Archive | March, 2011

Is it Summer Yet? Spicy Mexican Chopped Salad with Crab

30 Mar

 

If you’ve spent more than a week reading my blog, you already know that I’m seriously into salads. In fact, I’ve proclaimed my love for the salad bar many times, as it’s a great place to try new things and discover new flavor combinations.

This Spicy Mexican Chopped one of my favorite summer salads. Yeah yeah, I know — it’s not summer yet. But pretending that it is and making summer-inspired recipes can’t hurt, right? This salad is great topped with grilled chicken or fish, but I thought it would be fun to add crab meat this time — something a bit sweet to balance out the spice from the cumin and jalapeno. The salad itself (sans crab) is great for picnics and summer parties as it doesn’t have any mayo, cheese or other heat and sun-averse ingredients, plus fresh veggies are always better in the summer anyway — especially corn!

So summer, if you could please make your appearance now, I’d be very grateful. Until then, I’ll continue making this salad. XOXO.

Spicy Mexican Chopped Salad with Crab (makes four meal-sized salads)

What you need:

  • The juice of one lime
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups of frozen corn (or fresh if you’re lucky enough to have it available this time of year), thawed
  • 1/2 a jalapeno, seeded and chopped into small pieces
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into chunks
  • 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped into chunks
  • 9 ounce bag of baby spinach
  • 8 ounces of lump crab meat
  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

How you do it:

  1. In a large bowl, combine lime juice and cumin. Whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  2. To the same bowl, add the beans, corn, jalapeno, bell pepper and tomato. Toss to combine. (I like letting this mixture marinate overnight for added flavor, but that’s completely optional.)
  3. Before serving, toss the spinach with the veggie and dressing mixture. Divide evenly into four portions. Top each with the crab meat and a grind or two of freshly cracked black pepper.

Melty Peanut Butter French Toast Sandwiches

28 Mar

I recently got into a conversation with my coworkers about whether or not peanut butter is considered a food. It started when I declared it as one of my favorites, and someone said “peanut butter isn’t a food — it’s a condiment.” I guess I can see that being true, unless you’re one of those “I-eat-peanut-butter-straight-out-of-the-jar” types like I am. In which case, it’s clearly a food.

However you classify peanut butter, its sweet and saltiness makes it one of my favorite things. I still eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch on a regular basis, and chocolate peanut butter is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. I prefer my peanut butter of the natural variety (no added sugar, please) and the crunchier, the better.

I came up with this recipe one morning while trying to decide what to eat for breakfast. I love the way peanut butter melts on hot toast, so I decided to crank it up a bit by making it a sandwich and cooking it up french toast style. The ooey gooey peanut butter and honey center is seriously awesome with the egg, toasty crunch of the bread. The banana is also a nice touch, but I’ll be honest — I added it to make me feel less guilty about the whole thing. And guess what? It worked.

I think we’ve got another winner to add to my peanut butter recipe arsenal.

When it comes to peanut butter, are you chunky all the way or does smooth make you groove?

Melty Peanut Butter French Toast Sandwiches (makes 1 sandwich, but can be doubled, tripled, etc.)

What you need:

  • 2 slices of whole grain bread
  • 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Half a small banana, thinly sliced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon half and half or milk
  • A generous sprinkle of ground cinnamon

How you do it:

  1. Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
  2. Make a sandwich as you normally would, layering peanut butter, banana and honey between the slices of bread.
  3. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix the egg, half and half and cinnamon. Dunk the sandwich in the egg, flipping over to saturate both pieces of the bread.
  4. Add the sandwich to the skillet and cook for approximately 2 minutes per side or until bread is browned, the egg mixture is cooked and the peanut butter is melty. If you really want to indulge, add some butter to the pan before cooking the sandwich.
  5. Serve sandwich with a side of maple syrup and topped with powdered sugar, if desired.

Coconut Ginger Fried Rice with Seared Mahi Mahi

25 Mar

A few years ago, good friends of mine moved to San Francisco. Upon visiting them for the first time, I fell in love with the city. The beautiful scenery, unique people, and delicious food (among other things) completely won me over. While my heart will forever be in Chicago, there’s a part of me that has a serious crush on San Francisco.

While there, we went to Burma Superstar, a fantastic little restaurant that serves — you guessed it — Burmese cuisine. Burma is a country in Southeast Asia, with Thailand to the southeast and India to the northwest. The food is a mix of those cultures and is full of flavor and completely fantastic. We ordered several dishes, but my favorite was the coconut rice. Probably the most simple out of everything we tried, the creamy, chewy texture and amazing coconut flavor totally blew me away. Ever since then, I’ve had a special affinity for coconut rice, and Burma Superstar remains one of my all-time favorite restaurants.

When I saw this Coconut Ginger Fried Rice recipe on Sassy Radish, one of my favorite food blogs, I knew I had to try it. I loved the idea of turning an already awesome dish into something even more special. To make it a full meal, I seared some mahi mahi fillets — my favorite fish — to go along with it. Let’s just say this dish did not disappoint. It’s just like a vacation on a plate.

Until we meet again, San Francisco…

Coconut Ginger Fried Rice with Seared Mahi Mahi (serves 2 with leftover rice)

Recipe from Sassy Radish

What you need:

  • 2 5-ounce mahi mahi fillets, deboned
  • 1 cup uncooked rice (I used brown jasmine)
  • 2 1/4 cups coconut milk (I used a mix of full fat and light)
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons ginger, finely grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
  • 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Sriracha
  • Juice of 1/2 lime

How you do it:

For the coconut rice:

  1. Put the coconut milk and rice in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.
  2. Once the rice is done cooking, preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil and heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add the coconut rice and cook for four minutes, stirring constantly. Add white parts of scallions and half the cilantro; cook for two minutes. Add the fish sauce; cook for a minute. Add Sriracha, green parts of scallions and remaining cilantro. Squeeze the juice of half a lime on top, and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

For the fish:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat an oven safe pan over high heat. Salt, pepper and lightly oil the flesh side of the fish. Put the fish in the skillet, flesh side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Flip fish over onto the skin side and put the skillet in the oven. Cook for 15 minutes or until the fish is flaky and cooked through. (Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of your fish.)

Baked Tortelloni with Quad Tomato Truffle Sauce

23 Mar

I really love tomatoes. Love. So much so that in the summer, I’ll often eat them like apples with just a sprinkling of salt. But that’s in the summer. In March, the tomatoes aren’t nearly as delicious.

Luckily, there are tons of other tomato-y products that are pretty tasty year-round, like sundried tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato juice. I happened to have all of these things in my pantry, so I decided to create a sauce by combining them with a few ripe tomatoes, some basil, garlic and truffle salt. Yes. Truffle salt. If you don’t have any in your kitchen, you should. It’s an easy way to make any dish –especially pasta — that much more special.

I’m actually really impressed by how fresh the sauce tasted, and it doesn’t get much easier than putting everything in the blender. You could easily just toss the sauce with pasta and call it a day, but I much prefer my pasta baked and cheesy. Mmm…cheese…

Baked Tortelloni with Quad Tomato Truffle Sauce (serves 2)

What you need:

  • 9 oz package of fresh tortelloni
  • 2 tomatoes from the vine, seeded and cut into chunks
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 5 oil-packed sundried tomatoes
  • 6 tablespoons tomato juice
  • 3 large basil leaves, plus more for serving
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon truffle salt
  • Freshly cracked pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Parmesan cheese

How you do it:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cook tortelloni in salted boiling water for a minute or two less than the package instructions. Drain, put in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, put tomatoes, tomato paste, sundried tomatoes, tomato juice, basil, garlic, truffle salt and pepper (to taste) in a blender and whirl until well combined.
  4. Add sauce to the cooked tortelloni and gently toss to combine. Add mixture to a small baking dish, top with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes and broil for a minute or two or until the top becomes slightly brown.
  5. Serve topped with additional Parmesan cheese, basil and freshly cracked pepper.

Sugary Sweet Cake Donut Muffins

21 Mar

 

Recently, I’ve been very obsessed with the new social site Pinterest — a virtual pinboard that allows you to “pin” images from across the web and save them to your own personal board. You can also follow other Pinterest users and repin their images. For visual people like me, it’s a pretty awesome way to bookmark the things you like and discover new favorites.

I came across an image for this recipe on Pinterest and it caught my eye because, really, who doesn’t like donuts? The no-fry concept was appealing to me, so I figured I’d give it a try. The original recipe had a cinnamon sugar coating, but I prefer powdered sugar, so that’s how I made mine. Glaze would be good, too.

Since these are baked, they’re obviously not going to be exactly the same as a fried donut (a girl can dream), but the cakey texture is pretty dead on. They’re as fun to make as they are to eat — this one’s definitely a keeper.

Sugary Sweet Cake Donut Muffins (makes 12)

Adapted from How To: Simplify

What you need:

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

How you do it:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a smaller bowl (or large liquid measuring cup), combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry, and fold until just combined.
  • Grease a muffin tin and distribute the batter equally between the 12 cups. Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, put the powdered sugar in a large bowl. Remove the muffins from the tin while they’re still hot, toss in the powdered sugar (I tossed each muffin twice), and set aside on a rack to cool.

Kale and Potato Frittata with Basil Oil Drizzle

18 Mar

I used to really dislike eggs. In fact, I disliked most breakfast foods with the exception of pancakes, waffles and cereal. A lot has changed since then, and now I’m a huge fan of breakfast food — eggs included.

The masses seem to go back and fourth on whether or not eggs are good for you, but I think the nutritional information speaks for itself. One large egg has 70 calories, 5 grams of fat and 6 grams of protein. Sure, they’re high in cholesterol (70% daily value), but as long as you are active and live a healthy lifestyle, I’m not sure there’s much to worry about there. Plus, there aren’t many foods more versatile than the egg.

I loved the idea of a potato and kale frittata because it’s a well-rounded, meatless dish that’s easy to prepare. I actually made it for dinner, but it’d be perfect for breakfast or lunch, too.

Tasty.

Kale and Potato Frittata with Basil Oil Drizzle (serves 4)

Adapted from Self Magazine

What you need:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 small bunch of kale (mine was 5 stems), trimmed, blanched in boiling water for about 3 minutes, squeezed dry and chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 cups boiled diced yukon gold potatoes (about 3)
  • 4 whole eggs (Note: this may vary a bit depending on the size of your pan)
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for sprinkling on top
  • Salt and freshly cracked pepper

For the basil oil:

  • A handful of basil leaves
  • Olive oil

How you do it:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a medium oven-safe skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add kale and garlic; stir 5 minutes. Add potatoes and stir to combine.
  • Whisk eggs, egg whites, 2 tablespoons of water and paprika in a small bowl, and add to the skillet. If you find that you need more eggs at this point, whisk up more and add them. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, and let the eggs cook (don’t stir them) over medium-low heat for one 1 minute.
  • Transfer skillet to oven; bake until eggs are set, about 8 minutes. Switch on the broiler and let the eggs brown for an additional minute. Remove from oven and let cool for a minute or two.
  • Meanwhile, make the basil oil by blending basil leaves and olive oil in a blender until well pureed. If desired, strain mixture through a cheesecloth or coffee filter into an air-tight container. Note: Can be kept for about 10 days.
  • Slice the frittata into 4 pieces and drizzle each with a bit of the basil oil. Top with an extra dusting of paprika, if desired.

Baking as Chemistry, Plus Link Love

16 Mar

Growing up with a PhD chemist as a father, I always tried to be a good scholar of the scientific arts. Throughout high school, I took “enriched” biology and chemistry classes in an attempt to impress him. However, as genuine as my attempts were, I ended up doing more harm than good — I was in way over my head. Asking him for help with my homework almost always ended in a shouting match.

“How do you not remember this stuff?” he’d ask. “We went over this last time.”

“Because I’m not a freakin’ science genius, that’s why!” I’d shout, slamming my book and running off in a tizzy.

And although we may not recognize it as such, baking is a form of chemistry. It relies on the interaction of various ingredients and the way they behave with each other. It’s also very sensitive — flub a measurement and your tasty experiment is screwed.

In the home kitchen, there are two kinds of people — cooks and bakers. For cooks, recipes are simply a guide to the final destination. For bakers on the other hand, recipes provide a precise roadmap. I consider myself to be pretty good at both.

And luckily, I’m a lot better at baking than I ever was at chemistry. Well, “real” chemistry, anyway. This almost makes me feel better about the shouting matches I had with my dad, the exams I nearly failed, and the Bunsen burner I couldn’t figure out how to light. So, I guess my dad’s attempts to whip me into chemistry shape didn’t completely fall by the wayside. I can certainly whip up a mean baked good.

And so can these folks, who I’d like to give a little link love to today. They’re seriously schooling me in the baking department and I’ve been inspired by their creations. I dare you not to have sugary daydreams about these desserts — they’re amazing!

Lemon Loaf from Pass the Sushi

Doused in lemon syrup and topped with lemon glaze, this beautiful loaf can pass as a dessert or breakfast. I like that.

6-Layer Rich Chocolate Malted & Toasted Marshmallow Cake from Sweetapolita

Look at this! It’s beyond amazing. I am — for once — at a loss for words.

Sweet and Salty Dark Fudge Brownies with Pretzel Bites and Peanut Butter Frosting from Okie Dokie Artichokie

Fudge? Yes. Pretzels. Yes. Peanut butter? Yes. Need I say more? The perfect flavors, plus the pretzel nugget on top is super cute.

Cookies ‘N Cream Oreo Fudge Brownies from Kevin & Amanda

Yep, they went there. There are Oreos baked into these brownies. Oreos! Brilliant!

So, which are you? A better cook or a better baker? What have you seen on the interwebs lately that inspired you? Please share!

Wakey Wakey Breakfast Muffins

14 Mar

 

Oof. Monday. By far my least favorite day of the week (for obvious reasons), but knowing that I’m in for a rough few days at work amplifies the Monday pain quotient that much more. Guess I should be thankful that my boss gave me a warning? Eh, maybe.

Luckily I had a great (albeit fast) weekend in Cincinnati, celebrating the marriage of my beautiful cousin Jamie and her new husband, Justin. The weather was lovely, the ceremony was perfect and the reception was full of family, friends and love. And they had a photo booth!

To help transition back into work mode (and avoid a serious “case of the Mondays”), I made a batch of these muffins as a breakfast treat to kick off the week. But don’t let the word “treat” fool you — these are actually pretty healthy! They’re made with bananas and yogurt rather than oil and butter, and packed with fruit, nuts, whole grains and omega 3s. And yes, they also happen to taste really good, too.

Take that, Monday! (Um, where’s my coffee…?)

Wakey Wakey Breakfast Muffins (makes 18)

Adapted from Cooking Light

What you need:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon wheat germ
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup plain fat free yogurt
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups dried fruit, chopped (I use apricots and raisins)
  • 3/4 cup nuts, chopped (I used almonds, which I toasted beforehand)

How you do it:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line muffin tins with paper cups, and lightly spray the inside of each with cooking spray.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients (whole wheat flour through salt). In a separate medium bowl, combine the yogurt, mashed bananas and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the chopped fruit and nuts. Fold until just combined. Don’t worry if your batter looks really thick — it’s supposed to be.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Sausages and Mustardy Roasted Potatoes with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

11 Mar

First of all, it’s Brussels sprouts. With an s. And a capital B. And as a writer, I find these to be very important details. You should, too.

Another important detail is that I happen to love said Brussels sprouts. In fact, when dining out, my husband can usually predict which dish I’ll order based on whether or not it includes Brussels sprouts. Seriously, it’s weird, but I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with. My childhood self is frowning shamefully upon me.

I was automatically drawn to this side dish recipe from The Kitchn, which featured B-sprouts, potatoes and bacon. However, I wanted to make more of a meal out of it, so I added some roasted sausages, more sprouts (of course) and a sour cream mustard sauce. The final result was one dish meal that was flavorful and filling. Pretty sproutacular (yeah, I went there).

Sausages and Mustardy Roasted Potatoes with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

Adapted from The Kitchn

What you need:

  • 2 chicken spicy Italian sausages (or whatever kind you like)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard, divided
  • 3 or 4 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4″ cubes
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
  • 8 ounces of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • Salt and pepper

How you do it:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of mustard. Toss the potatoes, shallot, and bacon in the bowl until evenly coated with the mustard and oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Spread the potato mixture in a 13″ x 9″ baking dish and roast for 10 minutes.
  2. After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and give the mixture a good stir, making sure everything is cooking evenly. Prick the sausages a few times with a fork, place on top of the potato mixture, and put back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, make the mustard sauce by combining 2 tablespoons of mustard and 2 tablespoons of sour cream in a small bowl. Set aside.
  4. After the sausages have been cooking for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and add the Brussels sprouts; gently stirring so that they are coated in some of the rendered bacon fat. Continue roasting everything — sausages included — for about 20 more minutes, until the sausages and potatoes are cooked through and the bacon is crispy. Season to taste. Top each portion with the sour cream and mustard sauce.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans and Gorgonzola

9 Mar

 

I should have added the word “random” to the title of this post because that’s how this recipe came about — if you even want to call it that. (Hence the lack of pictures. Sad.)

I eat salads often — especially for lunch. And since they’re always a part of my meal rotation, I’m constantly thinking about different ways to prepare them. You know — keep it interesting. So last week, when I made that Sweet and Spicy Hash, I had some of the potato mixture left over. Naturally I decided to throw it on top of some greens, top it with balsamic vinaigrette and call it a day. But wait — it was good! Really good. So this week, I decided to replicate that idea (with some enhancements, of course) for lunches throughout the week. Here’s how I did it.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans and Gorgonzola

What you need:

  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 3/4″ chunks
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Salad greens
  • Black beans, rinsed and drained
  • Crumbled gorgonzola
  • Balsamic vinaigrette

How you do it:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place sweet potatoes and onion on a large baking sheet. Add olive oil, salt and pepper; toss to combine. Roast, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are cooked through and slightly browned; approximately 20 – 25 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Top salad greens with potato and onion mixture, black beans, crumbled gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette. Finish with a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper.

Note: Potato and onion mixture makes enough for about 4 meal-sized salads.

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