Sunday, May 25, 2014

Carrot Ginger Dressing

I love the classics. This recipe reminds me of the '80s and eating at Benihana. It's a great dressing and it's easy to make.

I mixed it up though and used "super" greens like chard, spinach, kale and mizuna. The contrast of the strong, bitter greens with the sweet dressing works pretty well.

I could see using sesame oil too on occasion and leaving out the soy sauce.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup vegetable oil  
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce (substitute tamari or leave out for gluten-free option)
1 tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. finely grated ginger
2 medium carrots (about 8 oz.), peeled and roughly chopped
½ medium yellow onion (about 6 oz.), roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 head (about 1 lb.) iceberg lettuce, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, carrots, and onion in a food processor, and process until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Combine dressing and lettuce in a bowl, and toss until evenly coated; serve immediately. Unused dressing will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

MAKES 4 CUPS DRESSING

Double Chocolate Macaroons

This recipe comes from Leah Koenig via Saveur. I just love chocolate. I'm not a huge dessert fan but when I'm in the mood, chocolate is awesome and these macaroons don't disappoint. I love it when recipes are easy too. It's a very straightforward process.

MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN

INGREDIENTS

2¼ cups shredded, unsweetened coconut
⅔ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
3 egg whites
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 325°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Combine coconut, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, and egg whites in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat; cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and sticky, 5–6 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool, uncovered, for 20 minutes; stir in chocolate chips and set mixture aside.

2. Using a tablespoon, portion and roll mixture into balls and place 1" apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets; bake, rotating pans halfway through, until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Mmm. I love a good oatmeal cookie. If you read the post you will discover that the creator, Matt Maranian, of this recipe dislikes breakfast but loves cookies and wants to legitimize the breakfast cookie. I would say that he was successful at least in creating a healthy and very tasty cookie. (My wife has begged me to make another batch.) Now whether it can be legitimized as a breakfast item remains to be seen. I for one am on board.

I have just a couple notes: 1. You can use raisins or dates. Both a very good. 2. You can use chopped or sliced almonds.

• One 15 oz can chickpeas, thoroughly drained in a strainer
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup chunky peanut butter with no added sugars or sweeteners
• ½ cup local organic honey
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Heaping 1/3 cup raw oats
• Heaping 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup packed raisins
• Parchment paper (very important)

While the chickpeas are draining, roast the almonds in a skillet over medium/low heat, stirring and tossing frequently, until the almonds are fragrant and start to brown. Remove from heat, and slide the almonds into a small bowl. Mash the chickpeas and olive oil together with a potato masher until you no longer see any solid pieces of chickpea.

Add the honey, peanut butter, vanilla, both extracts, baking powder, and salt to the chickpea paste, and blend with a mixer on high speed for about five minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl every minute or so, until the batter looks like chunky peanut butter and starts sticking together. Toss in the oats, toasted almonds, and raisins, and fold into the batter with a rubber spatula until everything is just mixed. 

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is chilled and firm, at least 30 minutes and up to several hours. 

Preheat the oven to 350ยบ. Using a tablespoon-size soupspoon, scoop the dough by the heaping spoonful, and, using a second spoon, scrape onto the parchment (you don’t need to allow a lot of space on the sheet between cookies, as they don’t spread much while baking). 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tips and edges of the cookies become dark golden brown. If they look a bit like they’ve burned, it’s okay, for some reason they don’t taste burned even when they are, don’t ask me why. Cool on a wire rack. For best results, once cooled, seal in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Bigos!

I love the word Bigos! I don't know why but it feels good to say. :) Bigos is a Polish stew made with sauerkraut and lots of meat. I made it with mashed potatoes and my whole family really liked it. We are not Polish but felt like it for the night. :) I found the recipe at the Wholesome Cook just searching for something to use up leftover sauerkraut. As you might guess, I did not use the full 1 kg of kraut because I had used some for another recipe - the beet reuben - but it seemed fine.

1kg sauerkraut 
200g diced pork
200g diced beef
100g speck or streaky bacon
100g dried pitted prunes
1 brown onion
1 chorizo
10g dried porcini
4 bay leaves
4 whole allpsice seeds (pimento seeds)
1 tsp ground pepper
4 cups water
1 cup red wine 
1 strip of lemon peel
1 tablespoon brown sugar
sunflower or canola oil

To prepare the ingredients: Dice chorizo and speck into bite sized pieces. Dice onion. Break up porcini mushrooms into little pieces.

To prepare the stew:  heat 1 tbsp oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Brown onion, chorizo and speck, mixing regularly. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat another 1 tbsp oil and cook both pork and beef for 5 minutes, or until browned. Add sauerkraut together with the cooked chorizo, speck and onion and all the other ingredients. Mix well.

Cover with a lid, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 1-2 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart to the touch.

To serve: spoon bigos into a serving bowl, serve alongside mash potato or bread.

Coffee Rubbed Strip Steak

Mmmmm. I love easy recipes and although it seems like a lot, this recipe is actually very easy. I have made the salad and it's good, too. But to me, the steak and the chimichurri are the stars. Dipping the steak in the chimichurri makes every bite just so good. Enjoy!

Tim Byres contributed this recipe to Food and Wine.

CHIMICHURRI

1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 small shallot, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

STEAK
2 tablespoons finely ground dark-roast coffee beans
2 tablespoons chile powder
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Four 10-ounce strip steaks

SALAD
1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup snipped chives
1 small shallot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

MAKE THE CHIMICHURRI In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegars with the olive oil and sugar. Stir in the shallot, parsley, cilantro, chives and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Let the chimichurri stand for at least 20 minutes and for up to 2 hours.

MEANWHILE, PREPARE THE STEAK In a small bowl, mix the ground coffee with the chile powder, brown sugar, paprika, cumin and salt. Pat the steaks all over with the coffee-chile rub and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan; oil the grates or pan. Grill the steaks over moderate heat, turning once, until they’re nicely charred outside and medium-rare within, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let rest for 10 minutes.

MAKE THE SALAD In a large bowl, toss the cilantro, parsley, chives and shallot. Add 3 tablespoons of the chimichurri, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the herbs.

Thinly slice the steaks and arrange on the platter; spoon some of the chimichurri on the meat. Serve with the herb salad. Pass the remaining chimichurri on the side.

MAKE AHEAD

The chimichurri sauce can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Moroccan Chicken Stew

This recipe comes from Fitness Magazine. A rather unusual source for me, but as Chef Gusteau says in Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook!".  Overall, I liked it more than my wife did. It was savory. The chicken came out nicely, the meat was tender and pulled easily from the bone. I think the pumpkin seeds would have made it much better. I will try that next time.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 skin-on, bone-in split chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Moroccan seasoning (such as McCormick)
1 cup pitted green olives
1 can no-salt-added chickpeas
2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup couscous
2 tablespoons roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to Dutch oven skin side down, working in two batches. Brown, about 5 minutes each side; transfer to a plate; and cover with aluminum foil.

2. Lower heat to medium and add fennel, ginger and garlic to same pot; cook until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Moroccan seasoning, olives, chickpeas, chicken with any juices that have accumulated, broth and lemon zest. Cover and simmer over low heat 45 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, pour 1 cups boiling water over couscous in a large heatproof bowl, stirring to combine. Cover with a dinner plate and let sit 10 minutes; fluff with a fork. Garnish chicken stew with pumpkin seeds, if desired, and serve with couscous.