Monthly Archives: May 2012

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

May 29, 2012 in Mains, Pork, Salads, Vegetable

I’m sure you share the same sentiment about brussels sprouts as I did as a child, and most likely with a huge amount of the public who still dislike those mini cabbages.

It really wasn’t until last year that I fully changed my stance on whether or not brussels sprouts were actually good.  The first time I had ever had them, they were boiled.  At the time, it was too much flavor to handle.  Bitter cabbage times 10.  I think.  This was more years ago that I can remember about something I didn’t quite fancy.  Fast forward to me in my early 20s, and I hadn’t eaten them since then.  Then, there was a salad at an Italian restaurant that changed my life.  In a seasonal salad at Pizza Antica in the South Bay (Google “Santana Row”), in more than a decade, I ingested brussels sprouts for the first time.  These little guys weren’t boiled or steamed; they were roasted!  And with salty prosciutto!  Combined in a warm delicious vinaigrette. YUM! There’s something about a bit of caramelization that really brings out the sweet that balances out the bitter.  Since then, I have purchased brussels sprouts many times, and each time, I’ve tossed ‘em with olive oil and sea salt and popped them in the oven to roast.  This time around, I tweaked it a little bit by sautéing over high heat to achieve caramelization.  If you’re feeling like having a light dinner, or not, try this out!  If you don’t like them, this will turn you into a brussels sprouts believer.

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 pounds of brussels sprouts, sliced in half, fourths, or quartered, whichever you want
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 pound of bacon
  • some eggs (however many you feel like frying and eating)
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • apple cider vinegar

Rinse your brussels sprouts and slice them up any which way you would like.  The idea is to get them into smaller pieces to facilitate cooking quickly.  Set them aside.  Chop your onions and garlic, too, for later.

Chop your bacon, and then fry it until crispy.  Remove from the pan and let the pieces drain on paper towels.  While the grease is still hot empty out enough so that you’re left with about a tablespoon of bacon grease in the pan.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add in your onions.  Fry these until they’re just cooked, and possibly a little brown around the edges.  Set the onions aside.

Add in olive oil to the pan and let it warm over medium-high until shimmering.  Add in your brussels sprouts and toss to coat with the oil.  Fry these until just cooked (soft, but not mushy with a little bit of bite left). Add in your chopped garlic.  Stir and cook until fragrant.  At this point there should be some color on your brussels sprouts.  Add in the onions and bacon and stir to incorporate.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and pour in a few splashes of the vinegar and stir.  Set aside.  (A bulk of the dish is done!)

Next, fry your eggs.  I recommend over-easy or over-medium, basically some form where the yolk is still runny and can add to the “dressing.”

Plate and eat. :) (Perhaps serve with some grissini?)

 

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Feelin’ Vietnamese-y: Bún Copycat

May 25, 2012 in Uncategorized

I LOVE those salad-like vermicelli bowls at Vietnamese restaurants!  Once I discovered it in college, I rarely ordered pho.

I think a lot of the love has to do with the catch-all salty, sweet, and sometimes spicy dipping sauce that often accompanies spring rolls, and definitely comes with bún thịt nướng (read, vermicelli bowl).

This was my first time doing a chicken bun at home.  It still needs improvement, but I need to do more research since this is my first foray into vietnamese cooking  of any sort at home.  The dipping sauce was incredibly easy to make, but the recipe I referenced was a miss.  Simple ingredients (fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, salt) come together to make a great taste sensation, but you need to get the ratio right.

Which do you prefer?  Pho soup or a bun bowl?

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Feelin’ Ramsay-ish: Crispy Salmon with Spinach and Sweet Potato Mash

May 23, 2012 in Mains, Recipes, Seafood

I haven’t posted in a while!  I HAVE been cooking; I’ve just been lazy about emptying my camera.  No photos, no post.

Let’s rectify that with one of my favorite and simplest methods of cooking perfectly moist and crisp fish.  While browsing YouTube and obsessively watching every Gordon Ramsay clip, I came across this little ditty that made pan-frying/sautéing fish one of the easiest activities on earth!

I suppose my other additions are a bit of a rip-off, but I wanted to step it up in the healthy department by using sweet potatoes instead of white ‘n’ starchy, and by also adding in sautéed spinach.

My version of Crispy Salmon ‘n’ Mash for two:

  • 2 portions of salmon fillet (or really any other firm fleshed fish with skin on)
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • handful of cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
  • 1/2 large onion, halved, then sliced
  • 1-2 sweet potatoes (depending on how large they are), cubed
  • butter
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Put your cubed sweet potatoes in a pot and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes by a few inches.  Boil the potatoes until soft and drain.

Mash the still hot potatoes with salt, pepper, butter, and a little bit of cream or milk.  Either keep them rustic or break out the mixer and whip them up.

Chop, slice, and wash.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Once it’s shimmering, add in your onions and tomatoes.  When the onions are a little bit translucent and the tomatoes are wilted around the edges, toss in your spinach.  You may or may not need to add in a splash more of olive oil.  When the spinach is cooked, take the mixture off of the heat and set aside.

On to the fish!  Season both sides of the fillets with salt and pepper.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the pan on medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, lay your fish in, skin side down.  DON’T TOUCH IT.  Let it fry until the color is changed halfway up the thickness of the fillet.  After about 5 minutes, the fish should have a noticeable color change.  Turn over and fry until the color changes throughout.

Let’s plate!

 

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Parmesan-Herb Grissini

May 8, 2012 in Sides, Snacks, Starters

Say it with me:

grees-SEE-nee.

grees-SEE-nee.

Grissini.

Perfetto!

I don’t know how to speak Italian.  Google translate is a helluva tool.  Onward to baking these little crunchy and delicious breadsticks!

I’m working on expanding my bread repertoire.  I think I have an okay handle on basic sourdough (sourdough starter, flour, water, salt), and I have my go-to method for bread… so what else do I do with this delicious dough instead of miles and miles of loaves?  Breadsticks!  I guess technically you could still call them “loaves,” just long and skinny.  These aren’t the typical breadstick you’ll find at say, Olive Garden, but a lighter version you don’t have to skip if you want to be able to enjoy your entree.  These make for a great alternative to snack crackers, both savory and sweet, just tweak the add-ins and you’ll be golden.

Parmesan-Herb Grissini

Ingredients:

  • basic bread dough (I like to use this gem: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. If you would rather use a pre-made, store-bought dough, I’ll look the other way.)
  • shredded parmesan cheese
  • black pepper
  • dry Italian herb blend
  • olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

With the “5 min.” method, I take the dough out of the fridge, carve out a chunk, and plop it on a floured surface.  If you’re using another method, I believe this will be after you proof your dough and stands in for the shaping period.

Flatten out the dough with your fingers, gently.  If you overwork it, the gluten could get too stiff.  If that happens, just let it sit for about 5-10 minutes and then continue.  Think of it as making a pizza crust.

Once it’s flattened out, top it with the parmesan, herbs, and pepper.  How much you use depends on how much dough you have and your personal taste.  I go by look.  Does it look evenly distributed?  Is there enough cheese for me?  Drizzle olive oil over the “pizza.”

Next, fold the dough over on itself a few times and flatten it out again, like the first round.  This time, I made a rectangular shape.  For me, it makes it easier to cut off strips to roll.

Use a dough scraper, or butter knife, and cut off a thin strip of dough.  If you need to add a little flour to the work surface, go right ahead.  The addition of the olive oil makes the dough a little wetter.

Using your hands, roll the strip into a long tube.

Place it on a baking sheet.  Repeat cutting more strips of dough and rolling until you have no dough left.

Bake on the middle rack of your oven for about 10 minutes.  Rotate the sheet and continue baking until they are golden brown.  In the event they are a good color and still soft, turn the heat down to 300°F and let them bake until they are hard.

it's not supposed to look THAT yellow. i still need to get used to the lighting in my kitchen.

Let them cool and try one! Or 10!

 

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Lentils with Smoked Sausage and Kale

May 4, 2012 in Pork, Vegetable

I love kale.

I mean, I LOVE KALE!  Like, through the roof, off the charts, over the rainbow I love KALE.

It’s an extremely versatile green that can be dressed up or down and give “heft” to a bite instead of mush.  I recently visited a Natural Grocers recently (that’s the name of the chain), and found some B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L organic kale.  It was almost too pretty to be organic.  Suspiciously pretty.  This is a pre-rinsing pic:

I also picked up some locally made, uncured, all natural, smoked kielbasa from Pederson Natural Farms.  With some new, fresh ingredients to test drive, I went about searching for a recipe involving sausage and kale.  I stumbled upon this beauty and decided to try it out.  It just so happened that I had everything I needed already in stock.

Lentils with Smoked Sausage and Kale (adapted from Eating Well’s Kale, Sausage & Lentil Skillet):

Collect these:

  • olive oil
  • 1 kielbasa sausage loop
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
  • 1 1/2 cups red wine (optional, but if I had it, I totally would have used it!)
  • 1 cup lentils
  • 12 cups chopped kale leaves, tough stems removed (I’m not sure if it was 12 cups exactly.  It was 1 bunch of kale leaves.)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • pinch of salt
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste

Mince your garlic as best as you can; slice your onions; wash and chop your kale.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a little bit of olive oil to get things going.  Pan-fry the sausage, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Set aside to cool.

Add more olive oil if needed and sauté your onions.  The original recipe said until they brown, and that it would take 5 minutes, but that is a lie.  I sautéed until they were soft and looking less white from the bits left by the sausage.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir.  Let them cook until fragrant.

Next pour in the chicken stock and stir it around a little bit.  Bring to a boil and add your lentils. Stir.  Reduce heat to low-medium and partially cover the pan.  You’ll let this simmer for about 30-40 minutes, depending on how soft you want the lentils.

When the lentils are just about done, add in your kale.  Be careful!  It will overflow the pan, but have patience and toss the lentils with the kale so the leaves cook evenly and shrink in size.

Let this simmer for about 10 minutes or until the kale is tender and the lentils are just right.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, slice the sausage.

Then add it to the pan at the end just to let them warm up again.

Dish it out, and EAT!

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