Big Meat Wednesdays - Steak Tip Salad

The Hubs did some serious lobbying for a response to Meatless Mondays, which he would very much like us to call "Big Meat Wednesdays".  It doesn't have quite the same ring as Meatless Mondays, but I think that the idea comes through loud and clear.  So I, thinking that I was being crafty and clever, decided that if the Hubs wanted meat and potatoes, he could have meat and potatoes...on a salad!  Ha!  I wasn't even planning to share this with you, after all steak tip salads are a dime a dozen.  But then this one turned out so good (due in large part to the marinade the Hubs made) that I just had to share it. The dressing for the salad also rounded out the whole thing nicely. Since the marinade had some Asian flavors in it I decided to carry that through into the dish, making a miso lime vinaigrette.  (Although, as evidenced by the avocado, I'd initially planned to give the salad a Tex-Mex feel.)

Steak Tip Marinade

1/4 cup ginger tamari sauce
3/4 cup teryaki sauce
3/4 cup orange juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

Mix together the liquid ingredients and pour into a flat shallow bowl large enough to hold the steak tips (or any other meat of choice).  Pour the liquid into the bowl and throw in the garlic, stirring everything around to combine it well.  Salt and pepper the steak tips liberally and add them to the marinade.  Cover the bowl and put everything in the fridge to madinate for 4 - 24 hours (of course the closer to 24 hours, the better but even 4 hours will be enough).

Lime Miso Dressing

1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white miso paste
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp mirin
pinch salt

Combine the ingredients and whisk until the miso is worked into the other liquids.  Check the flavor balance by dipping a lettuce leaf into the vinagrette.  The miso paste and the mirin are sweet so make sure that the acidity balances well.  Also, you don't want the hint of lime to be over powered.

I started the salad with a mixture of baby arugula (spicy) and mache (sweet and mild) and poured the dressing over it.  Then I diced up a large tomato, removing the seeds, and a ripe avocado.  While the steak tips were coming to room temperature and cooking I boiled up a few baby red potatoes.  When the potatoes were cooked I tossed them in a little olive oil with some salt and pepper.  Then the potatoes and steak went onto the vegetables.  So here's to Big Meat Wednesdays and Bon Appetit!

Meatless Monday - Curried Chickpeas & Tofu

 
Today's recipe was inspired by the idea of Meatless Mondays. Eating vegetarian is something the Hubs and I try to do regularly, both for health and environmental reasons, so when I discovered that Meatless Mondays was an actual campaign that they were trying to get to sweep the nation I thought that I might as well get in on the act (thereby bringing it one step closer to nation sweeping).  We are actually going to try to go one step further by matching a meatless meal with a meat meal.  I realize that there is an odd number of days in the week and that sometimes Things Beyond My Control Conspire Against Me, but if we have the idea in our heads we might end up being successful more often than not. (At least that's the current theory.)

I think that it's pretty well established that in many ways, eating a well balanced vegetarian meal is good for our overall health.  Just the reduction in saturated fats and cholesterol and the impact that has on cardiovascular health makes Meatless Mondays something worth thinking about.  And that doesn't even get into the added benefits of the additional vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber that comes from eating vegetables.

But what about the environmental impact not eating meat (if only for one day a week)?  I found this interesting article about the carbon footprint of a cheeseburger that I thought perfectly illustrated the point.  According to various estimates the average American diet includes one (Fast Food Nation) to three cheeseburgers per week (the Economist, among other sources) or roughly 50 to 150 cheeseburgers per American per year. In 2000 researchers from Stockholm University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology issued a report estimating (I'm streamlining here) that the greenhouse gas emissions arising every year from the production and consumption of cheeseburgers is roughly the amount emitted by 6.5 million to 19.6 million SUVs. There are now approximately 16 million SUVs currently on the road in the US.   So just imagine the positive impact one meatless meal per week could have if everyone in America embraced Meatless Mondays.

So, in the spirit of doing my part, here's my small contribution to Meatless Mondays:

Curried Chickpeas with Tofu and Cauliflower

1 carton firm tofu
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 15.5 ounce canned chickpeas, drained
2 15.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
3 tbsp prepared chutney

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees while you are cutting the cauliflower into florets.  Toss the cauliflower in salt and olive oil and roast for approximately 30 minutes, until the cauliflower has softened and is brown around the edges.

While the cauliflower cooks, saute the onion over medium heat in 1 tbsp of olive oil for approximately 5 minutes, until it has softened.  Cut the tofu into 1" pieces.  When the onion is softened, remove it from the heat and saute the tofu in the remaining olive oil until it is golden on all sides. Add the tofu to the bowl with the onions.  When the cauliflower is roasted, add the onion, tofu, chickpeas, tomatoes, chutney, spices and cauliflower to a large skillet (the one used to cook the onion and tofu).  Mix everything together and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors combine. Bon Appetit!


Serves 6

Note: We ate this in a shallow bowl as is, but this would also be excellent served over brown rice or with some whole wheat naan.

Rotisserie Chicken and the Sweet-Savory Rule

I need to start this post off with a small whinge; a whinge about the weather (it's cold and rainy again) and about how tired I am today.  I'd like to be able to blame the tiredness on the lack of sunshine and the new commute that requires getting up an hour and a half earlier than I used to. But really it's due to the sudden burst of creativity I've been experiencing. I got a new sewing machine as a belated birthday present from Bob and Dad and now all I want to do is stay up late sewing things. (I might eventually get good enough at sewing things to be able to show those things to the bloggy world, but for now, let's just keep it at I'm staying up too late and so I'm tired.)

Due to this unexplained tiredness and a trip to NYC (stay tuned for culinary adventures from the Big Apple) super bright and early tomorrow morning I just couldn't face dinner. So the Hubs grabbed a rotisserie chicken, some lettuce, and bread on his way home from taking the dogs to the kennel this morning.  This certainly isn't the most creative dinner I've ever produced, but I thought that it would be post-worthy in a self-confessional-rotisserie-chicken-plugging kind of way.  And it gives me a chance to talk about vinaigrette while further explaining my sweet-savory  rule.

I've briefly mentioned my sweet-savory rule before, but it really deserves a little more discussion.  When I was in high school and college I spent most of my summers racing sailboats.  One year I happened to be crewing for the man who was the Rules Steward at the yacht club. He told me that  all rules disputes come down to the port-starboard rule (in that the boat on the starboard tack has the right of way over a boat on the port tack).  This rule wouldn't have been burned so clearly in my mind if we hadn't been in pre-race maneuvers one day when we found ourselves (on the port tack) heading directly for a boat (on the starboard tack).  It seemed that the Rule Steward momentarily forgot the port-starboard rule because we ran right into the on coming boat, taking out their mast.  It was mortifying.  Now I like to think of the port-starboard rule as being very similar, in importance, to the sweet-savory rule (that all savory food is improved with a little sweetness and vice versa).  Because I know first-hand what happens when you neglect your cardinal rule.

The sweet-savory rule, in the context of a vinagrette, means adding just a touch of sweetness to a dressing (unless you prefer consuming your vinegar straight from the bottle).  The most basic of dressings (lemon juice, oilve oil, and parmesan) has a low enough acidity that it can squeak by without the addition of sweetness, particularly if your parmesan is on the sweeter side or the things you are dressing have some sweetness.  On the other had, the dressing I made tonight to go with the chicken, green beans and tomatoes was a blasamic dijon based vinagrette and it is improved by some sweetness (just a tiny bit).  I usually combine the balsamic vinegar, oilive oil and dijon mustard with about 5 drops of maple syrup or honey.  Just that little bit of sweetness is enough to temper the bite of the dijon and vinegar without losing any of the pleasant acidity.  Oh and one last salad trick, you can't tell what you dressing tastes like on it's own.  So if you're tasting it for balance dip a piece of lettuce (whatever you're using to compose the salad) into the vinagrette and taste it that way.  Bon Appetit!

Tempeh Asian Noodles

This is a dish that never turns out the same way twice.  It might be close to previous incarnations of the dish, but it isn't ever quite the same, which actually is part of what makes it so much fun. (And don't worry, these noodles won't require a trip to the Asian grocery store, although if you're looking for an excuse to check one out...) These amorphous Asian noodles always start out the same, but that's generally where the similarities between versions ends. The basic structure for the sauce is 1/2 cup low(er) sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine) and 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar. After that, the dish changes based on my mood what's sitting in the fridge at the moment. Sometimes I have an English cucumber and scallions so it ends up more peanutty. And other times I have edamame, tofu and ginger so it is a more savory, spicy dish.  Recently I only had an onion, these carrots and tempeh, so I relied more heavily on the white miso, which complimented the sweetness of the carrots and brought out the umami of the tempeh.

Aren't these the coolest carrots?  

I can't imagine why the yellow and purple carrots ever went out of style.

Tempeh Asian Noodles

10 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles
6 medium sized carrots, peeled
1/2 large sweet onion
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp white miso paste
1 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp plum sauce
1 1/2 tsp siracha 
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil

Put a pot of water on to boil, once it is boiling salt it generously.  Dice the onions and saute them over medium heat in the olive oil.  While the onions are softening cut the tempeh into bite sized pieces and throw it into the pan with the onions.  Then slice the carrots into disks and add them, as they are cut to the pan with the tempeh and onions.

While the tempeh and vegetables are cooking, you can mix up the sauce.  Start with the soy sauce, the mirin and the rice wine vinegar and then wisk in the ingredients I've listed above.  This is really a "to taste" dish (as I mentioned above) so go slowly and taste often, adding more of certain ingredients as you like.  Have some fun with it.

At the last minute (well, actually in the last three minutes) put the noodles on to cook.  Keep an eye on the carrots if, like me, you are someone that doens't like them to get too soft and sweet, pulling them off the heat just after they soften. When the noodles are cooked, drain them and put them back into the pasta pan.  Pour the sauce onto the noodles (depending on how thick you made your sauce, you might have extra, so pour some, toss, and then add more as needed).  Then add the tempeh and the vegetables.  Bon Appetit!


Serves 4 - 6

Grilled Vegetable Pizza

 I have to tell you, the more cooking I do, the more convinced I am that those Italians are a brilliant bunch.  Seriously.  They took a simple combination of flour, egg, and water, mixed it together and dried it for use later, which gives them a staple to use whenever the mood strikes them.  Risotto is a similar thing, rice can sit in your cupboard, patiently waiting for you, ready at a moment's notice.  The brilliance is not so much in creating a staple, but in creating a staple that goes with practically anything.  Think about it, anything those Italians have at hand can be added to pasta or risotto and turned into an amazing dish. 

The same thing holds true for pizza, as this pizza makes plain.  We had lots of vegetables from the CSA that needed to be eaten before it Got Too Late, so I grilled them up and put them on top of dough that the Hubs had made.  Before I get too involved in telling you about the toppings, I have to take a moment to tell you about the Hubs and his dough.  (No, it's not dirty.)

The Hubs is definitely the baker in the house.  I know, I post about baked goods, but they are always simple ones and I really don't enjoy baking so much (which is why I keep doing it - that and a general love of baked goods).  I think that it's about having to follow the rules when baking.  Luckily the Hubs is an excellent baker and he makes a killer pizza dough.  It took weeks of refining, but the Hubs has the dough down pat (harhar) now and he works from home so he can get the dough started late morning, which means that I come home to find fresh dough.

There isn't much of a recipe to share, this pizza had caramelized onions, roasted red pepper, grilled zucchini and goat cheese on it.  Instead of sauce I made a quick pesto (blend together coarsely torn basil, salt, and grated Parmesan - those are the necessaries, you can add pine nuts and garlic if you want to - in a small food processor, slowly pour in olive oil until it forms a paste).  Instead of going through the step-by-step process of cooking the vegetables, I thought I'd just share photos. Bon Appetit!

 

These are real fire roasted peppers and are so much fun to make.

Talk about cooking with an open flame... 

Caramelized onions: after and before

Toasted Zucchini

Blueberry Lemon Corn Muffins

My culinary philosophy, such as it is, is based on the theory that combining sweet and savory in a dish makes that dish better. Which is probably why I like the combination of lemon and blueberries in muffins, so that the acidity of the lemon can bring out the sweetness of the berries. With blueberries so plentiful (and local) right now, I've been thinking about blueberry lemon muffins quite a bit lately. And I had a corn muffin recipe that I wanted to try, so I thought, why not combine the two into one muffin? The results were a good as I'd hoped, although they should be taken with a muffin crumb grain of salt, because there are few things as good as warm, fresh muffins.

The key to muffins is to mix them as little and as gently as possible. Being too lazy to dirty two bowls I always start with the wet ingredients first, mixing them together in a large bowl and then sifting the dry ingredients onto the wet ones. Once all of the dry ingredients are resting on top of the wet ones I then fold (not stir) the dry into the wet. To fold one ingredient into another take a spatula and drop it down into the middle of the bowl.  Then slide it along the bottom, pulling it toward you so that the ingredients on the bottom end up on the top.  (That's one fold.)  Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Don't worry if all of the dry ingredients aren't mixed in, just get most of the ingredients combined (about 10 - 12 folds).

Blueberry Lemon Corn Muffins

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat white flour
1 cup fine stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 pint washed fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin tin (12 or 6 cup, your choice).

Whisk the eggs together in a large bowl until well combined and light colored. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk until the sugar is well combined and the mixture is light in color. Add the butter in 3 additions, whisking between each addition to combine throughly. Add the vanilla half the sour cream and half the milk, whisking to combine. Whisk in the remaining sour cream and milk, the lemon zest and the lemon juice.

Sift the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda onto the wet ingredients. Drop the blueberries on top of the dry ingredients (so that they get slightly covered in the dry ingredients) and then fold the dry ingredients gently into the wet ingredients until they are just combined. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, ladel the muffin mix into the muffin tin, filing each cup evenly.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes if you are using a 12-cup pan and for approximately 30 minutes with the 6-cup muffin pan. When using the 6-cup muffin pan, turn the heat down to 350 after the muffins have been in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with a dusting of confectioner's sugar on the top (if you can wait for them to cool before eating).  Bon Appetit!


Makes 6 to 12

Fricassee Fava Beans and Sausage on Polenta

Fresh fava beans are one of those vegetables that only come around once a year.  They are only available for a short time, which, as the Hubs pointed out, is a good thing because they are a fair amount of work. Fava beans need to be shelled, blanched, and then have the outer casing removed. Luckily, fava beans are very good, even when you find yourself a little short on chianti.  This recipe plays off the sweet, buttery flavor of the fava bean and takes advantage of its smooth texture.  (This is no mealy lima-like bean).  It also utilizes one of my quick-kitchen stand-bys, sausage.  I served the beans and sausage over firmed polenta and made a creamy sauce that used mint as its primary flavoring (since mint and beans are such good friends).

Fricassee of Fava Beans and Sausage on Polenta

1 cup stone ground corn meal
3 cups water
2 pound fava beans, shelled
4 small chicken sausages
1/2 large onion
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp diced mint
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil

For the polenta: Bring the water to a boil in a medium pot.  When the water is boiling pour the polenta into the water in a slow stream whisking constantly.  Continue to whisk the polenta over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.  You can do it. While you whisk, just keep thinking about preventing those wave-good-bye-arms (as Tori Spelling calls them - don't ask, I watch trash TV while on the treadmill).  After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, add the butter and stir to combine. Pour the polenta into a 9 x 9 glass pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let the polenta come to room temperature.

Cook the fava beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, remove them from the water and put directly into ice water to stop the cooking. Remove the outer white casing (just make a hole in the casing, it should be lose, and squeeze out the bean) and set aside.

Slice the onion into half-moons and saute over medium-high heat in the olive oil.  While the onion is softening, slice the sausage into rounds.  When the onion has softened (about 5 minutes) add the sausage and cook through.  While the sausage and onions are cooking whisk together the cream, egg yolk, lemon juice and mint.  Add the cream mixture and the fava beans to the onion and sausage cooling over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened slightly. 

Slice the polenta into quarters and place in the center of a plate. Serve the bean and sausage mixture over the polenta and garnish with mint.  Bon Appetit!


Serves 4

Cauliflower and Pasta with a Pecan Mustard Lemon Sauce

I don't know who it is that had the brilliant idea of developing colored cauliflower, but that person was a genius. And I'm still enough of a child that I'm much more willing to eat cauliflower when it's bright orange or purple than I am when it's plain old white. So, of course, I couldn't resist buying a head of orange cauliflower at the farmer's market on Friday. But there is still a big difference between buying the orange cauliflower and actually finding an appetizing way to eat it. In fact, until I discovered what good things roasting does to cauliflower I would only eat it if it was covered in a cheese sauce. This recipe combines the roasting with a great sauce, both of which do wonders for improving the cauliflower's flavor.

Cauliflower and Pasta with a Pecan Mustard Sauce

8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
1 medium head cauliflower
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
1/2 vidalia onion
4 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp whole grain mustand
2 tbsp lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the cauliflower into florets and the onion into half moons. Toss the cauliflower and onion with the olive oil and spread them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes, until it has softened.

While the cauliflower is roasting, melt the butter in a small pan mixing into it the mustard, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Start boiling a pot of water for the pasta. After the cauliflower has roasted for 15 minutes pour half of the sauce over the cauliflower and onions and roast for another 10 - 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is starting to brown at the edges and is fork tender.

Salt the pasta water and cook the pasta for 10 minutes until it is al dente. While the pasta is cooking mix the pecans and chicken stock into the sauce. When the pasta is cooked drain it and put it back into the pasta pot. Add the sauce and pecans to the pasta and toss to coat, adding the cauliflower and onions. Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley. Bon Appetit!


Serves 4

Garden Update Phase II

This past Memorial Day the Hubs and I went out to my parents' house to help them put in the vegetable garden that I talked them into suggested they might want to plant.  We spent many days working on that garden and the Hubs and I, who have officially become city slickers, quickly came to appreciate the work that's involved in a garden.  I recorded our entire long weekend here. Then, a few weeks ago Bob (as my mother is known far and wide) sent some photos for the first in a series of updates on the garden.  Here is that first update.  This weekend Bob sent me another round of photos, which don't quite do the garden justice because of it's massive size, but are still worth sharing.

 

This is the asparagus that we planted this spring, when it looked like a sad little root

This is one of the hot peppers that we will dry and use this winter.  

This spring the raspberries were nothing more than brown twigs and now they have berries.

 

These are potato plants.  I've never seen potatoes actually growing before. 

I didn't know they had such beautiful flowers.

Sully, one of the new garden-protecting kittens

Butch, Sully's partner in crime garden protecting.

Jean-Friendly Macaroni & Cheese

I love cheese.  I mean I really luurrv cheese.  So much so that I spent my 3rd 29th birthday in Vermont tasting cheese.  And I particularly enjoy cheese when it's combined with pasta as macaroni and cheese.  The problem with mac & cheese, as we all know, is that to make it good one also has to make it very bad for us.  So, I set out to come up with a version of mac & cheese that would let me eat the quantities I wanted and would taste just as good as the original, while still letting me wear my jeans with out having to do "stretch-em-out squats" first.  I used a recipe from Cooking Light as my jumping-off point and came up with this version, which can be eaten straight from the stove-top or baked in the oven to give it a lovely crusty top. 

Jean-Friendly Macaroni & Cheese

13 ounces whole wheat macaroni
2 1/2 cups skim milk
4 ounces low fat cream cheese
7 ounces low fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayene pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Put a large pot of water on to boil.  When it's boiling salt the water generously and add the macaroni.  In a separate pot make a roux (melt the butter and mix the flour into it to form a paste) then slowly pour in the first cup of milk, stirring the milk to incorporate the roux.  When the roux is incorporated add the remaining milk, the dijon mustard and the spices.

Allow the milk to come to a boil, stirring constantly so that the milk doesn't scorch.  (You won't know how thick a roux will make your sauce until the liquid comes to a boil.)  Turn the milk down to medium-low and add in the cream cheese.  Stir the mixture until the cream cheese has melted. Once the cream cheese has melted add the cheddar in handfuls, waiting for it to be completed mixed in before adding the next handful. By this point the cheese sauce is complete and the pasta should be fully cooked.  Turn off the heat from under the cheese sauce, drain the pasta and mix it into the cheese. The mac & cheese will seem runny, but it thickens up as it cools. 

Alternative Method:  If you wanted to finish this in the oven, spread the mac & cheese into a large rectangular oven-proof pan.  Toast 1 cup of unseasoned bread crumbs and 1 tbsp of butter in a skillet until the bread crumbs are golden (it happens very quickly).  Spread some shredded cheddar over the top of the mac & cheese and top with the bread crumber.  Bake in the over at 350 for about 15 minutes until the top is golden brown and the mac & cheese is bubbly.

Add-Ins: I often add peas (frozen is fine) and little pieces of ham to my mac & cheese (they make it feel like a more well-rounded meal).  The Hubs was pushing for the addition of small pieces of bacon tonight (he has a point, that would have been good).  Also, skipping the paprika and cayene pepper in favor of sundried tomatoes, goat cheese (just about 2 ounces sprinkled in) topped with fresh basil is a much fancier version of this dish.  Finally, if you aren't worried about the fit of your jeans, substitute fontina (4 ounces) and gruyere (7 ounces) cheeses for the shredded cheddar and cream cheese.

Bon Appetit!


Serves 4

Roasted Beet Barley Risotto

 The Hubs and I made the Great Move (during which a large stack of boxes prevented my blogging) which took us to an apartment right next to the beach.  And we enjoyed two whole days of summer before the rain came back (for the foreseeable future).  At least all of this cold, rainy weather has motivated me to make the roasted beet barley risotto I talked about ages ago. Besides, I think those beets have languished in the fridge long enough.

Usually, recipes for roasted beets suggest that you turn your oven up to 425 degrees, wrap the beets in tin foil and roast them for your whole life up to an hour and a half. And that is officially more time than I want to spend on a weeknight dinner (let alone just one part of it).  The easy solution to this is to shorten the beets' roasting time by steaming them for about 20 minutes before putting them in the oven to roast.  The steaming loosens the skin so that it just rubs off in a kitchen towel and softens them so that you can cut the beets into smaller pieces.

We've all heard that Americans need to eat more whole grains and that we should be getting X number of servings of whole grains each day, but have you tried to actually accomplish this recommendation?  It's tough and mainly because the whole grains take so much longer to cook.  (Remember my inability to spend over an hour on a weeknight meal?)  Luckily barley counts as a whole grain, is pretty quick cooking, and works really well in risotto as an aborrio substitute.  In fact, the cooking process for barley risotto is exactly the same as the process for traditional risotto.  It's a magic combination: quick(er) cooking beets and a whole grain stand-in for white rice.

Roasted Beet and Barley Risotto

6 - 8 large beets, tops removed
1 1/2 cup pearled barley
2 quarts chicken stock
1 1/4 cup white wine
1/2 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Fill a large pot about half way with water and bring that water to a rolling boil.  Place the beets into the steamer basket and put a lid on the pot, letting the beets steam for about 20 minutes.  When the 20 minutes has passed remove the beets to a cutting board and let them cool until you can handle them comfortably.  Then place each beet inside a clean kitchen towel and rub the beet until the outer skin comes off.  Cut the beets into quarters, toss them in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and orange juice and roast at 425 for about 30 minutes (until the are fork tender).

While the beets are roasting, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in the pot you used to steam the beets (no sense in dirtying another pot).  While the chicken stock is coming up to temperature, put the olive oil large shallow pan over medium heat. finely chop the onion and cook it in the olive oil until softened (about 5 minutes).  Add the butter, the minced garlic, and the barley to the onion, cooking the barely for about 3 minutes allowing it toast slightly.

When the barley is lightly toasted add in one cup of wine.  After the wine has reduced ladle enough stock into the pan to just cover the barley. Stir occasionally, adding more stock once the stock in the pan has been nearly absorbed.  (When you pull the spoon through the barley the liquid should be slow to fill in the open space.) Continue this process for about 30 - 40 minutes or until the barley has softened. At this point add the Parmesan, the last 1/4 cup of wine, 1/2 tbsp of butter, the thyme stirring to mix everything together. Immediately cover the pan and let the risotto sit for 2 minutes to absorb the remaining liquid. Serve with the beets on top of the risotto and garnished with a few thyme leaves.  Bon Appetit!

Serves 4

The Boston Burgah

 Confession time: When I watch the Food Network's Next Food Network Star I like to play along by imagining what I would make were I to be a contestant on the show (attention internet gods who arrange such things). The last episode I watched had the contestants make burgers that represented a certain region in America (it must have been in anticipation of the 4th).  I started thinking about New England, which lead me to think of Boston, and every time I think of Boston I think of the Red Sox and Fenway Park. Fenway Park is known for (among so many other things) the street vendors who serve the Italian sausages that the locals call "street meat". Those Italian sausages are slow cooked on a grill along side onions and peppers. They are served inside a crusty roll topped with onions and peppers. I decided that were I a contestant on the Next Food Network Star (hint hint) I would make a Boston Burgah inspired by Fenway Park's street meat. 

I've been mulling over the idea for a few days now and since we were having friends over for lunch today I decided to try out my Boston Burgah idea. (Heck, if you can't experiment on your friends, who can you experiment on?) I also had a package of ground pork in the freezer from this month's meat CSA, which was perfect for the Boston Burgah. I picked up a package of sweet Italian sausages, removed the meat from the casing and mixed it into the ground pork. The mixture was a little wetter than ground beef tends to be, so I added a few bread crumbs to absorb the moisture. While the burgers were grilling I cooked up some peppers and onions, in order to stay true to the original. We served them topped with a slice of provolone and the peppers and onions.  The Hubs said that they only thing they were missing was the thick casing on the street meat, but he decided that not having the casing wasn't a bad thing.

Boston Burgahs

1 pound ground pork

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1 large vidalia onion

1 large red bell pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

6 slices provolone cheese

6 crusty hamburger rolls

Mix together the ground pork and the Italian sausage meet.  Add the bread crumbs as needed until the mixture is firm and sticks together well.  Form the meat into 6 large patties (or 8 smaller ones).  Refrigerate for 5 minutes to rest while your grill comes to temperature.  

While the meat is resting, slice the onion into half-moon shapes and the pepper into long strips.  Place the onions peppers and olive oil into a large skillet and saute over medium heat for 10 - 15 minutes, until they have softened and begun to caramalize.  

Cook the burgers until the center reaches 160 degrees.  Serve on a crusty roll topped with a slice of provolone, the peppers and onions, and condiments of your choice.  Bon Appetit!

Makes 6 burgers

Alternate Method:  These would be a good way to dress up ground turkey burgers, adding turkey sausage to the mixture.  Also, don't be tied to the Italian sausage, any kind of sausage would be good here, just adjust your toppings and cheese accordingly.

Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies

 
Hello again!  Sorry for the prolonged bloggy-silence; I was trapped under a large stack of boxes. The whole moving gig took much more time and effort than I think is reasonable. Once I figure out who to complain to I am going to lodge a formal complaint! The good news is that we are nearly settled and unpacked. All I really need to do is to hang some artwork and put out the chotckies and then we're done. Then I can post photos of the new place so you can see what all of the hard work was for.

I also cooked in my new kitchen last night. The funny thing about the new kitchen is that it isn't nearly as updated and trendy as the old kitchen, but it's so much more functional.  For example, granite tiles are a great idea until you try to knead dough on them and have to keep pulling dough out of the grout. In honor of the new kitchen (and the friends who came to celebrate the 4th with us) I did some baking. (I'll give you a minute to get up off the floor.) Since it's so unusual that I (a) baked and (2) followed the recipe almost exactly I thought I'd share it with you. (Besides these cookies are really good.) The original came from epicurious.com and as you can see, I only added a few more spices. According to the recipe one is supposed to get about three times more cookies than I managed, but I like my cookies Texas-sized.

Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies

For the cookies:
 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins


For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.  Spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray or line them with parchment paper. Beat together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer) at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, then the flour, salt spices, and baking soda and beat until just combined.

Drop the cookies onto the cookie sheets with at least 2" between each cookie. Bake the cookies for approximately 12 -16 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch.  If you are using two cookie sheets, switch the position of the cookie sheets halfway though the cooking.

Move the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.  While the cookies are cooling whip together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Ice the flat backs of the cookies and sandwich them together.  An alternative method for serving the cookies would be to use ice cream (cinnamon or vanilla) as the filling for the sandwiches.  Bon Appetit!


Makes 8 (large) cookie sandwiches