. In a food processor, pulse together a handful of raw kale leaves, a handful of parsley, a few fresh oregano leaves, garlic, a splash of sherry vinegar, and olive oil. Drizzle on tonight's dinner, and save the leftovers to drizzle on everything else.

Kale & Eggs
Consider this breakfast for dinner. In an individual-sized baking dish, mix some canned or crushed fresh tomatoes with salt, pepper, and a pinch of smoked paprika. In a separate small bowl, toss about 1 cup of chopped raw kale with a bit of olive oil, balsamic, salt, and pepper. Place the kale in the baking dish along with a sprinkle of feta cheese and chopped scallions. Crack 1 or 2 eggs into the dish and bake until set, about 10 to 12 minutes. (You can also fry the eggs separately and place on top.) Finish with some freshly cracked black pepper.

Sushi Bowl with Crispy Kale
One of my favorite weeknight dinners is a simple brown rice sushi bowl. I mix my rice with a little bit of rice vinegar and a touch of sugar, then I try to choose toppings that vary in texture. I usually end up with avocado, edamame, nori, pickled shiso leaf (or pickled ginger), and crispy kale. To make the latter, toss kale leaves with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and bake until crispy. Crumble over the top of your rice bowl and top everything with some toasted sesame seeds.

Spanakopita
Or, as my midwestern family called them growing up: "cheese triangles." These flaky little pastries are one of my favorite things my mom makes. I make a kale-ified version of her recipe: chop and blanch about 5 leaves of kale, mix it with 1 cup of feta cheese, some minced garlic, a few chopped scallions, a teaspoon of dried oregano, salt, and pepper. To assemble, layer 2 sheets of phyllo dough, brush with melted butter, and slice it into 5 vertical strips. Place a teaspoon of filling at the bottom of each strip and roll it up, flag-style. Repeat the process until you run out of filling (you'll have around 15 triangles). Brush the outside with butter and bake in a 425-degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden.

Spanish Chickpeas with Kale
Espinacas con Garbanzos was my favorite dish in Barcelona. I make a version using kale instead of spinach, and you should too. Read on for the recipe.

Serves 3 to 4, as a side

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon saffron
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 to 3 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1/2 bunch kale, chopped
Salt & pepper
A few splashes lemon juice (optional)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

See the full recipe (and save it and print it) here.

Photos by Jeanine Donofrio

Thai Scented Asparagus Soup

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:30:00 -0400

Jenny is in perpetual search for easy, weeknight recipes to attempt to feed her family. When they balk, she just eats more.

Today: A novel way to share the season with your guests.

So we end our three weeks of experimenting with asparagus on a warm note, with Thai Scented Asparagus Soup. I have been mulling soup made with asparagus for a while now, because soup seems a novel way to share the season with your guests, or, paired with good bread, a good alternative to the food trucks near the office.

This is a very straightforward method that will yield your first course in under an hour; I have only three tips to add, outside of my suggestion that you use homemade stock, which you knew.

• The other day, my nine-year-old explained to me that cod was the basis of the colonial economy, and thus cod = DC and so, please, more cod. I blinked for a few minutes, asked if that meant I could no longer serve salmon, and then procured more cod, because we have that here, in spades. Alas, lemongrass, not so much. After four trips to the store, I decided to substitute chopped Thai basil and lemon verbena culled from my garden, which I added to the pot with the asparagus. If you, like me, are unable to find lemongrass in your place of residence, try that.

• This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk. Not the whole bloody can, okay? If you do as I did and dump the thing in there like some kind of criminal, the coconut flavors will overwhelm your asparagus.

• Friends, clean those asparagus tips. My soup, while delicious, had little bits of grit in every bite, which gives one that same horrible feeling as waking up and realizing that there is no coffee and someone has turned on one of those awful Sunday shows. Oh well, I’ll get some cheesecloth.

Thai Scented Asparagus Soup by Fig Test Kitchen

Serves 6 to 8

1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or canola oil
3 pounds asparagus (after trimming an inch off the stalk)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
4 to 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass
3 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by James Ransom

Dinner Tonight: Tuna Burgers + Miso Cabbage Salad

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

When you think of a weeknight meal, tuna burgers and and a miso cabbage salad may not be what comes to mind. However, we think that's exactly the reason it should be your dinner tonight. These dishes combine to make a meal full of bright, zippy flavors that will leave you perfectly satisfied on a Monday (or any) night.

The Menu

Click through on the recipe photos or titles to see (and save and print) the full recipes, but we've also written you a handy grocery list and game plan below.

Crunchy Cabbage Salad with Miso-Ginger Dressing by Weird & Ravenous

Tuna Burgers with Wasabi Ginger Mayo by merrill

The Grocery List

Serves 6

4 scallions
A knob of fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds sushi-grade ahi tuna
1 English cucumber
1 box broccoli or alfalfa sprouts
6 brioche rolls
2 tablespoons prepared wasabi
6 tablespoons finely chopped pickled ginger
Miso paste
Rice wine vinegar
Toasted sesame oil
3/4 pound cabbage
1 carrot
Black sesame seeds

We're assuming that you already have eggs, grapeseed (or other neutral) oil, mayonnaise, garlic, and soy sauce on hand. If not, you'll be needing those things, too!

The Plan

1. Chop the tuna, mince the ginger, and slice the scallions, then mix them all together with the egg. Season with salt and pepper and form into 6 loose patties. Cover and refrigerate them for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, finely slice the cabbage and carrots for the salad. Mix up the salad dressing and the spicy, gingery mayonnaise for the burgers while you're at it.

3. Sear off the tuna burgers in a large, nonstick pan.

4. Almost there! Toss the cabbage, carrots and sesame seeds together with the dressing.

5. Plate burgers next to a generous pile of crunchy cabbage slaw, and serve!

Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Advice for Baby Mirabelle

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400

You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.

The happiest news we've gotten all week? Michael and his wife, China, welcomed sweet baby Mirabelle into the world! We're so excited for their growing (and, rest assured, healthy) family -- and we're proud to welcome one more little human to the Food52 team. Michael and China are skilled cooks and enthusiastic eaters (they even have a Google doc to plan their weeknight meals), so we're sure that this sweet baby will find her way to the kitchen before long. And we know she'll be eating well.

To celebrate this joyous occasion, and to give Mirabelle something to roll her eyes at when she googles herself in 15 years (Dad's coworkers are so lame!), we asked our team:

If you could give baby Mirabelle one piece of cooking advice, what would it be?

We want to hear your advice, too! Share it in the comments -- and try to read the following without crying. We dare you.

Lauren: My advice for Mirabelle is to make sure your parents share their lunch spreadsheet with you. And learn how to garden.

Christina: Try everything once. If you think you don't like it, try it again in 10 years.

Kenzi: Try everything once. If you fail, try it again tomorrow. And also, sweet, sweet Mirabelle: always eat avocados.

Bryce: Welcome sweet Mirabelle! My advice is to always have cookie dough in your freezer.

Jennifer: Never eat or buy fat-free food.

Karl: When in doubt, toss with olive oil and lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast!

Stephanie: It is always an appropriate time to eat ice cream.

Lindsay: Maintain an open mind and an adventurous palate. And always sprinkle your grilled cheese sandwiches with garlic salt after buttering.

Marian: Keep an emergency stash of chocolate. And cook with your parents. And be patient.

Beatrice: Always have a spoonful of cookie dough before baking them off!

Peter: To paraphrase Julia Child (I think): "Food, like a horse, can sense fear."

Amanda Li: Learn how to cook the things your family makes you eat now. Once you get older, you'll crave them -- and it'll be on you to carry on your family's traditions.

James: Quality is more important that quantity.

Maddy: Play with your food!

Amanda: Eat like your parents do and you'll have a very fine life. Have dessert at every meal. And make sure the pasta water tastes as salty as the sea.

Kristen: The only trick to making your food taste better: remember to sneak bites as you're cooking. Adjust, repeat. The best way to learn: get in the kitchen with others, then stand back and watch (and resist grabbing the spatula).

Merrill: Food is important. But sometimes the company is even more important.

Ryan: Every vegetable is better roasted.

Brette: Steal cookies from the cookie jar.

Sarah: Eat what makes you happy, but know where your food comes from. And when entertaining, simple is usually best.

Jason: Wait a couple years before you go near the stove. It's hot and you're a baby. Also don't ever skimp on the cheese.

Help us celebrate a new mouth to feed by sharing your advice in the comments!

8 Food Blog Links We Love

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400

You've made it to Friday, which means it's time to treat yourself to a roundup of links we love. Go ahead, procrastinate a little.

In keeping with the theme of spring and new beginnings, we’re freshening up our links post a bit -- every Friday from here on out, we'll be sharing some of our favorite food blog posts from the week. Because, well, they're our people, and they're talented, and we want to make sure you don't miss their latest recipes, tips, and techniques. We'll be scouring the web, finding the best, and bringing them right to your desktop.

It’s hard work, but someone has to do it.

It's the season for fruit crumble -- we're making this one. (Olivia Rae James)

Looking for a different take on pancakes? Try Deb’s veggie-laden recipe. (Smitten Kitchen)

If you prefer your pancakes to be sweeter (and boozier), Kasey's should do the trick. (Turntable Kitchen)

Use every part of the radish (greens and all) for a springy farro salad. (The Yellow House)

 Another variation on that theme: beet greens + farro salad = our next desk lunch. (Brooklyn Supper)

Vegans, rejoice! Ashlae shows you how to make dairy-free whipped cream. (Oh, Ladycakes)

Make that whipped cream, then add a dollop on top of these little chocolate tarts. (The First Mess)

To transform vegetables into heaven, Heidi steams them in a bamboo basket. (101 Cookbooks)

Which food blogs inspired you this week? Tell us in the comments!

Photos on top by (clockwise) Olivia Rae James, Smitten Kitchen, Turntable Kitchen, The Yellow House
Photos on bottom by (clockwise) Brooklyn Supper, Oh, Ladycakes, The First Mess, 101 Cookbooks

8 Apps We're Using Right Now

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:30:00 -0400

Maybe your grandmother didn't need apps to cook, but they just might make your life a little easier. Between putting virtually any recipe at your fingertips and creating digital shopping lists, apps may be the most helpful cooking technology since the dishwasher. There are a lot of apps out there, though, and weeding through them is not always easy. We've done our research: here are our top 8 cooking apps. Be sure to share yours below!

1. Foodie: This app features a beautiful, seasonally-curated collection of recipes from top food bloggers and professionals. For example, the May edition brings you 40 recipes featuring the best of spring produce -- it's basically a promise you'll never be at a loss when it comes to what to cook. Have we mentioned it's free? Are you downloading it yet?

2. How to Cook Everything: Inspired by the amazing (though huge) cookbook of the same name, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything app brings you 2,000 recipes, how-to illustrations, shopping lists, and references. In short, you'll literally be able to cook everything.

3. Substitutions: As the name would suggest, this is a virtual encyclopedia of substitutions. Whether you've run out of cumin or completely forgot you didn't have cornstarch, this app will keep you calm in the most stressful of cooking situations.

4. Paprika: We've mentioned the website before, but the app is certainly worth a nod, too. It allows you to store any recipe on the internet, add personal notes, meal plan, manage your shopping lists, and sync across all of your Apple products. Need a new secret weapon in the kitchen? This could be it.

5. Green Kitchen: This app comes from the bloggers behind Green Kitchen Stories. It's a hand-picked collection of vegetarian recipes, with many vegan and gluten-free options as well. Step-by-step photos give you more reason than ever to eat your veggies.

6. Weber's On the Grill: If you often wish there were a way to grill 3 meals a day, this app is for you. Between recipes, basic marinades and rubs, instructional videos, and techniques and timers, this is the ultimate griller's companion.

7. Moxtra: This app makes it easier to share photos, videos, and documents with friends and family. Invite your friends who love to cook into a binder within Moxtra, and then easily share food photos, cooking videos, recipes, and notes. Bonus: this app's uses go well beyond the kitchen.

8. Cook4Lyfe: Here's an app that can do everything from suggesting recipes using ingredients you have on hand to letting you know which grocery store would be best for your specific ingredient list. Grocery shopping just got so much easier.

Have we missed one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

Homemade Horchata

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

Every Friday, a DIY expert spares us a trip to the grocery store and shows us how to make small batches of great foods at home.

Today: Kate from Cookie and Kate shares a creamy, refreshing Latin American drink that you can make from what's in your pantry.

A traditional drink in Latin America and Spain, horchata (pronounced or-CHA-tah) is milky and sweet, sometimes spiced, and always delicious. Each country has its own version of horchata, but in Latin America, it is traditionally made with a combination of soaked grains, nuts, and seeds. If you've never tasted horchata before, imagine it as sweetened rice-and-nut milk with cinnamon, or iced chai tea without the tea. A glass of horchata over ice is perfect on a hot summer day: it’s creamy yet light, cold, and refreshing.

Before I share my recipe for horchata, though, I should confess that I’ve only tasted this drink here in the United States. I learned how to make it last summer in anticipation of an upcoming trip to Belize. While in Belize, I tried a soursop milkshake, watermelon juice, and fresh coconut water, but sadly, no horchata. Fortunately, I can make it at home with basic pantry ingredients whenever I like.

More: Another creamy, dairy-free drink you can make at home? Almond milk.

My homemade horchata is adapted from Rick Bayless and calls for rice, almonds, and cinnamon. It is dairy-free and sweetened with agave nectar rather than sugar. And it makes a great cocktail: try adding Gosling's spiked rum or another dark rum to turn your horchata into a boozy treat. I can't promise that you'll find horchata exactly like this south of the border, but it is incredibly refreshing nonetheless.

Horchata

Adapted from Rick Bayless

Serves 4

2/3 cup long grain white or brown rice (dry)
1 1/4 cup blanched almonds
3-inch cinnamon stick
4 1/2 cups water, divided
1/3 to 1/2 cup light agave nectar, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine the rice, almonds, cinnamon stick, and 2 1/2 cups hot water. Allow the mixture to cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Pour the mixture into a blender, add agave (start with 1/3 cup; you can add more later) and blend on high for several minutes, until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Add one cup of cold water and blend for 10 seconds. Taste, and add more agave as needed.

Place a large metal sieve over a large bowl. Line the sieve with cheesecloth (or use a nut milk bag or clean paint straining bag, which you can find at hardware stores). Pour the mixture through slowly, stirring as you pour. Press on the solids with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Squeeze the rest of the liquid out, then discard the remaining pulp.

Pour the mixture into a pitcher and stir in the last cup of water. Pour into glasses filled with ice and serve. Mix with spiced rum for a creamy, spicy cocktail.

Note: You can either buy pre-blanched almonds or blanch your own. To do it yourself, just place 1 1/4 cups whole almonds in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let the almonds sit for a minute, then drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water. Use your hands to slide the skins off and proceed with the recipe as directed.

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Kate Taylor