I love cabbage. This has been a recent revelation. I’m not quite sure why cabbage has grabbed my attention but I find myself throwing it into a variety of dishes-salads, curries, soups, and stir-fries.
With a head of cabbage in the fridge and little time, I needed a quick side dish for dinner. A recipe form Eric Kim on Food52 popped into my head, asparagus with soy sauce and butter. Why not trade the cabbage for the asparagus?
Quick and Easy
Shred cabbage, not too finely so it retains some crunch, and set it aside. Heat a pan large enough to hold the cabbage. Melt the butter, add the cabbage and cook until it wilts. Add soy sauce, and stir fry until the butter and soy sauce bubble. Season with pepper and salt if needed. Bada Bing Bada Boom, done.
Substitute ponzu soy for a touch of citrus or dashi soy for seafood twist or an equal amount of oyster sauce adds flavor also. Garnish with sliced green onions.
1/2head of green cabbageshredded into 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips
2tablespoonsoy sauce or substitute Ponzu or Soy Dashior use 1 T oyster sauce and 1 T soy sauce
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper garnish
Instructions
Heat a skillet over high heat and melt the butter. Add the cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly wilted. Add the soy sauce and cook for another minute or until the butter and soy sauce bubble up into a sticky glaze. Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve immediately.
Notes
Okay, for you carnivores...saute' diced bacon (2 slices), omit salt and use half the butter with the bacon fat.
Chicken, Woman, Man, Soccer, Beer-Extra Points For Fried (KFC)
The Hubster is still on his quest for the perfect fried chicken. He is getting pretty darn close if you ask me. This time a recipe for Fried Chicken Wings caught his eye, which was okie-dokie with me. I love any kind of fried chicken.
KFC
When we were in Seoul last year (seems like forever ago), one of the first things we did was hit the streets looking for KFC, no, not Kentucky Fried Chicken, but Korean Fried Chicken. We found a place, there are zillions to choose from (there are more fried chicken stores in South Korea than McDonalds in the world, its not even close) that serves Chicken and Beer or Chimaek as it is called. Apparently, back in the early 2000s, when South Korea made a serious run at the World Cup, Koreans ate a ton of fried chicken and drank a lot of beer while watching the matches. Their love for KFC persisted after the soccer tourney and whenever a soccer match is broadcasted, chicken sales go crazy in S. Korea.
Yes, in Myeongdong Market, one of many restaurants, for chicken and beer. My kinda town.
I don’t drink beer normally (I’m a wine gal) but it did go REALLY well with the sweet and spicy fried chicken. Serve wings with savory crackers and radishes for a complete meal-protein, veggies, and starch. See?
The Secret to Captain K-runch
KFC is super crunchy and crispy and the secret to the extra crunch, drum roll please, is twice-fried chicken. The first fry is to cook and seal the chicken and the second fry is to give it that extra crunch. The other secret is to use potato starch as part of the batter for the chicken to kick up the crispiness even more.
The chicken is marinated so its pretty tasty as is after frying, BUT what fun would that be? I found a delicious sweet and spicy sauce for fried chicken from one of my favorite sites, Korean Bapsang. We transferred the fried chicken into the sauce and rolled the chicken in the sauce to coat. So good, it immediately transported me back to our visit to Seoul and having DakGangjeong in the street markets. 맛있는! Delicious!
Korean Sweet and Crispy Fried Chicken (DakGangjeong)
How to make Sweet Crispy Crunchy Korean Fried Chicken Wings
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Korean
Keyword Crispy, Fried Chicken, Sweet and Spicy
Prep Time 1 dayday
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Equipment
Deep Fryer
Ingredients
Chicken and marinade
2 to 2.5 lbschicken wings
1/2tsp2 3/4 g salt
1tspfresh gingerminced
1/2tspGochugaruKorean chili powder
1tspfresh garlicminced
1Tbspyellow onionminced or grated
1/4cuprice wine or sherry
cooking oil to deep fry
Fry Mix
1cup125 g potato starchcan sub cornstarch for potato starch
1cup125 g all purpose flour
1tspbaking powderoptional
1tspsalt
1tspgranulated sugar
1tspground ginger
1tspGochugaru powderfine grind not coarse
2tspgranulated garlic powder
2tspgranulated onion powder
The Sauce
1tablespoonsoy sauce
3tablespoonsrice wine or mirin
2tablespoonsapple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1tablespoongochujang Korean red chili pepper paste
3tablespoonshoney or corn or rice syrup
2teaspoonssesame oil
2tablespoonsbrown sugar
1teaspoonminced garlic
1teaspoongrated ginger
pinchpepper
Instructions
The Chicken
Combine marinade ingredients and add to chicken wings, get in there and mix the marinade into the chicken. Marinade in fridge at least a couple of hours to overnight
Fry Mix
Combine flour and starch and seasonings in a bowl. Mix well.
Remove 1/2 cup of dry mix to a separate bowl. This is for the batter. Add approximately 1/2 cup cold water to the 1/2 cup fry mix shoot for pancake bstter like consistency.
Heat vegetable oil in a pot big enough to hold a quart and half of oil. Or if you are lucky enough to have a deep fryer-ues as directed. (I don't have one so you are on your own)
As the oil heats to 350 degrees. Prep your chicken.
Set up your station like this: chicken, wet batter, dry mix, rack. Place chicken pieces in wet batter and coat thoroughly. Take each piece and roll it in the dry mix to coat well, pat down the dry mix on each piece. Place on rack and repeat with remaining pieces.
When the oil reaches 350 degrees add chicken a few pieces at a time to fryer. Fry approximately 7-8 minutes until a nice crust forms on the chicken. It will still be pale in color. Remove chicken to rack and continue to all the pieces are fried. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry chicken a second time until golden brown about 2 minutes.
You can serve chicken as is or coat pieces with the sweet and spicy sauce, my favorite.
Sweet and Spicy Sauce
In a pan large enough to hold the chicken, combine sauce ingredients, and stir well. Bring it to a boil. When it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until it thickens slightly, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add chicken to sauce mixture. Stir to coat and pour onto a platter. Garnish with sesame seeds and diced green onions.
CORNfirmation, Summer is Here! (Elote-Grilled Mexican Street Corn)
I consider my weekly trip to our local Farmer’s Market as my sanity break from COVID-19. As the weather warms not only are more folks coming out but the variety of fruits and vegetables at the market has also blossomed. As the apples and pears bid us goodbye-cherries, stone fruits, and berries have slid into those same spots without missing a beat.
My usual routine on Sundays is to head over to our local farmers market. I line up around 8:30, before the market opens at 9:00, to grab my half flat of strawberries. All my “ducks” are in a row so I then hop over to the next kiosk for microgreens and mushrooms, veggies at Live Earth Farm, and then cherries on the corner along with my Asian veggie fix. I wrap up my shopping at the fresh blueberries stand and then sit on a bench with my buds to catch up.
This past Sunday, I added a stop.
Fresh Corn is Back Baby!
There I was, waiting in the strawberry line when I noticed a new stall next to the strawberries, FRESH CORN. This signals the beginning of summer. Everybody have corn tonight, uh-huh, uh-huh.
The Paint
Most of the time we boil or steam the corn and happily munch on them unadorned, a sprinkle of salt perhaps. My new favorite way to serve fresh corn is as Grilled Mexican Street Corn called Elote. Shuck the corn and throw them on a hot grill until they are nicely charred. Remove and slather corn with mayonnaise or a 50:50 blend of mayonnaise and sour cream or Mexican Crema. If you have an aversion to mayo, you could use just sour cream or melted butter. I use a brush to “fine-tune” how much mayo I spread on each cob to appease my guilt about the calories.
The Sprinkles
The essential ingredient for corn sprinkles (cute, eh) is chili powder. A purist will get specific chili powders like ancho or guajillo, which can be purchased online or at any Hispanic market. These are specifically dried chilis ground into powder. Chili Powder found in most supermarkets is actually a blend of chilis and other spices like cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and cayenne. ANY of these work for Elote.
AND THEN…You can try commercial products made to mimic the flavors of Elote and enhance your “street food” dish. I like Tajin, a blend of chilis, lime, and salt. Think of it as the granddaddy of the Mexican spice blend. Lately, TJ’s has jumped on the bandwagon and has a Chili Lime seasoning blend and in their Everything But The…line, an Elote blend that contains Parmesan, Chipotle, cumin, and cilantro, which sounds pretty darn delicious.
The Fixins’
The finishing trifecta for your Elote. Sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro and crumbled Cotija Cheese or in a pinch, Parmesan cheese, and finally a squeeze of lime all over the corn.
Done, so good.
For those of you who just can’t stand corn between your teeth, after grilling, scrape the corn off the cob. Put the corn in a bowl and add the sprinkles and fixins’ on top, voila, a delicious, colorful Corn Salad, and no flossing. Check out Serious Eats’s Esquites-Mexican Street Corn Salad.
Fresh corn on the cob marks the summer season. Elote or Mexican Street Corn, a delicious way to highlight fresh corn, grill and top with mayo, chili, cheese and lime.
Course Side Dish, Vegetable
Cuisine Hispanic, Mexican
Keyword Corn on the cob, Elote, Fresh corn
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Servings 6servings
Ingredients
6ears cornshucked and cleaned
1/3-1/2cupmayonnaiseor use a blend of Mayo and sour cream or Crema
Chili powderSee post for variations
1/3c.crumbled cotija cheeseor Parmesan in a pinch
Freshly chopped cilantro
Lime wedgesfor serving
Instructions
Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high. Grill corn, turning often, until slightly charred all over, about 10 minutes.
Brush corn with a layer of mayonnaise and sprinkle with chili powder, cotija, and cilantro. Serve warm with lime wedges.
A brief moment of escape from the reality of our world right now to enjoy a Margarita and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I got the last bottle of Margarita Mix at TJs and unintentionally created a Cinco de Mayo dinner that looked like an ad campaign for kitchen appliances. Tortilla press for homemade tortillas (so fun), food processor for salsa (so easy), an Instant Pot for Carnitas (so fast), and finally my rice cooker for Mexican Rice (so true, a rice cooker, lol).
I pulled out my tortilla press for a low tech appliance start to stamp those flour tortillas. I prefer corn tortillas but the fam outvoted me, I didn’t have any Masa Harina anyways. LOL. The King Arthur Flour website was my first stop for a recipe for tortillas. I found their recipe for Simple Tortillas and I was in business.
The Tortillas
The dough comes together quickly. I used shortening.
The tortilla is simple and contains flour, salt, shortening or oil, and water. It comes together quickly and is kind of fun to make, especially if you have a tortilla press. This is a no-brainer fun cooking project with your kids or when without kid but you are abiding by SIP orders for a pandemic. Find the recipe for Simple Tortillas on King Arthur Flour here.
The dough is divided into 8 pieces. Keep them covered or oiled while you press each flat. This is the tricky part, I tried both a cut-up Ziploc bag and parchment in the press and they still stuck a little. I ended up dusting each ball of dough with flour to help keep it from sticking.When the tortilla starts to bubble, flip it over.Ta-Da! Homemade tortillas are thicker and fluffier than commercial products. These were warm, chewy, and tasty-yum!
Carnitas
Carnitas are probably my favorite taco, burrito, anything filling. Love em’ and since I had a pound of pork in the fridge and it was Cinco de Mayo. Yep, no-brainer, Carnitas Tacos for dinner. Found a tasty recipe on Simply Happy Foodie for small-batch carnitas in a 3 quart Instant Pot. I threw it all in my 6-quart pot which worked fine. Next time I am doubling or tripling the recipe, that good.
Delicious Carnitas made in half the time in an Instant Pot!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Carnitas in an Instant Pot
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Equipment
Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
2TbspsOlive or vegetable oil
1tspSalt
1/4tspPepper
1TbspCumin
2tspChili Powder
1tspSmoked Paprika or reg
1tspOregano
1tspCoriander Powder
1/8tspCayenne Powderuse 1/4 tsp or more for spicier
1 to 1-1/2lbsPork Shoulder / Pork Butt* cut in 3" chunks
1/2small Onionchopped
1Bay Leaf
1/2Cinnamon Stickabout 2-3 inches long
4clovesGarlicfinely chopped or minced
1/2cupOrange Juice or Pineapple Juice
Instructions
Combine oil, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, coriander powder, and cayenne pepper in a medium size bowl. Mix well.
Add the pork to the spice mixture and toss to cover all of the meat with the mixture.
Press Saute button on Instant Pot. If you can adjust the heat, use high or more on your pot. When display reads “Hot” add the meat. Cook until browned on all sides, but not done. Remove from pot and set aside.
Add onion, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze (get those brown bits off the bottom) Add a small amount of water to help the deglazing.
Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds, stirring constantly.
Add the pineapple juice or orange juice and stir.
Add the meat back in to the pot and just nestle it down into the juice (it won't be covered).
Place the lid on the pot and set the Steam Release Knob to Sealing.
Cancel the Sauté function by pressing Cancel
Press the Pressure Cook button and set the time to 30 minutes.
When the cooking cycle has ended, let it sit for 15 minutes. It will start naturally releasing the pressure.
Turn the steam release knob to Venting and release any remaining steam/pressure. There may not be any left, and that's okay. When the pin in the lid drops down it is safe to open the lid.
BEFORE you stir, take a spoon or a small measuring cup and skim off the extra fat that is on top and discard. It's a lot easier doing it this way than pouring it into a fat separator!
Stir the meat and transfer just the meat to a sheet pan with sides or ovenproof dish. Reserve sauce. Using two forks, shred the meat and spread on baking sheet.
Broil the carnitas to get those nice crispy bits. Slide them under the broiler until they reach the desired crispness. Watch carefully it will go fast!
Garnish with sour cream, salsa, cilantro, diced white onions or green onions, avocado, and serve with those warm delicious homemade tortillas.
The Salsa
A quick and super easy salsa that starts with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes in a can! I posted this for Cinco de Mayo a couple of years ago. It is my go-to salsa. Find it here!
Mexican Rice
I adapted this recipe from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. It is right up my alley since it is made in a rice cooker, the only way I know how to make rice. It’s easy and delicious. I use half of the quick salsa to make Mexican Rice, and the rest to serve.
Classic Mexican Red Rice made in a rice cooker, so easy, so delicious
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Meican Red Rice, Rice Cooker
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Equipment
Rice Cooker
Ingredients
1½tbspvegetable oil or olive oil
1½cupswhite rice
1cuphomemade quick salsacommercial salsa will work also
1cupchicken broth
salt to tastestart with 1/2 tsp
1½cupsfrozen peas optional
1 /2canroasted chilis 4ozyou know the mild kind in the little cans, optional
1-2 clovesgarlicfinely chopped
1/2 tspground cumin
Instructions
Heat a medium (3 quart) ovenproof saucepan over medium heat.
Add the oil. When it is hot add garlic and fry for 1 minute to soften. Add rice and stir frequently until the grains of rice turn from translucent to milky-white – don’t worry if some of them brown.
Pour sauteed rice mixture into rice cooker pot.
Add the salsa, chicken broth, chilis, ½ tsp salt and cumin. Set to cook.
Fluff the rice and mix in the peas. Adjust the salt to taste, then serve
For some silly reason, it never seems to dawn on me that spring has finally arrived until I see bunches of asparagus in the market. This year is especially strange with the COVID-19 crisis, time just seems to be standing still. On a dreary rainy day last week, I finally escaped to the market and the first display I saw was the asparagus. I cracked a little smile, grateful that spring had arrived even in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.
While at the market, I bought a bunch of asparagus home knowing exactly what I was going to do with it. I had just read a wonderful essay by Eric Kim entitled “The Man Who Hated Eating Alone”. Eric is a senior editor for Food52 and author of the column Table for One. His latest essay on eating alone, (which many of us are experiencing with self-quarantine) intertwined with James Beard’s bio and his recipe for asparagus-delicious, so simple, and perfect for one person.
The recipe calls for asparagus, butter and soy sauce. That’s it. Thinly sliced asparagus, melt a pat of butter in a pan, add a splash of soy sauce, and saute’ for a couple of minutes so it stays crispy. Sprinkle some coarse salt to finish-boom, done. So delicious and so easy. It’s criminal.
But if I think about it, I love most of my vegetables prepared simply. I make my favorite Chinese dish of pea sprouts or spinach ALOT. Just stir-fry greens with lots of garlic, a bit of soy sauce, oyster sauce and ginger and that’s it, ready to scarf it down. Blanch lettuce, Iceberg or Romaine, quickly in water or stock and finish with oyster sauce and oil-done and delicious. Can’t beat that.
So I shouldn’t be surprised that such a simple recipe would be wonderful. I prepped my asparagus two ways, cut on the diagonal and shaved into long thin strips with a peeler. Use Ponzu Soy Sauce or Soy Dashi instead of soy sauce which adds a hit of citrus and a dash of sesame oil for pop. this would also work beautifully with sugar snap peas or snow peas.
A simple delicious recipe from Eric Kim of Food 52
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword asparagus
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 2 minutesminutes
Ingredients
2tablespoonsunsalted butter
8ouncesasparaguscut in paper-thin diagonal slices or shave with peeler
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black peppergarnish
1tablespoonsoy saucesubstitute Ponzu or Soy Dashi
Instructions
Heat a skillet over high heat and melt the butter. Add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce and cook for another minute or so, until the butter and soy sauce bubble up into a sticky glaze. Serve immediately.
Notes
Though written as a serving for one, as a side dish this would feed 2-3 people.
Cool Hand Cuke (Cucumber Salad from A Common Table)
This summer I have been the lucky recipient of what seems like a bushel of cucumbers from the gardens of friends and neighbors. Luckily, I LOVE cucumbers. I saute’ julienned strips of cucumbers for Bi Bim Bap, put crispy slices in sandwiches in place of lettuce, and thrown every salad I toss together. What’s a cheeseboard with an array of dips without cucumbers to serve as a “dip-stick” (lol) for them? So much better than celery if you ask me.
But what is my favorite way to serve cucumbers? As a refreshing cold dish. I posted a simple Korean Cucumber Banchan (side dish) recently that is flavored with soy sauce, chilis, and sesame oil and sprinkled with green onions and Korean chili powder. It’s incredibly easy and TASTEE!
I also love the Smashed Cucumber Salad from A Common Table cookbook (love, love, love). A classic Chinese dish that is perfect on a hot summer day. Cukes, crisp and refreshing are dressed in a blend of soy sauce, vinegar, and chilis. The secret is to lightly smash the cut pieces of cucumber and salt them. The added surface area allows the salt to extract more moisture and the cucumbers to then absorb the dressing. It’s so simple, comes together in minutes, and makes a lovely side dish. I use English or Persian cucumbers, fewer seeds and the skin is much thinner, no peeling necessary! American cucumbers, on the other hand, have a thick waxy skin, which means peeling. They also have more seeds and higher water content. Stick to the English or Persian cucumbers, trust me.
As summer comes to an end and you fire up the barbecue for the last time, this would be a perfect, refreshing side dish.
A cool and refreshing cucumber salad which has its roots in Chinese cuisine.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword cucumber salad
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Ingredients
1lbPersian or Kirby cucumbersunpeeled (2 to 3 small cucumbers if using Persian)
1/2teaspoonkosher saltor more to taste
1 to 2teaspoonsrice vinegarI use 1 teaspoon
1teaspoonsesame oil
1/2 to 1teaspoonsoy sauce1 teaspoon or more to taste, substitute Ponzu, Soy Dashi or Yuzu Soy Sauce
1/4teaspooncrushed red pepper flakesto taste or use Korean chili powder, Gochugaru
Instructions
Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then into 1-inch pieces or cut at a diagonal and rotate cucumber 1/4 turn, cutting angled 1-inch pieces.
Place the pieces cut-side down on a cutting board. Working with a few pieces at a time, lay the broad side of a wide chef's knife or cleaver on top of the cucumbers, and carefully use the palm of your free hand to smash down lightly on the blade.
Place the smashed cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle them evenly with the salt. Set aside until cucumbers release water, 20 to 30 minutes.
Stir 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and red pepper flakes together and add to drained cucumbers. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. Let sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour (*note: the salad will taste better with more time, so if time allows, refrigerate and marinate for 6 hours or longer to let the flavors develop.
Notes
The key for crispy cucumbers is to smash and salt the cukes!
Cool as a Cucumber Banchan (Simple Asian Cucumber Salad)
Are you like me? I hate making salads. I love salads, but prepping veggies, not so much. I only have enough bandwidth to prep maybe 1-2 fixings for a salad. Which means my salads are pretty darn boring. Helloooo, Banchan. Banchan are little appetizers plates that come with every Korean meal. Banchan can include seafood like fishcake but are generally comprised of vegetables such as soybeans, radishes, potatoes or CUCUMBERS (my favorite). It’s my veggie salvation. Instead of a salad, I pull out my jar of kimchi or pickled radishes, slice some cucumbers and splash a soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onion dressing on the cucumbers. So refreshing and delicious. Yep, rockin’ the banchan.
One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is the Japanese Behringer mandoline. I purchased mine when I was in school in Los Angeles a long time ago, and I mean a LONG time ago. Thirty years later it’s still going strong, it’s a great option if you don’t have a mandoline. It is sturdy, inexpensive and apparently very durable (I can vouch for that), find it here.
I love this little salad. It is stupid easy to make and delicious. I use soy dashi, (a combination of soy sauce and dashi, a fish-based stock) when I want a smokey, slightly briny taste to the cucumbers. Would be a lovely side dish with the Gochujang-Lime Salmon or the Braised Pork Belly rice bowl.
1cucumberJapanese, English, Persian about 1 1/2 cup sliced for 1 cucumber
Dressing
1Tbssoy sauce or Soy Dashi
2Tbsrice vinegar
1Tbssugar
1/2tspKorean red chili powder
1tspsesame oil
Garnish
1/4tspsesame seeds
2green onionschopped
Instructions
Slice cucumbers into thin slices. Around 1/8 inch (3 mm).
Mix soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar in a bowl. Pour soy vinegar into the bowl with cucumbers.
Then, add 1/2 tsp chili powder and sesame seeds. Mix and taste. Add more chili powder if you want. Doing it in this order allows you to taste and control the amount of chili powder based on how spicy you want it.
Add chopped green onions and mix again.
YOU ARE DONE!! Serve immediately for the freshest and crunchiest cucumbers. You can also let it sit for 10-15 minutes for the cucumbers to absorb the dressing before serving.
(Grilled Peppers and Torn Mozzarella Panzanella) Smittened Again
This past weekend we had dinner with our “Gourmet Club”. A group of us, 5 couples, started the club when our kids were in preschool. It was a way of committing to a grown-up event, enjoying a nice meal and great conversation, sans kids, balloons, and crayons.
Initially, our goal was once a month, and we would each take a turn at hosting. The host picked the menu and made the main dish. The other couples provided the rest.
Well, with baseball, hockey, soccer practices, piano lessons, homework, not to mention work…monthly became every couple of months. As the kids went in different directions, so did we, and our dinners became much more sporadic. The old adage, time flies rings true. It has been at least 8 years since our last get-together 🤦🏻♀️. Our kids are now all in their twenties…I gotta chew on that for a minute, so it was time to have another dinner. We were long overdue.
Good Food, Great Friends
We talked, laughed, bragged, and complained about our kids, parent’s prerogative. We drank way too many Mai Tais and ate way too much food. Besides Glen’s traditional toast, the best part of the evening was just being together again and enjoying each other’s company.
The days of “gourmet” meals are long gone, perhaps a reflection of where we are in our lives now, the food is unfussy, delicious, and comforting. We were such blowhards back in the day, now, if we want a fancy-schmancy meal, we’re going out. Casual is probably not quite accurate as our buffet included a platter of warm Roasted Cauliflower with a Raisin Caper Sauce from Serious Eats, a classic Greek Salad of garden tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, and onions, and a delicious stuffed pork roast.
I know, y’all are thinking, ok Deb…What did you bring to the table?
As I was looking for inspiration, a mouthwatering Grilled Peppers and Torn Mozzarella Panzanella popped up on my feed from Smitten Kitchen. Deb Perelman rocks. Maybe it’s a Deb connection, but this isn’t the first time a Smitten Kitchen recipe has popped up when I needed something delicious.
This dish couldn’t be easier. Why? Peppers, red onions, and a nice crusty bread are tossed in garlic, oil and GRILLED and…yay for me, hubby does ALL the GRILLING in our house. Yep. I prepped the veggies and bread and handed them off to Wes. Just like magic, while I was eating Bon Bons (jk), they came back perfectly grilled. Call it the grillin’ and chillin’ method. He grills while I chill-perfect! All I had to do was make a simple vinaigrette, let the peppers soften, tear up the bread and mozzarella, and toss it all in a bowl with the dressing, fini, and Panzanella ready to go. So good, so easy. Folks, you need to file this under “so gonna make this”.
1medium red onionpeeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
3tablespoonsolive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
My Part:
2tablespoonssherry vinegar
1garlic cloveminced
1/2teaspoonsugar
1tablespoonolive oil
1tablespoonscapersdrained (rinsed if salted)
4ouncesmozzarellatorn into bite-sized pieces, or 4 ounces bocconcini
Fresh herbs — snipped chivesbasil, or parsley or a mix thereof — to finish (optional)
Instructions
First Part is Mine: Place bread, pepper halves, and onion wedges in a large bowl and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle 1 teaspoon kosher salt and many grinds (or about 1/4 teaspoon) black pepper. Use your hands to toss everything together until oil coats everything.
Part I Get to Ignore: Heat your grill to medium-high. Spread peppers and onions across grill grates and grill, lid down, flipping as needed until onions are charred in spots (they’ll be done first) and peppers are blistered and blackened in many spots and beginning to soften. Transfer onions to a plate as they’re done; transfer peppers to a bowl. Use bread in bowl to swipe up any excess salt, pepper, and/or oil in it and place slices on grill. Grill until toasted on both sides. Transfer to plate with onions.
Back to Me: Place foil or a lid over peppers in bowl to trap heat. Once they’re cool enough to handle, remove as much of the skin as you can. Cut peppers into 1/2- to 1-inch wide strips.
In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together sherry vinegar, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, sugar, about 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (and more to taste), and garlic. Add capers. Add peppers to the bowl and let them marinate for as little as 5 minutes or up to a day, even. The longer they souse, the more pickled they’ll taste. After 5 minutes, however, they still have plenty of flavor.
To assemble and serve: Right before you’re ready to serve the salad, add onions to the bowl with the peppers. Tear bread into chunks and add to bowl, along with mozzarella. Mix gently, making sure the dressing coats the bread. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Finish with basil and chives.
I received Sam Kass’s book, Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World to review QUITE a while ago. I wasn’t too busy and it wasn’t because I didn’t feel like looking at it. On the contrary, I really liked the book and kept finding recipes I wanted to try before posting. For those of you not familiar with Sam, he was the personal chef to President Obama’s family and worked with FLOTUS on her healthy eating initiative. Yes, I am biased and really wanted to like this book (plus he is easy on the eyes-I didn’t just write that, did I?). Luckily I can, in good conscience say, its a winner.
Work in progress. Yep, all those fruits and vegetables were hidden in the bins below.
I love the stories about the White House, the first family and Sam’s tips on healthy eating and cooking. The first change I implemented was rearranging my fridge. I moved my fruits and vegetables to bowls and see-through containers. Now, when I open the door my weekend farmer’s market bounty is staring me in the face instead of hidden in the “the crisper”. No longer out of sight, out of mind. Be honest, who hasn’t pulled out an unidentifiable fuzzy green object that might have once been an apple or orange, or worse a forgotten cucumber that morphed into a slimy swamp creature…ewwwww.
Those ignored apples stashed in the crisper? Placed front and center, a visible “I’m here” reminder, turned into a couple of delicious apple crisps.
The recipes are straightforward, uncomplicated, some healthy, some homey, some both. Right up my alley. I LOVE sweet potatoes so a recipe for a trio of dips/toppings for baked sweet potatoes caught my eye. It reminded me of an absolutely scrumptious charred sweet potato with a bone marrow Salsa Negra appetizer I had at Cala in San Francisco. The potatoes were tender, smoky and sweet. Borrowing fromSmitten Kitchen, I slow roasted the potatoes in the oven and finished them under the broiler for that nice char. The toppings, an herbalicious sour cream, and a brown butter orange juice were a snap to prepare. I nixed the bacon dip and made the topping for Kaddo, an Afghani dish of braised pumpkin topped with two sauces, a tomato meat sauce, and a garlic-mint yogurt sauce. The sweet potato stood in for the pumpkin, pretty yummy. It deserves its own post which is coming soon.
4-6Whole Roasted Sweet PotatoesI used Smitten Kitchen recipe see link
Brown Butter-Orange Juice
6tablespoonsunsalted buttercut into chunks
1/3cupfresh orange juice
Kosher salt
Herbed Sour Cream
3/4cupsour cream
2tablespoonsthinly sliced fresh chives or green onions
1tablespoonchopped fresh thyme
1tablespoonlemon juice
Kosher salt
Instructions
While sweet potatoes are roasting you will have plenty of time to throw these sauces together.
Brown butter-orange juice
Place butter chunks in saucepan, preferably a light color one so you can see the butter turn color. Place over medium heat and let the butter melt and bubble, swirl the pot occasionally. The butter will foam and then start to color. Watch carefully, the milk particles will turn a nice toasty brown, remove from the heat and pour butter into a heatproof bowl.
Stir in orange juice and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Make a slit lengthwise in each potato, season with more salt. Smoosh it with a fork and drizzle the sauce on the sweet potato.
Serve immediately.
Herbed Sour Cream
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, chives, thyme and lemon juice. Mix until well blended. Season with a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Split potato, season with salt and place a generous dollop of the sour cream in the potato.
Serve immediately.
Next, Butternut Squash and Kale Fried Rice. The sweetness of the squash meshed well with the saltiness of the bacon and the slight bite of the kale. Surprisingly good and easy to make. Feel free to use any kind of rice, use a mix of green onions and yellow onions and season to taste with soy sauce. DON’T SKIP THE EGG.
Leftover roast chicken? Sam’s tasty recipe for Chicken Salad was the perfect answer. Red onion, crispy green beans, fresh thyme, and mayo to bind. A breeze to put together. For a touch of sweetness, grapes or diced apples would be a nice addition.
How could I not try the dish featured on his cover? Braised Chicken with Olives and Oranges. Bold, bright flavors, sweet from the oranges and tangy from the olives, like tennis a love match. Even better the second day when the flavors mellowed and melded together.
You can see why it took me so long to review!
His Slow Roasted Pork served as the base for a couple of quick and delicious meals. I still had plenty left despite continually pulling shreds of pork off the bone and popping it into my mouth.
Slow Roasted Pork out of the oven
First meal-CARNITAS. Topped with a cabbage slaw, homemade salsa, cilantro, and onions on warm corn tortillas, darn fine tacos.
Carnitas Tacos
Second meal-Rigatoni with Pork Ragu. Onions, tomatoes, slow roasted pork and a handful of grated Parmesan, so simple and satisfying.
So, verdict? Wonderful, simple, straightforward cookbook with some sage advice.I plan to use this book a lot. Hope you will too.
A quick and super easy salsa that starts with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes in a can! I posted this for Cinco de Mayo a couple of years ago. It is my go-to salsa. Find it 
Next, Butternut Squash and Kale Fried Rice. The sweetness of the squash meshed well with the saltiness of the bacon and the slight bite of the kale. Surprisingly good and easy to make. Feel free to use any kind of rice, use a mix of green onions and yellow onions and season to taste with soy sauce. DON’T SKIP THE EGG.
