Tag: #stupideasy
Just in Time for Cinco de Mayo! Ridiculously Easy Salsa

Just in Time for Cinco de Mayo! Ridiculously Easy Salsa

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A while back on a visit to The Big Apple, we stopped at Brookfield Place for a quick bite.  Near the World Trade Center, The Brookfield has an upscale food court (this is an understatment).  You won’t find corn dogs and pretzel bites, what you will find-organic kale and quinoa salads, Pad Thai, avocado toast, sushi…the trendy hipster options are endless.  After agonizing over what to eat, grab your food and pounce on the first table near the windows.  Enjoy the spectacular view of the Hudson while you eat.

I decided on an egg dish (can’t remember exactly what I had) but it needed a punch of flavor.  Back to the stand where I ordered my eggs.  “Do you have any salsa”? The woman in line behind me rudely interjects “RIGHT in front of you”. I glance at the counter, turn to her and say “SALSA not salt” (you schmuck).   The counter guy hands me a couple of packets of hot sauce with an apologetic “uh, will this do?” I take them and quickly walk away so he doesn’t hear me sigh.

New York City, you don’t know what you are missing…

With Cinco de Mayo coming up I pulled out a salsa recipe I had come across in the blog Cookie + Kate. This salsa is SUPER EASY and a snap to put together.  This leaves plenty of time to mix up a batch of your favorite Margaritas, the perfect foil for chips and this salsa.

Easy salsa

The secret?  The salsa starts with a can of FIRE-ROASTED TOMATOES.  TJ’s has their house brand version that I have used with good results and Muir Glen makes organic fire-roasted tomatoes. Drain the tomatoes well or it will be watery.  Throw the tomatoes in your food processor along with coarsely chopped garlic, jalapeno, diced onion, cilantro and a bit of lime juice and salt.  Give it a whirl and voila’ SALSA TIME.  Want it spicier, add more jalapeno.  Bit more tangy? Extra squeeze of lime.  Added punch? 2 garlic cloves instead one.  It’s entirely up to you.

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Just in Time for Cinco de Mayo! Ridiculously Easy Salsa

Ingredients

  • 1 can 15 ounces diced fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
  • ½ cup roughly chopped white onion about ½ small onion
  • ¼ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
  • ½ medium jalapeño seeds and ribs removed, and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

  • Drain off about half of the tomato juice from the can (about ⅓ cup) and discard it.
  • In a food processor:
  • Add the tomatoes and all of the remaining juice from the can. Add the garlic, onion, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, and salt.
  • Pulse the mixture until it is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomato or onion remain, scraping down the sides as necessary.
  • Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt, if you like.
  • Serve the salsa immediately or store it for later.
  • This salsa keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week.

 

 

 

 

 
What’s for Dessert? Croutons!

What’s for Dessert? Croutons!

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Awhile back I reviewed Food52 Mighty Salads. Flipping through the book I found quite a few recipes to try including a tomato pasta salad, a crab and corncake salad and a tomato cucumber salad with lamb kebabs.  At the very end of the book, snuck in on the last page (those sneaky Food52ers) I found a single non-salad recipe.

Better yet, it is a DESSERT recipe.  A tantalizing little tidbit among a sea of greens and grains.  As part of their thank you page and because they couldn’t write a cookbook without a sweet finish, they came up with Berry Salad with Brioche Croutons.  It is simple, yummy and the perfect ending.

….of course I had to try it.

It is STUPID EASY and delicious.  Start with your favorite loaf of brioche.  Cut 4 slices about 3/4 inch thick and then cut into cubes.  Place in a buttered baking dish, throw in a handful of nuts, your choice.  I like walnuts but feel free to use pecans or almonds or a mix of your favorite nuts. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey and finish with a sprinkle of sea salt or kosher salt (a little bigger sprinkle).  Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for 7 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool.  Store in an airtight container.

Now you could just munch on these bad boys all by themselves, which I have been known to do, or you could throw them on top of a bowl of berries-strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, whateverberries (just checking if you are paying attention) sweetened with some raw sugar as suggested by the folks at Food52.

My favorite option is on top of plain Greek yogurt with a touch of honey and fresh berries..  It adds a nice crunch and makes my breakfast seem deliciously decadent.  Its way too easy not to try.

 
Love Letter to Rice (Garlic Rice)

Love Letter to Rice (Garlic Rice)

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On one of our weekend food treks, hubby and I headed to East San Jose in search of egg rolls and banh mi. Right in front of the entrance to the market was a display of different dried pasta on sale including tiny little pasta shaped like letters. Woohoo!  Haven’t seen pasta letters in ages. When the kids were little I would make rice pilaf using alphabet pasta. The kids loved it and called it “letter rice.”  They would spell their names and challenge each other to spell as many words as possible on their plates. We were totally bummed when our market stopped carrying our beloved alphabet pasta. A search of other markets came up empty so  I resorted to using star and rice-shaped pasta. Not the same, but a good life lesson for my kiddies…you can’t always get what you want.

I took a picture of the display with my phone and sent it to the kids with the exclamation “LETTERS!” then I bought a couple of bags (ok, more than a couple) to have on hand for when they come home.

Letter rice is a fusion of rice pilaf and Hainanese Chicken Rice, a Singaporean dish of poached chicken and rice.  The broth from the poached chicken is used to cook the rice for a double flavor whammy.  The rice is first sautéed with the Asian trinity of garlic, ginger and onions, tossed in a rice cooker (because I don’t know how to cook rice any other way), and cooked in the reserved stock.

IT IS STUPID EASY.  Maybe not as easy as making plain rice but with little effort you can jazz up your rice making it delicious and fun to eat.  Kid-tested, kid- approved.

Mains that aren’t “saucey” beg for letter rice as an accompaniment.  Letter rice in our house accompanies barbecued ribs or chicken, grilled fish, and STEAK. Yum.

Like many of the recipes, this one lends itself well to changes.  Tweak the Asian trinity.  Onions can be replaced by shallots, or use only garlic and omit the ginger and onions.  Having steak?  Use beef stock instead of chicken. Vegetarian? Use mushroom or vegetable stock instead.  I throw in dried mushrooms to intensify the flavor.  You can use all rice and skip the letters (auugh, why would you skip the cute shaped pasta), it all works.

The recipe is easy to remember.  For every cup of uncooked rice, use 1 fat clove of garlic (or 2 skinny ones), 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of ginger, and 1/2 shallot.  For each cup of rice or pasta, use 1 tablespoon butter or oil.  Saute’ the aromatics first, and when they begin to brown add the pasta and rice.  Watch your garlic carefully, do not let it burn or it will be bitter.

The quirky part of this recipe is I only know how to cook rice in a rice cooker (I should be embarrassed-I am).  I use the cup that comes with the rice cooker to measure my rice but a standard 1 cup measure for the pasta.  For 2 cups of rice,  use 1 cup of pasta and fill the rice cooker with the stock up to the 3 cup line.  Yep. Easy peasy if you have a rice cooker…

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Love Letter to Rice (Garlic Rice)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups long grain or basmati rice (measured in standard cup that comes with the rice cooker its equivalent to 3/4 cup
  • 1 standard measuring cup any small shaped pasta stars, letters, acini de pepe, or orzo
  • 3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil or 50/50 of each

Aromatics

  • 3 large cloves of garlic finely chopped (garlic lovers or those living among vampires feel free to increase the amount of garlic)
  • 1 shallot finely chopped (or 1/4 yellow onion or 1 green onion green and white parts, finely chopped)
  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger

Liquid

  • Homemade or low sodium chicken broth can substitute beef or vegetable stock approximately 3-4 cups
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup dried sliced shiitakes or dried mushroom mix optional

Garnish:

  • green onions
  • cilantro leaves
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

  • Melt butter or oil in pan
  • When butter is fully melted add garlic, shallots and ginger and saute' over medium heat until garlic begins to brown.
  • Add pasta and rice to pan. Stir to coat rice and pasta with oil thoroughly.
  • Put rice and pasta mixture in rice cooker and fill to the three cup line. If using dried mushrooms add them at this point.
  • Set to cook and you're done!

Back from school for the summer, Jordan requested “char Siu” style barbecued ribs and letter rice which prompted this post!  Here is the marinade for the ribs. Grill over indirect heat for 25-30 minutes in a covered bbq.  Flip and baste halfway through, then baste ribs with honey and grill over direct heat to slightly char ribs.

I remember my mom yelling at my brother and me “STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD, JUST EAT IT!”  Where is the fun in that?
That’s a Wrap, Happy Hour Time! (Korean Tacos)

That’s a Wrap, Happy Hour Time! (Korean Tacos)

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Jamie is in Atlanta for the summer working but fortunately she will be coming home for a couple of weeks.  I miss my Happy Hour buddy.  We both agree happy hours are the best of all worlds.  It’s much more relaxed than throwing a dinner party. People come and go as they please and help themselves to food and drink, it’s all good.  The food is casual and the attire is flips and anything comfortable. It’s all about chillin’ with friends and family. You can hang outside so don’t bother cleaning the house, noone cares, especially after a couple of wine coolers.

Luckily for us, we finally landscaped our yard. Yay.  Years of drought and an invasion of gophers left our yard looking like a moonscape of dirt, holes and mutant weeds.  It was bad.  We called gopherbusters (not really their name but that’s what they do) and a gardener and got to work.  In my defense, I grew up in San Francisco.  The ratio of cement to grass is like a bajillion to one.  Lawn mower? Never seen one much less owned one. But the yard is done, PARTY TIME.

Just need Jamie to come home.

In anticipation  of when she does, I have been checking out recipes that would be perfect for our little casual soirees’.  Korean Chicken Lettuce Wraps from SkinnyTaste caught my eye. SkinnyTaste started out as a blog on healthy seasonal cooking your family will love and has blossomed into a full fledge book.  The Korean wraps remind me of a Chinese appetizer, San Choy Bao, which literally means lettuce bun, think of it as an Asian Taco.  The filling is seasoned Korean BBQ style which I happen to LOVE.  Each bite is sweet, salty, spicy and the lettuce adds a refreshing crunch.  It’s a party in your mouth.  The original recipe calls for brown rice but if you are going low carb like I SHOULD be, you can substitute squash, diced carrots, zoodles or sautéed mushrooms.

We are serious about our happy hour bites and this dish meets the rigorous criteria we set for a date with a wine cooler or bottle of ice cold beer.

STRINGENT Happy Hour Food Standards:

Bite sized- check (2 bites)

Eat with your hands- check

Its YUMMY- check

It’s STUPID EASY- check

4 out of 4!  Lets go make some wraps.

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That's a Wrap! (Korean Style Lettuce Wraps)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • cooking spray
  • 1 pound lean ground chicken or turkey
  • 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

FOR WRAPS

  • 12 large outer lettuce leaves such as green leaf Bibb lettuce or even iceberg lettuce which creates a nice round bowl
  • 2 1/4 cups cooked brown rice
  • 2 tablespoons Gochujong or more if desired
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds plus more for topping
  • 2 sliced scallions white and green parts

Instructions

Filling:

  • Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and chili flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Heat non-stick pan over medium high heat, add small amount of vegetable oil, add onions to pan and cook for 1-2 minute. Add garlic and ginger, sauce for additional minute before adding ground chicken to pan. Break up the chicken with a spatula or wooden spoon.
  • Cook until the chicken loses its pinkness.
  • Add sauce ingredients to pan and stir to incorporate, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer mixture another 5 minutes.

In place of brown rice:

  • Sauteed diced zucchini, mushrooms
  • Kid friendly version use corn or cooked zucchini zoodles

To Serve:

    You can set up a serve yourself taco bar or assemble each wrap.

    • In each lettuce leaf place 2 tablespoons of rice or prepared vegetables
    • Top with approximately 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture
    • Garnish with a dab of Gochujong or Siracha sauce, green onions and sesame seeds.
    • Serve immediately.
    Strawberry Fields Forever-Strawberry Pie Now

    Strawberry Fields Forever-Strawberry Pie Now

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    Tasked with dessert for Easter dinner at my brother’s this year, I pondered on what to bring.  Inspiration hit at my local farmer’s market when I spied the baskets of luscious, red, ripe strawberries.

    It’s PIE TIME

    I conjured up an image in my head, fresh sweet ripe strawberries piled in a crispy buttery crust and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.   This perfectly describes Rose Levy Beranbaum’s strawberry pie recipe. .  I own as many of her cookbooks as I do Dorie Greenspan’s and that’s saying a lot, both are baking gurus extraordinaire.  Rose’s recipes are organized, reliable, easy to follow, and best of all delicious. First, the ingredients are listed by volume measurements and weights (ounces and grams, how great is that?) in all her books and then formatted in tables.  In addition, each recipe has pointers for success, helpful hints, and a Harold McGee/ Alton Brown-like blurb on understanding the recipe.  My favorites include Rose’s Christmas Cookies, Cake Bible, and her more recent book  The Baking Bible.

    Her Glazed Strawberry Pie recipe is from The Pie and Pastry Bible. In addition to being delish, it is super easy to make. The strawberries are the star of this pie so make sure your berries are ripe and sweet. Start by slicing the strawberries in half then make the glaze.  The glaze calls for sugar, cornstarch as the thickener, and cranberry-raspberry frozen concentrate.  Yep, frozen fruit juice concentrate.  Finally, fold the strawberries in the glaze and pour them into a pre-baked crust.

    It’s all about the crust and filling, uh-huh

    Use your favorite pie crust recipe (or mine), fully pre-bake it, and as it cools, make the filling.  Keep in mind the pie will need to chill in the fridge for a good couple of hours before serving.  Serve with whipped cream (totally worth the calorie splurge).

    Take advantage of strawberry season and MAKE THIS PIE.  Your family will love you. Your friends will love you.  You could run for office (hint, hint) after making this pie.

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    Glazed Strawberry Pie from Pie and Pastry Bible

    Ingredients

    • 1 Basic Flaky Pie Crust for a 9-inch pie
    • 1 tablespoon egg white lightly beaten
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 1 cup liquid cran/raspberry concentrate thawed, undiluted
    • 3/4 cup water
    • 4-5 cups strawberries rinsed, hulled, dried, and halved

    Instructions

    For pie dough:

    • Favorite pie crust recipe, need only a single crust.
    • Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If necessary, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll.
    • Roll dough 1/8 inch thick or less and about a 13-inch circle.
    • Transfer the dough to the pie pan. Fold under the excess and crimp the border using a fork or your fingers. Cover it loosely and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 24 hours.
    • Preheat the oven to 425°F at least 20 minutes before baking.
    • Line the pastry shell with foil and fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully lift out the rice or beans with the foil. With a fork prick the bottom and sides and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until the crust is a golden. Check after 3 minutes and prick any bubbles that may have formed.
    • Cool the crust on a rack for 3 minutes, so it is no longer piping hot, then brush the bottom and sides with the egg white.

    Make the filling:

    • In a 2-quart saucepan, mix together the sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in the cran/raspberry concentrate and water until smooth. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.
    • Gently fold in the strawberries and spoon the filling into the baked pastry shell. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.
    • Serve with freshly whipped cream
    • Store:
    • Refrigerated up to 2 days.
    • The Pie and Pastry Bible