Chicken satay is one of those things I love to order in restaurants, but only recently started making at home. I think because the first time I had it, I was at  a restaurant, and pretty young, late teens, and at the time it seemed really exotic and like something I could never replicate at home. But … I was dead wrong. Chicken satay is super easy to make at home and so is the peanut sauce that goes with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7C_1b7Uw4Q

This recipe serves two as a main dish and can easily be doubled. All you need to add is a salad. Might I suggest this sesame quinoa salad? You can also serve it as an appetizer or party food. I think anything on a stick makes great party food. No plates!

For more Thai inspiration, check out this green papaya salad. Believe.

The post Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

I love roasting vegetables, especially crucifers like cauliflower and broccoli. If you know someone who is averse to these gamey vegetables, try roasting. When you roast them, or any vegetable, it removes some of the liquid, develops the natural sugars, and of course gets toasty brown bits which is always good when food is involved.

Cut the florets into approximately equal sizes. Slice stems appropriately.

Rub the sunflower butter into the crevices and crannies of the florets. Don’t be gentle. Really get them coated, then sprinkle with the crushed red pepper.

When they’re done, the broccoli is cooked but not soft. The sunflower butter is browned. There might be some burny-bits on your baking sheet. Scrape those off and sprinkle them on top. They’re crunchy and good and will make up for the fact that you’re gonna have to scrub-a-dub that baking sheet. Sorry! (Or I guess you can bake the broccoli on some parchment paper if you’re a lil smarter than me!)

5.0 from 2 reviews

Roasted Broccoli with Sunflower Butter

 

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Prep time

2 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

17 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound broccoli
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Instructions

1. Set oven to 450ºF
2. Cut broccoli into florets and cut stem into pieces.
3. Combine seeds, water, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor and make a paste.
4. Peel and slice garlic.
5. Toss broccoli with sunflower paste, rubbing it in to the crevices of the florets. Mix in the garlic slices and spread out onto a baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle with red pepper.
7. Bake 15 minutes.

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The post Roasted Broccoli with Sunflower Butter appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

DEWDS. I think I’m gettin’ chunky. Well, fine, I know I’ve gained some weight in the last two years. Whether that newly minted weight qualifies me as “chunky” or not, I do know for a fact that some of my dang old summer shorts don’t fit no more!

And, Hell! That ain’t right!

Sewww, that means more vegetables and lean protein for me. And less bread and sugar. And less alcohol. Mostly the alcohol. Oh the price we pay for beauty.

Camera 1

Anyway, for lunch the other day I pulled together this Thai red curry chicken salad with a buncha crisp vegetables, some coconut milk (I used full fat, because let’s be real…) and a spoonful of a homemade Thai red curry paste made by my brother and sister-in-law. I wrapped a few scoops of the chicken salad into fat Napa cabbage leaves and went to town. Meaning, I ate it at my desk while editing on the compooter with Mr. Banjo hounding me for a bite the entire time. A side of spicy kimchi and I was quite satisfied.

I tell ya, I’m hating myself for not including some roasted peanuts in this melange.

Fortunately for me, I had a jerk-marinated chicken breast, leg, and thigh leftover from a spatchcock chicken I’d made a couple nights previous. Once shredded, it yielded me about 2 cups of chicken which is the perfect amount to start with for a curry chicken salad that you can have for lunch a couple of days in the week. I added a boiled egg, just because I had it really. I usually shy away from combining chicken protein with egg protein. There is something about it that sets me uneasy; similar I imagine to the Kosher practice of not combining beef with dairy. But I also love the texture of boiled egg whites, especially in creamy salads. Does that make me crazy and weird? I’m not such a fan of boiled egg yolks and in this case, half the yolk went to Mr. Banjo, who ate it with relish, if not grace.

Thai Curry Chicken Salad

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• ½ cup diced bell pepper
• ½ cup diced cucumber
• 3-4 red radishes, sliced
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• 1 hardboiled egg, diced (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine chicken, coconut milk, celery, bell pepper, cucumber, radishes, and curry paste in a large bowl and toss to mix.
2. Add in egg and cilantro last.
3. Serve in lettuce or cabbage leaves, on crackers, bread, or even large slices of jicama!

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Camera 2 (Anyone else get the reference?)

The post Thai Curry Chicken Salad appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

My brother’s friend Cameron described to me a fantastical breakfast phenomenon he once imagined, called a “Breakfast Meatloaf”. I took on his dream as if it were my own and created this absolutely GD delicious breakfast meatloaf, using my maple-sage pork sausage recipe, combined with a goodly helping of vegetables, stuffed with hard boiled eggs, and drizzled with a spicy maple glaze. WHAT?

Ahem.

One of the best things about this (besides it being completely delicious and I want some more right now) is that you can make it ahead of time, cool it, slice it, and store it in the fridge for a few days. Like most meatloaf, it’s perfectly fine eaten cold (I’m not the only one, right?) and absolutely kick ass reheated in a pan with some butter to get some crispy lil bits all over it, then snuggled into some hearty bread slices — maybe with tomato, ketchup, more Sriracha — and eaten on the run or not. By “on the run” I mean, on the run from the law, obviously. Breakfast meatloaf sammy would make a great traveling lunch to send along with your friend who stopped by your house for aid while eluding the cops!

For a demonstration of making pork sausage and breakfast meatloaf, peep this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG_jgiset_I

Full Recipe:

Breakfast Meatloaf (including Pork Sausage Recipe)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (plus another for the glaze, below)
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 raw egg
• ½ cup diced onion
• ½ cup diced bell pepper and/or jalapeño
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 2 boiled eggs, peeled
• Few leaves spinach
• Glaze (optional):
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

Instructions

1. Set oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine pork with seasonings, salt through paprika. Mix well with your hands.
3. Add raw egg, onion, peppers, carrot, and parsley and combine well.
4. Spread half the pork mixture out on a baking sheet, forming an oval about 6″ long x 4″ wide x 1″ thick.
5. Wrap a couple of spinach leaves around each boiled egg.
6. Cover each egg/spinach with half the remaining pork mixture.
7. Lay the pork covered eggs down on your pork oval, lengthwise. Shape the now-weirdly-rounded loaf into a regular meatloaf shape.
8. Bake 30 minutes

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The post Breakfast Meatloaf (including Pork Sausage Recipe) appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

About a month ago, maybe a little longer, I got a care package in the mail from a couple in Vermont, Randy and Merrilou. I’ve never met this couple. They only know me through the show. They took it upon themselves to send me a Vermont care package, just because. It was extremely humbling. In the HUGE box, they stuffed 2 half-gallon jugs of maple syrup, 2 local microbrew beers to try, some King Arthur flour, a maple recipes booklet, some amazing maple butter (this was new to me, and it is FANTASTIC on toast, if you ever get a chance) and a maple syrup grading pack.

These raspberries look cute, but some more maple syrup drizzled on top would also look pretty cute.

Never in my life have I been in possession of so much maple syrup! It was exciting, but also, you know that feeling you get when you finally get your hands on a precious thing and part of you wants to just hide it and hoard it and never use it or let it see the light of day? That’s kind of how I felt about this maple syrup. I have a little bit of a complex about “expensive” things. But I gotta get over it.

I put three spoons out for kicks, but you and I both know this is a single serving, right?

The concept of maple ice cream existed in my head somewhere; I don’t know where I’d heard of it, I’d certainly never had it, but it seemed like one of those romatic things people in New England get to eat. But ice cream — real, egg custard-based ice cream — takes a little bit of time to make. And I ain’t got time for that! So I came up with this super-snappy maple frozen yogurt recipe and it is killer. Ever had Pinkberry? Well, this is like that, but naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup. The nonfat Greek yogurt keeps it fairly low in calories and adds that distinct tang; the heavy cream ensures some creaminess; the rum (or bourbon or orange liqueur) lowers the freezing point of the business to keep it scoopable when frozen. You could omit that if you’re against booze in frozen yogurt recipes. ‘Sup to you.

The pecans here, hoo boy. It was hard to not eat them all by themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB0NaxnTyWA

5.0 from 2 reviews

Maple Frozen Yogurt

 

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Prep time

1 min

Total time

1 min

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon rum
• Maple pecans:
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

Instructions

1. Combine ice cream ingredients with a whisk and chill.
2. Put pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the syrup and cook, stirring, another 3 minutes until the syrup begins to “dry”.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and remove from heat.
5. Once the yogurt mix is thoroughly chilled (At least one hour, and up to 2 days) freeze it in your ice cream dealie as per your manufacturer’s instructions. Frozen yogurt probably will freeze quicker than ice cream, so check it a little sooner than normal.
6. Serve topped with maple pecans right away for a soft-serve texture (I think it’s the best!) or pack into an airtight container and freeze for an hour for a firmer, scoopable texture.

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Another light frozen delight: my great-grandma’s Grape Ice recipe

According to the maple syrup grading set also included in my care package, the mysterious “back yard” maple syrup in the half-gallon jugs looks to be Grade A Dark Amber. Do you agree?

The post Maple Frozen Yogurt Recipe appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

This is what I talk about.

Maybe they don’t look SO bad…

Use toasted sesame oil for maximum sesame-ness

This is what it should look like: soft and black, like my heart?

5.0 from 1 reviews

Quinoa Salad with Eggplant and Sesame

 

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Cook time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1½ cups cooked quinoa
• 2 small Japanese eggplants or one small globe (Italian) eggplant
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup diced cucumber
• ½ cup diced red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
• Dressing:
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• ½ teaspoon fresh grated garlic (or finely minced)
• ½ teaspoon brown sugar
• ¼ cup toasted, slivered almonds
• Toasted sesame seeds (use white ones with red quinoa or black ones with white quinoa for a pretty color contrast)
• Optional garnish: thinly sliced mango

Instructions

1. Stem the eggplants and cut lengthwise. Brush cut surfaces with sesame oil and sprinkle with the salt. Broil for about 4 minutes, cut side up, just until beginning to brown. Turn and broil an additional 5 minutes. They should be very soft and roasted. Let cool.
2. Toss quinoa with other vegetables.
3. Cut eggplant into cubes (remove the peel first for a more delicate salad).
4. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over quinoa. Gently toss to mix. Add in eggplant last carefully so it doesn’t break up too much.
5. Garnish with almonds and sesame seeds right before serving to retain their crunch.
6. Top with mango if using.

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Check out this recipe for the best way to cook quinoa (IMHO).

The post Quinoa Salad with Eggplant and Sesame appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

On Thursday, I showed you how to make crepes with a savory smoked salmon filling. Then I got krazy with krepes! (Why, when I see crepes spelled with a “k”, does my brain read “herpes”? Does your brain do that, too? Should I have not said anything? Okey dokey.) I came up with these 5 crepe fillings to try out, both savory and sweet. Bon appetite!

Crepes of Wrath

And that wonderful pun is what got this whole thing started.

These crepes are filled with cream and topped with a grape and sweet wine sauce. I loved these.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Crapes with Grapes

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 4 cooked crepes
• 1 cup seedless grapes, mix of green and red if possible
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cream sherry or port wine
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• ¼ cup creme fraiche or Mexican crema or sour cream

Instructions

1. Wash the grapes well.
2. Melt the butter in a small skillet and add the grapes. Add the brown sugar and stir to get it dissolved. Cover and cook over medium-high heat about 2 minutes. The grapes should be beginning to soften and shrivel.
3. Add the sherry and cook uncovered another 3 minutes or so until the liquid is reduced. Turn off heat.
4. Combine yogurt and creme and place 2 tablespoons of the mixture along the center of each crepe. Roll up and arrange on serving plates.
5. Pour some of the grape sauce over each and serve.

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What’s Eating Gilbert Crepe?

This just seems like something Johnny Depp would have eaten in that movie, had that movie been made in France.

I used peanut butter and blackberry jam, but any old combo would be good. Try Nutella, too, with strawberry jam!

5.0 from 1 reviews

PBJ Crepe

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 cooked crepe
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons jelly or jam
• Chopped roasted peanuts

Instructions

1. Spread the peanut butter over one half of the crepe. Spread the jelly on the other. Fold the jelly half over the peanut butter half and then fold again to make a triangular folded crepe.
2. Sprinkle with nuts and serve with a glass o’ milk.

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Planet of the Crepes

Because Apes = Monkeys = Bananas, amiright??

This picture has a lot of mint on it because I tried making these with mint the first time. Taste testers said it was “weird” so I tried lemon zest instead. The minty pictures looked better, though.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Fruit Crepes

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 cooked crepes
• 2 tablespoons whipped cream or sour cream
• Lemon zest
• 2 sliced strawberries
• ½ banana sliced
• Honey

Instructions

1. Spread each crepe with a tablespoon of cream and add a shaving of lemon zest.
2. Arrange strawberry slices on half of one crepe; banana slices on half of the other crepe.
3. Fold each crepe into quarters and stack the folded crepes onto each other.
4. Drizzle the stack with honey. Garnish with more cream.

Notes

Also try these with fresh peaches or figs!

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The Great Es-crepe? Stir Crepe-y? Does the carpet match the crepes?

I give up. Just eat it. It’s good.

Sorry the picture kinda sucks. It was getting late and the sun was dying. These are damn good, though. I like how they resemble tacos.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Mushroom Leek Crepes

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 4 cooked crepes
• 3 leeks
• 1 pound mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• dash soy sauce
• black pepper
• 4 chard leaves
• ¼ cup grated Swiss, Manchego, or other firm aged cheese

Instructions

1. Slice the white and light green parts of the leek into ½” slices and separate into rings. Wash well. Drain.
2. Wipe the mushrooms and slice ½” thick.
3. Melt butter and oil together in a large skillet. Add the leeks and cover. Cook over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes until softened.
4. Add the mushrooms and cover again. Cook another 2-3 minutes until very soft and beginning to brown.
5. Add a dash of soy sauce and black pepper and remove from heat.
6. Cut tough stems from chard. If the chard is young, you can leave the stems on. Lay a chard leaf in each crepe.
7. Spread ¼ of the filling on each chard leaf and fold the crepe over to cover.
8. Place crepes in a baking pan and sprinkle with cheese.
9. Broil until melted.

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Ham-n-Cheese Crepe

My brain farted out on me by the time we got here. Completely at a loss for some great punny name. Ideas?

5.0 from 1 reviews

Ham and Cheese Crepe

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 4-8 cooked crepes
• 4-8 thin slices of ham
• 4-8 thin slices of cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Manchego, any melting cheese you like)
• ¼ cup creme fraiche or Mexican crema
• 4-8 tablespoons Parmesan
• Coarse black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Lay a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on each crepe and roll up snug.
3. Place rolled crepes side by side in an oven proof tray.
4. Spread the creme over them evenly and sprinkle each with about a tablespoon of Parmesan. Sprinkle with black pepper.
5. Bake 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve hot

Notes

This recipe can be modified to serve however many you need. Try also with sliced turkey breast.

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The post Five Crepe Fillings to Try appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

I recently learned how to make crepes from my mom’s boyfriend, Bill. Every year he has a crepe party for Easter. He sets up several “crepe stations” around the house and yard — an electric cooker, griddle, bowl of crepe batter — and a central table indoors, covered with different crepe fillings. The fillings range from savory to sweet: sauteed mushrooms, spinach, ricotta cheese, ham, chicken salad, pimento cheese (oh yeah duh, I ate that one!) to strawberries, whipped cream, mascarpone, peaches, Nutella, bananas, peanut butter, and jelly. This year I was in charge of manning the exterior crepe station and it was so much fun, you guys! I got the hang of it quickly (it’s way easier than I thought it would be) and was just flippin’ crepes left and right alongside my trusty, bottomless mimosa.

So here’s what I think makes crepes so much easier than they seem like they ought to be: butter. And eggs. Mostly the butter. Like waffle batter, crepe batter is high in the butter and eggs department, when compared to the amount of flour in the recipe. Butter (and eggs to a lesser extent) doesn’t stick to pans. This is why such a delicate, thin pancake is really kinda of a piece of crepe to flip.

Get it?

I kill me.

In this crepe recipe, I’ve got some smoked salmon, spinach, and a caper-dill cream sauce that’s really fairly low in fat for as creamy as it tastes. I think the combination here makes a great breakfast, brunch or lunch crepe. Then, if you want, you can have a second crepe course and fill them with Nutella and strawberries instead or do a classic like crepes Suzette.

Some people like to make sweet crepes if they’re gonna fill them with sweets, but I prefer to keep it simple and use the same batter for sweet or savory crepes. If you are making sweet dessert crepes and you really want to make sure they’re dessert-y you can add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the following recipe:

5.0 from 5 reviews

Crepe Recipe

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Butter for cooking (a tablespoon)
• Batter:
• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup warm water
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Fillings:
• smoked salmon, spinach leaves
• Caper-Dill Cream Sauce:
• ⅓ cup plain, nonfat yogurt
• ⅓ cup Mexican crema, creme fraiche, or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Make the crepe batter by whisking all ingredients together. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate covered up to 2 days.
2. Meanwhile, make your sauce by mixing all those ingredients together. Set aside.
3. When you’re ready to cook, heat a griddle or an omelet pan (nonstick or stainless steel, lightweight is best) over medium heat with a tiny bit of butter, ½ teaspoon.
4. Swirl the butter around and when it’s just beginning to turn golden, lift the pan off the heat with one hand.
5. Pour in ¼ cup of batter with the other hand and gently tilt the pan so that the batter covers the bottom, or makes a circle on the griddle about 6″ across.
6. Put the pan back on the heat and cook about 1 minute.
7. Flip the crepe with a spatula if using a griddle. If you’re using a skillet, it can be hard to get a spatula in there, so you can wiggle it out onto a plate and then flip it back in. Or use your fingers like I do in the video, but it’s hot and dangerous.
8. Cook another 30 seconds on the other side, then slid onto a plate.
9. Fill with a few slices of salmon, some spinach, and a tablespoon of sauce. Serve with more sauce on top. These are good hot and at room temperature.

Notes

To double the recipe: 1 cup flour 1 cup milk ½ cup water 4 eggs 4 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon salt

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More Savory Crepes!

Thinly sliced ham, grated Swiss, creme fraiche topping

Kalamata olives, diced tomato, basil

Cream cheese, black pepper, lemon zest

Spinach, sauteed mushrooms, Parmesan

Smoked trout, horseradish sauce, red onion

Chicken salad

Pimento cheese

Sweet Crepe Fillings:

Sweet crepes, especially those involving any kind of spread (Nutella, jam, etc) can be served folded into quarters instead of rolled. 

Nutella, sliced bananas and/or strawberries

Strawberries (raw or stewed), whipped cream

Mascarpone cheese, honey, fresh figs

Ricotta cheese, cinnamon, lemon zest, chopped dates

Any fruit jam or marmalade, whipped cream

Lemon juice and powdered sugar (just sprinkled over top of rolled or folded crepe)

Ice cream (Oh, shut up.

Do-Ahead Crepes!

If you want, you can make up a stack of crepes the day before, put them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Reheat them quickly on a griddle. Et Voila!

The post How to Make Crepes appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

I’ve written about my maternal grandmother before. She’s the one with the adventurous palate who taught me not really how to make anything in particular, but more about throwing stuff together in the kitchen to see what happens; see what sticks. I learned that what sticks gets written down, what doesn’t stick just gets eaten because no one’s throwing away food around here! Sushi rolls are an exception. She did teach me how to make those. She would most often make “hand rolls” or temaki — the tapered kind that you just eat by chomping on it like an ice cream cone. That’s fun. But really, any way you roll it or eat it, the sushi rice is the key thing.

Sushi Rice

The sushi rice, once seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt, is called shari. I got that off Wikipedia. The rolled sushi that I make in this video is called makizushi. I got that off a Japanese restaurant menu. I learn things everywhere I go! Sushi refers to anything that is combined with shari . . . I’m pretty sure. Anyway, about that rice.

Traditionally, the sushi rice is washed until the water runs clear. This removes extra starch on the rice. The brand of rice I buy says in big letters “Washing not necessary” so I follow the rules and don’t wash it, thereby saving time and water. Give yours a rinse before cooking if you can’t find any directive against its necessity on the package.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TGkpUj5AX4

Once the rice is cooked, you spread it out on a platter and add your seasoned rice vinegar a couple of spoonfuls at a time. Then gently fold the rice over with a wooden paddle or wooden spoon and spread it out again. Keep adding spoonfuls of vinegar and gently folding it in to the rice until it tastes good (about 3-4 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar per 2 cups of cooked sushi rice). It should taste good enough to eat all by itself. Durn good. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before making the sushi rolls.

Nori

The seaweed sheet that wraps the sushi roll is called nori.  It’s an algae that has been pressed and dried, then toasted, cut into rectangles, and delivered to your neighborhood Asian market. If you pay attention, you’ll notice once side of the nori is slightly smoother and shinier than the other. Make sure you put the smoother side down, applying the rice to the rougher side.

Sushi Fillings

Besides rice, pretty much anything you can think of, you can put into a sushi roll. Typically, people think of raw fish when the word “sushi” comes up. If you want to use raw seafood, be sure to use only fish labeled “sushi-grade” to lessen the risk of gettin’ a parasite in yo tummy. While “sushi grade” is not an FDA term, the FDA does have a guideline for seafood that is to be consumed raw, called the “parasite destruction guarantee”. Parasites are kiled by both cooking and freezing. Parasite destruction can be assured by wither  freezing fish for 7 days at -4 degrees F or below or by flash-freezing to -31 degrees F or below for 15 hours. Freezing will not kill bacteria.

One thing this means, then, is that no “sushi grade” fish is ever (nor should be) technically “fresh” because it has all been at one point frozen. Extrapolating, then, because almost all fish you buy has been shipped and stored frozen before being thawed out behind the fish counter, you could theoretically use almost anything …? Nah. Probably shouldn’t. Sushi grade fish has also been filleted a certain way and in Japan at least, must meet specific requirements for fat content and flavor quality, among other things.

For cooked seafood options, try steamed shrimp, smoked or “barbecued” eel (available frozen in Asian markets), crab (real or imitation), smoked salmon or lox, octopus (also available frozen). Thin egg omelets cut into strips are also a good cooked protein to try.

Vegetable sushi fillings include: cucumber, avocado, carrots, bell pepper (used raw); pickled vegetables like daikon radish or umeboshi plum; toasted sesame seeds or almonds; asparagus, mushrooms, butternut squash (all best used lightly cooked); fried or baked tofu; herbs like shiso or perilla leaves, and sprouts; tempura-fried broccoli, squash, onions. Peeling is not necessary, unless you would normally peel the vegetable before eating as in butternut squash.

With all fillings, cut them neatly into long strips. If possible, make each strip long enough to cover the length of the nori. If not, you will lay strips of filling end-to-end to stretch across. For most rolls, the rice should make up about half the filling, with the other ingredients making up the other half. So, the ratio of rice:other stuff is 1:1.

Bamboo Mat

This little gadget, called a makisu, is cheap and easy to find at an Asian grocery (maybe even a larger upscale grocery) and can help you make tighter sushi rolls. You wouldn’t use this to make hand rolls, just the makizushi. Even then, it is possible to roll them by hand without the mat so if you’re just starting to experiment, you may want to try it by hand first before buying a makisu that you only use once and then for the next hundred years, it just sits in your utensil drawer and mocks you every time you need to get the can opener because it’s Campbell’s chicken again for dinner instead of fancy sushi rolls.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Sushi Rolls

 

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Cook time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• Rice:
• 1 cup sushi rice
• 1¼ cups water
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Filling:
• Use raw: Cucumbers, red bell pepper, avocado, carrot, green onions
• Use cooked: aspragus, mushrooms, eggplant
• Seafood: cooked shrimp, eel, crab; raw sushi-grade fish
• 4 sheets of nori
• Condiments: soy sauce, wasabi paste, pickled ginger

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice if you need to (see notes above) and combine in a pot with the water. Cover. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, turn off the heat, but allow the rice to sit in the pot 5 minutes longer.
2. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar.
3. When the rice is done, spread onto a platter and mix in the vinegar (see above text for tips, or watch the video!). Allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Place a sheet of nori smooth side down, longer edge facing you.
5. Spread ½ cup rice over the nori, leaving a 1″ border along the top. Wet your fingertips to aid in spreading the rice without sticking to your hands.
6. Arrange fillings in a line down the center of the rice.
7. Roll up tightly.
8. Wet the 1″ nori border lightly with water and finish rolling. Set aside, seam side down while you make the rest.
9. Cut each roll into 8 pieces, using a sharp knife and wiping it with a wet towel between each slice.
10. Serve with condiments of choice.

Notes

To double this recipe: Cook 2 cups sushi rice in 2½ cups water. Double the vinegar mixture like this: ½ cup rice vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt

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More Sushi Roll Fillings to try!

Vegetarian Sushi Rolls:

Pickled Plum (umeboshi) and Cucumber

Chopped Toasted Almonds, Carrot, Cucumber, Avocado

Asparagus (lightly steamed or sauteed), Carrot, Scallion

Shiitake Mushrooms (sauteed), Toasted Sesame Seeds, Scallion

Tofu Strips (fried or baked/warm or cold), Pickled Daikon, Radish Sprouts

Raw Fish Sushi Rolls:

Tuna, Avocado

Yellowtail, Scallion, Lemon

Toro (tuna belly) and Scallion

Philadephia — Salmon, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, optional Cucumber

Cooked Seafood Sushi Rolls:

Barbecued Eel, Cucumber, Avocado

Tempura Shrimp, Umeboshi, Spinach

Steamed Shrimp, Cucumber, Scallions, Spicy Mayo

Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Scallion, Toasted Sesame Seeds

California — Imitation Crab (stick form), Avocado, Cucumber, Toasted Sesame Seeds

And for a video demonstration of hand rolls, watch this great tutorial from Davy of MakeSushi.org:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZvtvJK8Lfk

The post Sushi Rolls appeared first on Hilah Cooking.

Chilaquiles are known throughout Mexico to be the best, most reliable hangover cure that exists (especially when paired with a michelada, wink wink!). They are probably one of the simplest Mexican breakfast recipes around, too. It starts out similar to making migas, with frying some corn tortillas until lightly crispy. Unlike migas, though, chilaquiles require zero chopping as long as you have the salsa already made, which makes it a much safer option in the kitchen for a person who may or may not be so hungover that she (or he) has double-vision and really probably should be at a hospital.

The best salsa to use for chilaquiles is a smooth, thin salsa. For green chilaquiles, this tomatillo salsa would be great. For red chilaquiles (my fave) this red enchilada sauce works AWESOMELY. Whichever salsa you use, you can scale this recipe up to feed as many people as you need to feed. I think these would be a fantastic brunch offering, too! Fry the chips ahead of time and keep warm in a 200øF oven. Have your salsa simmering in a pot. Have some cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, fresh onion at the ready. As guests arrive, you can just fry up eggs as needed while people assemble their own piles of chips, salsa, and garnishes. Voila. Super easy and delicious hangover brunch menu: at your service.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNO2_4bhJHs

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chilaquiles

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Hilah Johnson

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 2-3 corn tortillas
• ½ cup warm salsa (red or green)
• 1-2 teaspoon butter
• 1-2 eggs
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Cheddar or crumbled Cotija cheese
• Other garnishes: avocado, onion, cilantro, sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Stack the tortillas and cut into 4 strips. Stack again and cut the long strips crosswise into pieces about ⅓” wide x 1″ long.
3. Fry the tortilla strips in the oil, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until crispy. Remove and keep warm in the oven or arrange in a pile on your plate.
4. Melt the butter in a small skillet. Fry the egg(s) to your liking.
5. Right before serving, top the chips with warm salsa and the fried eggs.
6. Sprinkle with cheese and any other garnish you like.

Notes

This recipe comes together in a snap if your salsa is already made. If you’ll be making the salsa before the chilaquiles, add another 20 minutes onto the cook time to make the salsa.

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Delicious? Yes. Tidy? By no means.

The post Chilaquiles appeared first on Hilah Cooking.