CSA Flowers

This year I signed up for the flower share in my CSA. For two weeks, they have been gorgeous.



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Clams and Mussels with Pasta (and Asparagus!)

Every recipe lately starts with chopping up some asparagus. This one is no exception. I got a bag of mussels and clams at the greenmarket Saturday and figured I had better get them cooked up, since I had no idea how they keep. I asked the fish guy for instructions and he said, "a spoon of garlic, some wine or beer, a stick of butter and once they open up, add the pasta."

Here are my shellfish in the pan ready for steaming. I decided I would use wine (naturally), probably a little more than a half cup. Perhaps a cup (which was too much). I started with 5 cloves of garlic, minced and frying in a little olive oil. I covered them up and they steamed open in no time.

Since this was just for me, I figured I should go ahead and do the work of shucking before the dish was finished. I am still not certain about storing leftover mussels in the shell. Not only is the presentation less impressive, the true quantity of meat is less impressive.

I boiled up the whole wheat fettuccine, also from the farmers' market (same place as the ravioli, previous). At the end, I added the asparagus for a minute or two.

I returned the clam sauce (wine) to the pan and added the juice and zest of a lemon and a little mustard, going for a version of the lemon vinaigrette that I liked earlier in the week. It was good, perhaps a little too much lemon and wasn't reducing any too quickly. I added the noodles and asparagus, but then did not want to wait a year for it to thicken and turn my asparagus to mush. I whisked some flour into a couple of drops of wine and stirred it in. Voila!

***Hideous picture removed*** It wasn't _that_ ugly.

Less wine, less lemon, less gritty pasta. Maybe I would do it again. Those scallops are hard to beat, though.

Update: I conferred with my favorite New Englander and his dad and learned that mussels and clams have different cooking times, so I hurt my mussels by cooking them together. I need to give the clams at least a minute or two head start. Also, I should have soaked the shellfish in some fresh water to clean them, not just left them in the bottom of my fridge in a plastic bag. I may try a new recipe for clams. Maybe.

Verdict: B
Credits: My local fishmonger.
Leftovers? Yes, and they were good cold on this blistering hot day.

Notes: I used the juice of a whole lemon, but half would be plenty. Also, if I would have waited a little longer, the noodles would have soaked up some sauce and I wouldn't have needed to thicken it. Impatience.

Scallops in Miso with Asparagus

I use miso glaze constantly on salmon, so it makes sense to try it with scallops. This Eating Well recipe has essentially the same ingredients for miso glaze as my favorite (Eating Well) salmon treatment: miso, mirin, garlic, ginger, rice wine. I added a little sesame oil and tamari for good measure.

Marinate for FIVE minutes or you will ruin the scallops! Scallops cook 2-3 minutes per side and come out of the pan. Put the rest of the sauce in the pan and reduce over the heat for a few minutes.

I didn't want soba to go with my scallops; I wanted asparagus! So I trimmed and sliced a bunch of asparagus and cooked it for about 2 minutes in boiling water and then drained it over some pea shoots (to wilt them).

Add this to that and it should be all done. The reality is that, unlike the noodles that absorb sauce, the veggies release water into the sauce and I was trying to reduce the sauce again. Then I waited for my neighbor to come over for lunch and my al dente asparagus got a little soggy. Tasty enough! I can try this again. Unfortunately, I need to wait another week for the greenmarket to bring me scallops and asparagus.

Verdict: B+
Credits: Miso-glazed scallops with Soba, Eating Well
Leftovers? Nope, shared with the professor.

Notes: Next time, reduce the mirin by half and the vinegar to allow for the liquid introduced by the veggies. Also drain the veggies well.

Asparagus Pasta Salad

My daily asparagus dose was inspired by the sugar snap peas at Fairway and the fresh ricotta ravioli at the farmers market. The cooking technique was inspired (again) at 101 cookbooks.

I made a lemon garlic vinaigrette to dress it.

Whisk together (with a fork)
1 large lemon, juice and zest
1 clove garlic, crushed and minced
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Drizzle in while whisking, 2 T. olive oil (or a little more)

Add 2 (or 4) T. chopped fresh thyme


To a boiling pot of water add 6 oz fresh ravioli and cook for 3 minutes or so. When a couple of them float up, add 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced and 3/4 lb. sugar snap peas, cut into 1/2 slices. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

Drain and rinse with a little cold water (the stuff doesn't have to get cold, unless you want it to).



Stir together with the dressing, 1/4 C. shredded parmesan and a handful of pine nuts.

YUM!

I did the dressing in the bottom of the salad bowl and all the boiled stuff in one pot, so it's not a bad clean up.

Verdict: A
Credits: 101 Cookbooks, Ravioli Pasta Salad
Leftovers? Delicious, but hard to save.

Notes: I think I am going to do this again this week as a vegetable side, no pasta for our fellowship group.

Asparagus and Shitake Barley Risotto

I make a mean risotto, but also like the idea of using more whole grains and less refined carbs, so I tried the technique for barley risotto at 101 Cookbooks. Heidi's recipe is for lemons and greens, but risotto is risotto and I can use asparagus and shitake instead.



2 bunches of asparagus
1/2 lb. shitake mushrooms
2 small - medium onions
3 cloves garlic

2 C. pearled barley

2 C. white wine
4 C. chicken stock
another 1 - 2 cups of water
1/2 - 1 C. parmesan
salt and pepper


The technique is the same as for risotto with arborio rice, except the barley absorbs a lot more liquid and doesn't give up it's starch to make it so creamy. I tried to use additional cheese for creaminess, but the domestic parm I had is not very flavorful. I got an okay texture, but it's better to use good cheese.




All in all, a bland effort. Better to use the rice and the good parmesan. Maybe I would try this again with good cheese and some dried mushrooms to try and make it a little heartier.

It looks like this plated, in theory. In reality, I used a considerable portion of hot-sauce to give it some flavor.


Verdict: C
Credits: 101 Cookbooks Meyer Lemon Risotto
Leftovers? Yes, keeps well but gets blander.

Notes: Would be vegetarian with vegetable stock or water instead of chicken stock.

End of the Brussels Sprouts

Even though spring is just now appearing, sources I trust (okay fine, they have a commercial interest) tell me that the Brussels sprouts season is almost over. Winter vegetable. These babies were delish, though.

I didn't eat them growing up. so I suppose my mother doesn't like them. Weirdly, with no evidence, I decided I didn't like them either. Earlier last year I worked up the willingness to try them for the first time. What a mistake I've been making!

The only way I have prepared them is sauteed with garlic, and topped with salt, cracked black pepper, and Parmesan or Romano. The first time I made them, I cut an X into the base of the sprouts before cooking and then boiled briefly, and it was good but too much work. Now I just cut them in half and saute raw. Unfortunately, I don't remember the original source for the X-cut recommendation.

Tonight I used butter and olive oil to saute and Romano to top. Here they are in the pan.



And ready to eat.



Verdict: A+
Credits: I can't remember where I found my advice, but good advice is easy to find on the web.
Leftovers? Never. Too great to not finish.

Notes: 101 cookbooks has a great recipe that is almost exactly what I do. It just isn't my source, because I tried them a couple times before this recipe was posted.

Crapshoot Chowder

A recipe for a Real Simple soup popped up while I was shopping -- since I had some luck with the RS recipes, I checked it out. Scallop chowder sounds delicious, but scallops were $16/lb and they wanted 1.5 lbs in their recipe. Not happening.

I ordered a half pound of large sea scallops (about 6 or 7) and a pound of the "fish cubes for stew." The mix of fish is whatever is the scrap of the day -- usually salmon, tuna, and swordfish, according to the description. A bit of a crapshoot.

What came was about 3/4 salmon and a little tuna. Which is fine.

Making the soup:

Bacon? Check.
Scallops? Check.
Onions? Check.
Potatoes? Check
Fish cubes? Check.

Here's the orignal recipe. While I was frying the bacon, I checked for salmon chowder recipes, since there was so much salmon in my fish cubes. This Epicurious recipe for Salmon Chowder seemed promising too.

I fried six slices of bacon and removed the bacon. Then cooked the scallops in the bacon fat, a couple of minutes a side, and removed them. Then the 4 red potatoes (more like a pound than half a pound) and three really small (organic small) onions sliced long-ways. I should have done just the onions and then deglazed with wine. After the onions were soft, then I deglazed with wine -- working around the potatoes.

Then a pint of chicken stock. After some simmering, a half cup of cream. Salt and pepper. I wasn't trying to double the recipe, but the stock wasn't enough for all the potatoes and the upcoming fish, so I added a cup and half of milk. Also some fresh thyme.

Bring to a simmer for a while, then add the fish. A little later, add the corn and return the scallops to the pot. More salt and pepper.

Let everything get hot. The salmon chowder recipe had lemon juice, which sounded good, so I squeezed a lemon into the pot.



Garnish with parsley and crumbled bacon.



Yum. Everything contributes a flavor. The salmon is great. Tuna very good. Scallops are so buttery and sweet, it seems impossible. Plus, bacon fat, potatoes, cream.

Very thin broth, but will probably thicken with the starch from the potatoes and corn. Thin is good, a little wet slurp with each different kind of bite. The scallops are so rich I wouldn't want it to be much heavier.

Verdict: A-
Credits: Scallop and Corn Chowder, Real Simple Magazine
Salmon Chowder recipe at Epicurious.com
Leftovers? Oh yes.

Notes: If FreshDirect challenges you for a zip code, use 10023. I am sure they deliver everywhere in that code. In mine, you'd be further challenged because I live in such a remote neighborhood (puh-leeze).

Asparagus, Chickpea, Quinoa Salad

101 Cookbooks is a good source of recipes for me lately. Anticipating spring, I got some asparagus (Mexican) and made this quick dish.



It really does come together fast (maybe not 10 minutes). I substituted 2 C. quinoa cooked with 4 C. water for the brown rice in the original dish. It was probably too much -- 1 to 1 1/2 C. would be better.

Verdict: A-
Credits: 101 Cookbooks
Leftovers? Yes, and very good cold. May need a touch more dressing the next day since quinoa and chickpeas are absorbent.

Notes: The tahini dressing is good for other salads too. In this case, make it thin -- the quinoa will suck it up.

Colcannon

To use yesterday's cabbage, I wanted to make this Irish treat. I based my recipe on Eating Well's version. Since I am not doing milk right now (and never have it in the house anyway), I needed a substitute to make it a little creamy. I added a little extra butter to saute the cabbage and then used wine, broth, olive oil and vinegar. Delish!


1 half head of cabbage shredded
1 lb red pototoes

2 T. butter

2 T. broth
1/4 C. white wine
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T olive oil

salt and white pepper


Start the potatoes boiling. In a frying pan, soften the cabbage with the butter and a scoop of the potato water.

When the potatoes can be stuck easily with a fork, drain and mash. Add the olive oil and broth. Salt and pepper. Stir in the cabbage, add the wine and taste. If the tang of vinegar would be good, then add that.

Low cal, high fiber.



Verdict: B+ a tasty treat and better than plain potatoes.
Credits: Eating Well
Leftovers? Yes, potato pancakes tomorrow!

Notes: Vegan, if you skip the butter.

Pozole (or posole)

I was wishing for the food and the weather of Mexico during this horrible snowstorm and thought of this soup. This is an experimental version with tempeh, not pork.

4 dried chile guanjillo
4 cloves garlic
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. cumin
1 C. hot water

1 package tempeh cut in 1/2 cubes
1/4 C. soy sauce
1 T chili garlic sauce
2 limes

1 medium onion
1 qt. vegetable broth
2 whole cloves


1 can hominy
1 can black beans

olive oil
salt and pepper

Optional:
3 cups shredded cabbage
cilantro
avocado, white onion, scallions, cheese, fried tortilla strips (I didn't do any of these)

Marinate the tempeh in the soy sauce, chili sauce and juice of 1 lime.


Remove the stems from the dried chilies and cover with hot water and soak. When the chilies are soft, blend with garlic clove and oregano. I added the cumin, but recommend against it.

In the soup pot, fry the marinating tempeh in a little olive oil until browned a little and heated through. Set the tempeh aside.

Cut the onion in half and take the outer onion of one of the halves before chopping. Chop the rest of the onion. Put the whole cloves through the onion rib.

Soften the chopped onion in a little more olive oil. Add the chili puree and the vegetable broth. Drain the hominy and black beans and add to the soup. Add the cloved onion. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 20 or 30 minutes, occasionally skimming the foam off. Salt and pepper to taste (probably a fair amount of pepper). Add the tempeh and simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir in the juice of a lime before serving.


For the first bowl I put the raw cabbage in the bowl and ladled the soup over it. Later for leftovers, I just added the cabbage in the pot. Either way is good. Garnish with the cilantro. At Pancho's, they serve with many of the garnishes on the side.

Verdict: Yummy, B+.

Credits: Vegan Represent Forums

Leftovers? Yes and the flavor develops overnight.

Notes: Next time, I will not use the cumin, and will probably find hotter chilies. Or just use two or three and add some fresh serrano or jalepeno.

Spicy Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup

When I added sweet potatoes to my online cart at Fresh Direct, the site recommended the Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup recipe. When I prepared it, I hated the color of the broth and was considering dumping it out until I though of blending it. Now I love it!!



Verdict: A
Credits: Real Simple magazine [via Fresh Direct]
Leftovers? Yes, though you might need to thin with a little water.

Notes: Instead of the one inch dice, I just slice the sweet potato into pretty thick pieces and then after five or ten minutes to heat them (because I baked them a day or two before usually) use the hand blender to blend the whole thing. There's sesame oil in the picture but I usually don't bother.

Bloody Bowties

Fresh Direct recommended this recipe when I was shopping for beets, so I tried it. The recipe title is Shockingly Pink Pasta so I thought it would be a bright fuschia pink. It is when you first stir in a little beet sauce to a lot of light colored pasta, but by the time it is all added, it looks like blood. Now we're talking shocking!

Roast 3 medium to large beets in the oven, wrapped in foil with a little olive oil for an hour. At the same time, wrap a whole head of garlic in foil with a little olive oil and roast.

When the beets have cooled, take out of the foil and peel the skins off. They should just slip off by hand. Sometimes I have to use the paring knife. Slice into chunks. These can be stored, refrigerated for a few days and added to salads.



Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the head into the beets. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive and puree. I use my hand blender in this tupperware container. Salt and generous pepper.

Make a box of farfalle. Add the beet puree to the drained pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese.


Verdict: A
Credits: Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon [via Fresh Direct]
Leftovers? Yes, very good.

Notes: It was so good that I bought the book, Passionate Vegetarian I have also made it with raw, not roasted, garlic and it is way hot with garlic. If you are roasting the beets anyway, roast the garlic.

IMBB VI: Grillers' Delight

For my first participation in Is My Blog Burning?, I grilled up some pork tenderloin for the Grillers' Delight and made Grilled Pork Tacos.

I covered the pork with blackening spice rub and cooked it on my hot stovetop grill, about seven minutes a side.



Let the pork rest, then slice it up and assemble the tacos. I melted some pepperjack on a tortilla on the hot grill, added some black bean dip, pork and mango slaw (recipe below). Yum!



Mango slaw dressing

1 T. honey
Juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. ginger, minced
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. cider vinegar
3 shakes of habenero sauce

Mix in a small bowl. In a large bowl mix:

1 mango, peeled, sliced from the pit and julienned
1 package shredded cabbage

Stir in dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.

Verdict: A
Leftovers? The pork keeps, but the slaw gets pretty soggy.

Fizzy Raspberry Lemonade

Looking for a summer cooler, I tried vodka-lemonade after reviewing recipes at Epicurious.

1 pkg frozen raspberries
1 can frozen lemonade
3/4 C. Vodka (for a lightly alcoholic drink, 1 1/2 C. for a stronger drink)
mineral water

In a blender, puree the raspberries with the lemonade and add the vodka. If it is too sour, add up to a 1/4 C. sugar. Strain to get the seeds out.

To make the drink, pour an inch or so of the syrup and add mineral water to fill the glass.

The first batch I made I was adding the vodka and the mineral water, but it is easier to just put the vodka in the syrup.



Verdict: B+
Credits: Epicurious Fizzy Sour Cherry Lemonade
Leftovers? Yes. Keep the syrup in the freezer.

Korean Supper

Inspired by a Korean picnic menu, I tried two beef dishes for dinner last weekend: a barbecued steak (bulgogi) and a cold noodle soup dish.

First, the shopping list:
1 1/2 lb of sirloin steak
1 lb other steak
ginger
garlic
scallions
cucumber
soba

Simple, eh? I had everything else on hand. I actually bought a 2 lb roast and sliced it into the two steaks.

Bulgogi

First get the steak marinating:

1 1/2 lb. sirloin steak
6 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 T. finely chopped peeled ginger
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
2 tsp. ground toasted sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 t. sugar
ground black pepper

For the ground toasted sesame seeds, toast 1/4 C. seeds in a dry non-stick skillet. Grind in mortar with salt (1 t. or so).



Score steak deeply (nearly through to the other side) in a 1-inch crisscross diamond pattern. Turn over and score the other side. Cover with plastic wrap and pound lightly with a heavy pan to tenderize.

In a shallow dish large enough to hold the steak, combine remaining ingredients. Add the stak and turn to coat with marinade. Cover and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 8, turning from time to time.



Now get the broth started for the noodles.

Naengmyon

1 lb. beef for boiling (pot roast or round steak)
2 C. vegetable broth
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1 T. ground toasted sesame seeds (see above)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
6 T. rice or cider vinegar
2 T. pepper vinegar (recipe calls for kimchi juice)
1 T. sugar
salt to taste
1 lb. buckwheat noodles (soba)
2 hard cooked eggs, peeled and sliced

Cover the beef in broth, plus a quart of water and bring to a boil. Skim the surface, then reduce heat, cover and simmer beef until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Then, allow the meat to cool in the broth.



Once the broth is going, you have THREE HOURS before you eat. Make some Lettuce Wraps for an appetizer.

Now, make the other things that go on the noodles.

Hard cook the eggs: cover with cold water; bring to a boil for 5 minutes; turn off heat, cover pan and let sit for 20 minutes; rinse with cold water and let sit in cold water for 5 minutes before peeling.

Vinegar Mustard sauce:

3 T. soy sauce
4 1/2 t. rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Mix together in a small bowl. I used dijon instead of dry mustard, because I didn't have any. I am sure it changed the texture, but it was good.

Marinated cucumbers:

1 T. salt
1 cucumber, cut lengthwise and sliced
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. pepper vinegar
1 1/2 t. sugar
1/4 t. crushed red pepper

In a bowl, sprinkle the salt on the cucumber slices, then cover with water. Let sit for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse and squeeze out excess moisture. In a small bowl or tupperware combine the cucumbers, vinegars, sugar and red pepper. Refrigerate until serving.

When the broth is cooled, remove the beef, trim off any fat and thinly slice. In a small bowl, combine the sliced beef with soy sauce, sesame seeds, garlic and a generous grinding of black pepper.

Mix the broth with the vinegars, sugar and salt. Cool in refrigerator.

Prepare the noodles, drain and rinse in cold water.

To serve, put noodles in a bowl and add broth mixture to cover noodle halfway. Top with sliced egg, beef, cukes and mustard sauce. Set the beef, cukes and mustard out to be added individually. In this picture, the sliced bulgogi is on the left and the steak for the noodles is on the right.



Heat the skinny grill. Cook the steak 4-5 minutes on each side, to medium rare. Slice and serve.





Verdict: B+ for steak, B for noodles. Serve it hot to make it an A.
Credits: Marinated Grilled Beef (Bulgogi) and Cold Buckwheat Noodles (Naengmyon) from Eating Well May/June 1993
Leftovers? Keep the noodle elements separately. The beef is great the next day.

Notes: The noodles are actually better with warm broth. Serve the broth while still warm, or use the broth to cook the noodles. As a warm meal, it still works with cold toppings and gets an A. Beef soup to go with grilled beef is overkill. Save the bulgogi for another meal.

Lettuce Wraps

In a meal of two beef dishes, I could not make this appetizer with ground beef so I tried it with tempeh and extra vegetables. I don't know if it is as good as P.F. Chang's, but it turned out pretty tasty.

1/2 head of Boston lettuce, leaves separated and washed
4 oz. (half package) tempeh, diced small
1 T. sesame oil
1 T. peanut oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced small.
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. Garlic chili pepper sauce (I use 'A Taste of THAI') or the recipe calls for kochujang
1/4 c. rice wine (mirin)
1 T. pepper vinegar (optional)

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet and add the tempeh. Cook for a few minutes until it starts to brown. Add the carrot, celery, and half the scallions. Cook 5-10 more minutes, the vegetables should start to soften. Add the ginger and garlic and cook another couple minutes. Add the garlic-chili sauce and the rice wine and vinegar. Cook another 3 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.

Here's the tempeh and vegetables:


Garnish with the remaining scallions and serve with the lettuce leaves.

And here's the assembled Lettuce Wrap ready for a bite. Yum!

Verdict: A-
Credits: Lettuce Bundles with Hot-&-Sweet Meat Filling Eating Well May/June 1993
Leftovers? Yes, but not as good cold.

Notes: I also tried this doubled and it worked out well. It feels like greasy bar appetizers, but it is a vegetarian delight. Don't eat the whole doubled recipe unless you are used to that much fiber. Yowsa.

Memorial Day Grilling

Here it is Memorial Day weekend, the opening of the grilling season. I left my Weber grill in the garage, but I do have my new Le Crueset skinny grill. I got some extra shrimp when shopping for the paella and then went out and found two recipes for citrus-y baked chicken and modified them as grilled chicken with sauce and marinated shrimp.

Shopping list:

1 or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 to 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 or 4 juicing oranges
1 lemon
4 scallions
1 shallot
1 piece ginger
Ricard or other anise liqueur
fresh rosemary
fresh mint
white wine
lime juice
Tabasco sauce

Prepare the chicken breast:

Chicken breast
1 T. lemon zest
1 T. orange zest
rosemary sprigs
salt and pepper

Slice the chicken breast horizontally, most of the way through. Sprinkle with lemon and orange zest. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the rosemary on the half of chicken breast. Close breast, cover with plastic wrap and pound with a frying pan to flatten. Refrigerate.



Marinate the shrimp:

Juice the oranges, set aside 2/3 C. for the chicken sauce.

3 T. orange juice
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T. lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried cilantro
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 T. olive oil
4 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/4 t. salt

Combine everything and cover the shrimp. Refrigerate.



Chicken sauce:

4 scallions, sliced
2 T. minced shallots
1 T. minced fresh mint
olive oil
2/3 C. orange juice
juice of 1/2 lemon
piece of ginger
1 T. Ricard
1/4 C. dry sherry
2 t. sugar
1/2 C. white wine

In a saucepan, cook scallions, shallots and mint in olive oil until soft. Add orange juice, lemon juice, Ricard, dry sherry and sugar. Grate ginger into a sieve and press juice out. Add ginger juice to saucepan. Bring to a boil. Simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Spoon a little onto the chicken breast.

Add the wine and simmer while grilling, reducing by half (again).

Skewer the shrimp on bamboo skewers, or poke through with the skewer then put the shrimp on rosemary stems. This takes a lot longer, so I only did half on rosemary.

And here I am ready to grill.



The chicken takes about 8 minutes a side. Baste with the sauce occasionally.

The shrimp is much faster, about a minute and a half per side.

Here's the Yucatan Grilled Shrimp Skewers


And the Grilled Chicken in Islands Aromas


I should have made a vegetable side, but I didn't. Served with a side of pasta and a French wine.


Verdict: B
Credits: Chicken Breasts in Islands Aromas in Eating Well May/June 1993 and Chicken Yucatan in Eating Well July/August 1993
Leftovers? Yes, good cold or on a salad

Notes:

Paella rapida

I haven't been cooking much lately, but I wanted to get into the spirit of the summer season and eating for celebration. First stop, paella. This was modified to make it lowfat by taking out the sausage. Of course I added some sausage back in.

2 C. chicken stock + 3 cubes
1 T. olive oil
1/2 lb. medium shrimp
1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast sliced into 1/2" pieces
1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage, sliced
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 C. arborio rice
1 jar of artichoke hearts
1 C. frozen peas
1/3 C. bottled roasted red peppers, sliced thin

Warm the chicken stock in a saucepan, set aside.

In a skillet, cook the shrimp in 1 t. of oil for 3 minutes. Set aside in a bowl. Brown the chicken and sausage in the skillet, for about five minutes. Remove from the pan and set a side in a bowl.

In another 1 t. of oil, cook the onion and garlic until soft. Stir in tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cook for a couple minutes. Stir in the rice.



Add the chicken stock. Stir, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.



Stir in artichokes, red peppers, and peas. Add the chicken, sausage, and shrimp. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.



Serve with an inexpense but old (1999) Spanish wine.

Verdict: A
Credits: Paella Rapida in Eating Well May/June 1993
Leftovers? Yes, delicious.

Notes: The original recipe had a a 14 oz can of tomatoes. I had a larger can, so I used 1 1/2 C. of rice (instead of 1 C.) and then added a couple of extra cubes of broth. (I froze a bunch of chicken stock in ice cube trays.) It worked out great.

Chicken Salad with Bow Ties and Mustard-Sesame Dressing

Another potluck dish. This chicken and pasta salad is fresh and easy.

I don't know what consists fair use, but I think this one recipe over ten years old from a defunct magazine is okay. I repeat it here since I followed it pretty closely.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T. sesame seeds
1 4-inch piece of ginger
3 T. dijon mustard
2 T. rice-wine vinegar
1 T. sesame oil
1 1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. soy sauce
1/2 lb. snow peas
1 lb. bow tie pasta (farfalle)
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 red bell pepper, roasted and sliced into thin strips
2 scallions, green part, thinly sliced

Poach the chicken breast: in a skillet, cover the chicken breast with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, turn over the chicken, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Slice the chicken breast thinly and set aside in the refrigerator.

In a small skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat. Set aside in a small dish.

Finely grate ginger into a sieve over a small bowl. Firmly press liquid out with the back of a spoon (should be 1 1/2 T. of liquid). Add mustard, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and soy sauce to the ginger juice and whisk until creamy.

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Blanch snow peas in boiling water for 1 minutes. Remove with a spoon or tongs to a colander and rinse under cold water. Return water to a boil and cook pasta. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, combine celery, red peppers, scallions and the chicken, snow peas and pasta. Add dressing and toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the toasted sessame seeds.



Verdict: B
Credits: Chicken Salad with Bow Ties and Mustard-Sesame Dressing in Eating Well March/April 1994
Leftovers? Good, but not this time. The crowd ate it up.

Notes: I ended up making a little more dressing because I was afraid the pasta would soak it up before the salad was served at the potluck. I stirred a spoonful of mustard into a couple tablespoons of vinegar and a splash of soy sauce and added it to the salad. It worked out great.

Vegetable Breakfast

I have been making a vegetable egg scramble for breakfast this week.

1 whole egg + 2 whites basil and parsely, sliced in fine ribbons 1 poblano pepper, thinly sliced 1 green chilli, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced 1/3 vidalia onion, sliced 3/4 C. broccoli, chopped 1 tortilla parmesan cheese Olive oil, Salt and pepper

I boil several days worth of broccoli to pre-cook, since it takes the longest. Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the garlic, then saute the peppers and onions until the onion is translucent. Beat the egg and whites with a couple teaspoons of water and the herbs and a little salt and pepper. Add the cooked broccoli to the skillet, allow a few minutes to reheat if it was cold. Stir in the eggs and the cheese. Cook a minute or two until eggs are set and the cheese is melting. Serve with salsa on a warm tortilla.

And the finished product:



Verdict: B, but dependent on the quality of the salsa and cheese
Leftovers? No.

Notes: Of course this changes with the contents of my refrigerator. Pepper jack is the best cheese for this meal.