Archive | Recipes RSS feed for this section

Festive Turkey Salad (With sweetness AND crunch!)

25 Nov

Happy Thanksgiving all! Regular readers will recognize this post from LAST Thanksgiving!!! See you soon; I am off to make broth…

My favorite quick dress-up for food that takes me from workaday-dull to bright and shiny: dried cranberries and walnuts.

My take-to-work breakfast? Plain nonfat yogurt, swirled up with some honey, a handful of cranberries and another handful of walnuts (bought in big bags at Costco – they last and last). Crunchy, creamy and sweet – oh yeah.

At home, I add them to spike up instant oatmeal. I also substitute half the raisins in oatmeal raisin cookies with cranberries for a brighter flavor and add walnuts for crunch and depth.

Boring salad? Add handfuls of cranberries and walnuts and make it fancy-schmancy (especially good with orange/clementine segments, red onion and feta – separately or in combination).

Today I incorporated them into my leftover turkey salad. Zippy!

Leftover Turkey Salad

leftover turkey, removed from bone, gristly bits removed, and chopped into small squares (2-3 cups)

handful dried cranberries

handful chopped walnuts

one celery stalk, chopped fine (mostly because I don’t really like celery)

half a red onion, finely chopped

4 -5 Tbs mayo and nonfat plain yogurt in whatever ratio you prefer

1 Tbs brown or yellow mustard

Mix all together in a bowl and serve in sandwiches or over salad.

Notes: Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon), blueberries and Concord grapes, are the only commercially-grown native North American fruits! They are loaded with vitamin C and dietary fiber and manganese and other good things and may very well help prevent some urinary tract infections in women, but the jury is still out on that.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Party Snacks: Endives, Smoked Salmon, and Capers (Endivias con Salmón)

22 Nov

My parents usher in every holiday season with a Tapas & Tertulia evening for some of their closest, most worldly-wise, food-loving friends from a number of Spanish-speaking countries. Tapas are the little dishes that the Spanish nosh on while drinking small glasses of beer or wine. A tertulia is a convivial gathering – of intellect or music or literature or other sociable human tricks.This evening is one I always look forward to; the conversation is wide-ranging and stimulating, the laughter hearty and the appreciation of food is foremost.

I helped my folks by making some of the mainstays of the tapas/buffet table – tortilla española, tortilla Torcal (with chorizo and ham), yuca en escabeche.

While searching for something new for the cold course, I found this in Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain, by Penelope Casas, a hero of Spanish cuisine in America and a longtime inspiration around here. The endive makes a handy tray for the salmon, while salmon is made mild by the lemon dressing. One of my adaptations was to add capers, a natural for this combination, both as flavor and visual punctuation. Very pretty, very fresh, very handy, very, very fast and easy!

Please look at the photo and know that endive can mean any of several members of the Compositae family of chicories: escarole, chicory itself and radicchio, for example. Belgian endive (Chicorium intybus) is the one you want here. It looks like a tightly closed tulip; you cut off the bottom and take off the scoop-shaped petals, one by one.

Smoked Salmon and Endive Scoops (Endívias con salmón)

4 oz smoked salmon, sliced into strips

12 Belgian endive leaves, clean and unblemished

3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1.5-2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Salt

Freshly ground pepper (white, if you’ve got)

Approximately 50 small capers, drained

Lay a piece of salmon on each of the endive leaves. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the filled endive leaves. Scatter capers over each scoop (3-4 per scoop). Serve immediately or keep chilled (for no more than an hour as they can start to dry out).

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Walnut Toffee Triangles (freezeable, portable holiday deliciousness)

20 Nov

When Marianne called me the other day to start some holiday baking I thought “What!?! Already!?! It’s too early!” But Marianne is a woman who knows what she’s about in the kitchen; she will have a full house on Thanksgiving and has no time to mess around. 

Even though it seemed like madness, I knew there had to be a method behind it.

And of course there was. Like I said, Marianne doesn’t mess about.

These Walnut Toffee Triangles were pretty easy to make (we did two batches in the oven at the same time; one tray for me and one for her), have a taste and texture reminiscent of baklava without the gooiness or Spanish turrón without the jaw-breaking stickiness. One batch gives you 4 dozen pretty and sophisticated little cookies AND they freeze beautifully, so if you pack them right, you can just pull a few out of the freezer anytime you need a rich dessert. And they are rich, just one or two will satisfy that need for a little something naughty with your coffee (or in my case, tea)!

So, if you are a busy, busy person (and who isn’t these days?), these triangles give you a lot of return for the time investment. And when you bake with friends, well, it’s that much better, isn’t it? Bring on the holidays!!!!

Walnut Toffee Triangles

(you need an electric mixer for this one)

Crust

½ Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

½ Cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

1.5 Cups unsifted all-purpose flour

Topping

1 Cup packed light brown sugar

½ Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

¼ Cup honey

½ Cup light cream

4 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line bottom and sides of a 13x9x2 baking pan with aluminum foil, extending the ends of the foil beyond the two short pan sides.

Crust: In a medium bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in sugar and egg yolk until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour until mixture is smooth. (We didn’t find much difference between a worked dough and a less worked dough, so it’s up to you). Press mixture evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Topping: While crust is baking, in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar, butter and honey; heat until butter is melted. Bring to boil; let boil three minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in light cream and walnuts. Pour mixture evenly over prepared crust. Return to oven. Continue to bake for 19-21 minutes or until top is bubbling.

Cool completely in pan over wire rack. Lift foil by short sides and transfer bar to cutting board. Invert onto wire rack; carefully remove foil. Reinvert bar onto cutting board. Cut crosswise into ten equal strips. Cut each strip crosswise diagonally into five equal triangles (4 dozen cookies).

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Mango Tango Salsa!

16 Nov

It was almost too late for that poor mango, bought in a frenzy of nostalgia for the tree my grandmother planted in her backyard in Mayagüez, a Puerto Rican town celebrated for its delicious, juicy, juicy, sweet, meaty, fiber-free mangos. In June, those suckers drop out of the sky and plop heavily onto the ground where you have to get them before the other critters do. They fall in such quantities that I spent many mornings cutting, slicing, peeling and freezing – you can’t possibly eat them all as they ripen. Friends in San Juan used to love to see me arrive with freezer bags full of Mayagüez mangos; they’d have the blender, booze and ice ready for action before I could even lock my car and get to the front door.

No such welcoming committee for this mango, even after its long journey from Brazil or Mexico or somesuch warm place, after its boring days in a chilly supermarket produce aisle next to a basket of equally foreign avocados, after too many days in the pale fall light of my southern exposure window, defended from attackers by its only company: several very busy spiders and a valiant Venus Flytrap. No, this poor mango was in dire need of attention and accessorizing, as its best days were behind it.

So, Mango Salsa it was, quick and dirty. Good excuse to eat blue corn tortilla chips, which are a weakness of mine (Waterloo to any attempt to get bikini ready) and to further prove that the Spanish love for fruit and cheese is grounded in pure genius and has infinite possibilities. The salsa sweet-tartness and the tortilla crunch just beg to be completed with some salty squeaky cheese – Queso Blanco (the firm kind of Latin white cheese) and Monterey Jack are my choices, but salted mozzarella would likely work also.

So here it is – a one bowl operation, served up in a margarita glass, a neglected mango finally loved up the way it should be.

Mango Tango Salsa

1 cup mango, chopped into small chunks*

1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded (or not) and chopped into small chunks

3 Tbs red onion, minced

1 Tbs mango-orange juice (or mango or orange)

2 tsp chipotle in adobo paste (spoon it off the chipotles, but don’t include the peppers themselves)

3 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 pinch salt

Put all ingredients into a small bowl. Mix thoroughly, add seasonings to taste, cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with sliced Caribbean white cheese, salted mozzarella or Monterey Jack and tortilla chips.

* To cut up a mango, hold it on its side lengthwise on a cutting board and choose a spot about a third of the way in. You want to slice down on either side of the seed so you have two bowls.  Score the flesh of each bowl like a checkerboard and turn it inside out (we call this a porcupine). Slice off the chunks and dice as needed. Yo can also cut flesh off the seed (or just eat the flesh off the seed yourself- you are the cook after all and deserve the treat!)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Crispy Oven-Fried Sweet Potatoes (new and improved)

12 Nov

If I couldn’t oven-fry sweet potatoes, I probably wouldn’t eat them at all. I find them too sweet, too mushy, too cloying and too dense to fall in love with when they are roasted or baked or steamed or boiled. Argue with me all you want (better yet, send recipes!) but that’s really how I felt about them, until oven fries changed my whole perspective.

Let’s face it, fried foods taste good, no matter what. I mean, how could clams EVER be a kid’s menu item if they weren’t breaded and fried? Leandro won’t even look at them raw, but coat them in crumbs and plunge them in a deep fryer and watch them disappear! Don’t even get me started with French fries…crispy outside, creamy inside, the perfect vehicle for ketchup…Lord have mercy. Fried foods, if not fundamentally good, are fundamentally delicious. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , ,

Halloween Party Snacks for Kids (adaptable to any holiday)

3 Nov

My friends greeted the news with gasps. With disbelief. With wide-eyed incredulity.

Yes, it was true. I actually bought a loaf of sliced white bread last week, smeared it with variations of cream cheese, jelly and butter and served it to my son. I also bought cupcake mix from a box AND, horror of all horrors, two tubs of pre-made icing with all manner of indecipherable ingredients written on the side by the (seriously?) “nutrition” information. I had my reasons. And I have no regrets.

Halloween is Leandro’s favorite, number one, most-anticipated holiday, so we invited a few of his beastie besties for a Halloween get-together on the Sunday afternoon before Halloween. Between goody bag decorating, scavenger hunts, and cupcake decorating, I felt like I had the activities covered, but it was a challenge to make good-looking seasonal stuff that would impress the moms, be attractive to the kids and still fit with my food values.

In the end, I kind of compromised my values, but two out of three…well you know the song…and, thanks to bat, pumpkin and ghost cookie cutters, I felt pretty cool in the end.

The little white bread sandwiches looked very cute once Leandro and I used the cookie cutters on them. And Pam had given me a recipe that became the recipe below: apple party dip with baked tortilla chips — also given the cookie cutter treatment (you can call it overkill, but we had fun and Leandro was totally engaged in the prep).

Pam’s cool serving idea for a spooky “Witch’s Brew”

Pam also made a “witch’s brew” of hot apple cider, cranberry juice and cinnamon – hope to get that recipe soon — and other folks brought even more cupcakes and brownies…Thanks everyone! And I made some devilled eggs (how could you not?) with olive slices and capers for eyeball effect….It was a lot of fun! (P.S. Thanks to my dad, Pedro, for rescuing the pictures from a wormhole in the alternate universe that is my computer)

Apple Pie Party Dip and Tortilla Chips

(this tastes quite like apple pie…without the fuss of crust or lengthy baking)

Dip

2 Cups apples, peeled, cored and diced

1.5 tsp lemon juice

2 heaping tsp light brown sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

2 generous tsp lingonberry preserves (can be substituted with apricot, blueberry, etc)

Combine all dip ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled (may be made several hours ahead).

Chips:

5-6 large (8”) burrito-style flour tortillas (fajita-style are too hard for cookie cutters and little hands)

2 Tbs butter, melted

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbs light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using cookie cutters, cut tortillas into desired shapes, or simply cut into pizza-style slices. Arrange on a lightly greased baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool before serving.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Flex-Mex Shredded Chicken (one step, one pot) and easy red beans

29 Oct

I had about two pounds of boneless chicken breast defrosted and one of Leandro’s besties and his mom coming over for a congenial play date and dinner. I have the habit of fussing in the kitchen when they come over, as Amanda is an appreciative eater who likes to try new stuff. For the kids I usually make macaroni and cheese (from a box that — try not to roll your eyes — purports to be organic. Is this the foodie equivalent of ordering a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a diet Coke?)

This time, I wanted to be able to do more sitting and talking than mucking about with pots and pans. I don’t want my guests to be speaking to my back as I stir something on the stove and I just didn’t feel like making a second meal for the kids. I hate doing that, actually, but end up there more than I like to admit.

So this recipe — which I adapted from others I have done or read — was perfect. Just bung everything into a pot and a half hour later you have tasty, crowd-pleasing goodness that you can pile onto other Mexican-infused ingredients. On this occasion I made quick quesadillas with red beans (another one pot dish, see below) and Cheddar and Dominican white cheese which Leandro, Amanda and I ate, accompanied with avocado, cilantro and red onion. The revelation was Lucas, a bit more of a picky eater, who tasted the quesadilla (both the all-cheese just-in-case one and a chicken one) which by itself would’ve been cool, but who ended up loving the chicken on its own and eating several servings!

And yes, I sat – we all sat down to dinner together, in fact — and I didn’t fuss! Hurray!

Mexican-Style Shredded Chicken

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts

½ Cup onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 stock cube and four cups of water OR four cups of your favorite chicken stock

1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced, seeds removed (1 pepper was not very spicy; play with this proportion according to your taste)

Place all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 20 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. If you have time, you can cook it longer for more tenderness. Remove from heat and remove chicken from any remaining liquid. Allow to cool, shred, and serve – hot or cold — in your favorite Mexican-style recipes (quesadillas, tacos, with rice, on salads). Flavor affinities include avocado, lime, cilantro, kidney beans.

Easy Red Kidney Beans

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs minced onion

1 half stock cube

1 tsp oregano

1/4-1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable juice (less water for drier beans)

1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp chopped cilantro

Saute onion in olive oil until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 15 minutes until flavors are incorporated.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Not the healthiest snack/meal, but when it’s this fast and includes cheese, who cares?

21 Oct

Sometimes there is just no time to do things right, so you have to do them as best you can. That is the inspiration for this go-to snack/meal. This cracker and cheese snack (which Leandro calls mini-pizzas) can be done in the toaster oven or microwave in just minutes — or even seconds — and are manageable, handy meals for the car on those mornings when we are running behind. Which is often.

I happened to make it for myself this afternoon —  in the little bit of time between regular work and pre-K and Leandro’s escuelita de español when I was starving and he was happy with apples and pears. So I went the extra step of sliced tomato – seeing as I had a surprise ripe one from our backyard vines that, no, I haven’t taken down yet and Leandro still won’t eat them. I don’t often add anything to it; most of the time it’s just cheese on WASA crackers melted for 15-20 seconds in the nuke machine and we head out the door. But the tomato was really good and made it seem less of a lame snack and more of a meal.

Melty Crackers and Cheese

4 WASA Crisp’n light 7 grain crackerbreads

2 oz your preferred block cheese, sliced to fit on the WASA breads

1 medium small tomato or half a large one, sliced to fit on the WASA breads

Pinch salt

Pinch sugar

Put oven on broil

Place cheese slices on crisp bread, followed by tomato slices. Sprinkle with salt and sugar and broil on aluminum foil for 3-4 minutes. Eat up!

For simpler ones, skip the tomato, salt and sugar and just heat on a plate in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.

Tags: , , , , ,

Juicy Chicken Tenders (simple and versatile)

19 Oct

Took out some frozen organic chicken breasts the other day for a play date that got cancelled and between one thing and another, I hadn’t done a thing with them. And it was time.

So, it’s 9 p.m. and I’ve finally got the kid asleep and some order in the kitchen — indeed, an uncharacteristic bit of sparkle, as I went in with more extreme products than usual — and a small glass of wine waiting for me (which will probably be sitting there tomorrow morning, untouched…) and it’s time to cook.

What To Do? It’s not like I have hunger to inspire me or energy to leaf through books or any exciting new vegetable I want to experiment with. I just want the damn chicken cooked so I can get to bed because 5:30 a.m. will be here before I know it.

So, basic chicken tenders will do. They are simple, but the cheese, garlic and Italian seasonings keep them from being boring. I don’t pound them too much, as I want them juicy and thick.

Tomorrow I can slather them in sauce and cheese, stick them in the oven and call them chicken parmesan if I like, or pack them up for Leandro’s lunch with some ketchup on the side, or roll them up in a wrap or slice them into a salad for myself. There’s not enough to freeze, but they’ll be fine a couple of days in the fridge once they are cooked and they will certainly be handy. They will make two meals each at least for me and the kid.

So, bang-bang, chop-chop, and they are done in no time! Nitey-nite!

Simple and tasty

Simple Juicy Chicken Tenders

Two boneless chicken breasts (about 1lb), pounded to evenness – 1 inch or less

½ cup Italian style bread crumbs or plain breadcrumbs seasoned with a Tbs of Italian herbs

1 Tbs grated grana padano or parmigiano reggiano

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbs vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice chicken breasts into long strips (cutting with the grain).

Place breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic and seasonings in a bag. Pour oil into a bowl. Dip chicken strips into the oil, then place in bag. Seal bag and shake to coat chicken thoroughly. Lay strips on greased baking sheet (or – even better, ridged rack).

Bake for 20 minutes, turning once. For greater crispness, place under the broiler for five minutes.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

A Sephardic-Inspired Variation on Pasta with Spinach

17 Oct

Leandro can’t get enough, but I’ve had enough. My pasta with spinach and garlic — itself a variation on aglio, olio e peperoncino — is really good, a guaranteed winner with the little one, and makes easy leftovers for the lunch boxes, but I am done with eating it once a week.

So, I figured I’d mix it up a bit. I had more-or-less the right ingredients for a Sephardic-Mizrahi-inspired spinach dish – the kind of flavors that Mediterranean Jews have combined beautifully for centuries — and which really suit the change to fall. It is also done in a flash.

The spinach from Restoration Farm is in season and lovely, while raisins and nuts provide a density and intensity that agrees with the more serious autumnal weather and light.

As this dish is inspired rather than traditional (I guess I am Reformed, even though I’m not even Jewish, but we can argue about that later), I ended up using goat cheese because it’s what I had…feta would work just as well and might just be a bit more in keeping with the motif. Also, the Sephardim would use pine nuts, but at upwards of $20 a pound, I will stick to my walnuts (no joke even at less than $10 a lb.) and toast them for more elegance and flavor.

I wish I could say that Leandro loved it, but actually he decided — three bites in — that he kind of hated it (Methinks he was surprised — in not a good way — by the raisins) and ended up eating some extra pasta that I had (wisely, because after four years I know how these things can go) reserved. He had it with goat cheese (new for him) and still thinks I am the best cook ever (except for his Padushi), so no harm done. And I loved it. If I had known Leandro was going to bail, I would’ve skipped the pasta in favor of couscous or rice. Live and learn.

Spinach, raisin and walnut pasta

8 oz pasta of your choice (short and tubular whole-grain penne-type preferred)

1-2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

½ Cup chopped onion

8-16 oz fresh spinach leaves, cleaned thoroughly and roughly chopped

1/2 Cup raisins (golden or brown), plumped for a few minutes in warm water and drained

½ Cup walnuts, lightly toasted in a hot dry skillet, if you’ve got the time or inclination

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

½ Cup feta cheese, crumbled or several Tbs chevre (creamy goat cheese)

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve ¼ cup cooking liquid. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium-hot skillet and add onions. Stir to coat, lower heat and sauté until tender (about five minutes) toss in spinach. Stir to coat and cook until just wilting. Add raisins, walnuts, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. If it seems too dry, add reserved cooking liquid by the tablespoon until you like the look of it. Pour over pasta and mix and top with desired cheese.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →