On the Lighter Side
Posted: May 25, 2012 Filed under: sides & soups, veggies | Tags: BBQ, food, pasta, recipes, side dishes 4 Comments »
get a side of this
Every good piece of grilled meat needs a good side dish. Otherwise, it might get lonely sitting there on your plate. I love potato salad, but macaroni salad is pretty tasty too, and I think a little under-rated. Here’s a fresh update on the classic mayonnaise-covered variety usually found at cookouts and company picnics. But instead of mayo there’s plain Greek yogurt and a bunch of fresh vegetables. You won’t miss the mayo at all. I promise. A note: the recipe below is a smaller than usual, probably good for 2 to 3 people. If you want more, simply double the ingredients.
Light Macaroni Salad
-½ lb of elbow macaroni
- 1 cup of Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
- Juice from 1 large lemon
- 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped chives
- ½ pint of grape tomatoes, quartered
- ¼ of an English cucumber, diced
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- Handful of dill, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Cracked red pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or according to the package. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool. Place in a large bowl.
In a food processor, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice and chives. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cracked red pepper. Pour the dressing over the macaroni and mix. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and dill and mix well. If necessary, season with additional salt and pepper. Serve immediately or let chill in the fridge.
Carolina Chicken on My Mind
Posted: May 24, 2012 Filed under: meat | Tags: BBQ, chicken, food, grilled, meat, recipes, sauces 8 Comments »
and in my sauce covered hands
With Memorial Day just days away, I thought some grilling was in order. So I’ve taken a trip down south, to the Carolinas. And on my way, I struck gold … gold barbecue sauce, that is. The funny thing about this chicken is that you’ll try eating it with a knife and fork. You really will. You’ll try to cut off little pieces in a foolish attempt to get the perfect bite of crispy, sauced up skin and juicy white meat. But this will be pointless and frustrating. You’ll want the tangy sweet chicken in your mouth faster. So then you’ll just pick it up with your hands and chow down. But aren’t sauced covered hands the sign of a great meal? Get yourself some napkins and kick off summer right.
Carolina-style BBQ Chicken Thighs
- 4 large bone-in chicken thighs
- ¼ cup of yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon of mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon (or more) of Tabasco hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon of melted unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper
Clean and pat the chicken thighs dry. Season with salt and pepper, and then place in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, and then whisk in the melted butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour half of the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Grill the chicken on medium heat, basting with the remaining sauce, until cooked through, about 12 minutes on each side. Let stand a few minutes before serving. Then eat.
drooling yet?
Looking for a tasty side dish to go with your barbecued chicken? Check back tomorrow.
So Fresh, So Spicy
Posted: May 22, 2012 Filed under: meat, sauces & gravy | Tags: dressing, food, meat, Mexican, recipes, salad, turkey 5 Comments »
tacos, in salad form
I’ve got a question to ask everyone: can a salad be fresh and spicy? (Yeah, I said salad. I do eat them on occasion.) The answer is … yes. I love tacos, but why should they only be eaten in shell or tortilla form? A warm spoonful of spicy taco meat sitting on top of fresh, cold lettuce creates a pretty tasty experience. And it’s guaranteed to transform a rainy Monday night into a Flavor Fiesta. Since every salad needs a proper dressing, I mixed up a cilantro-lime vinaigrette using red wine vinegar, fresh herbs, lime juice and zest. It contrasted really well with the spicy meat, and added even more freshness to the fiesta.
Spicy Turkey Taco Salad
For the salad:
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 ¼ lb of lean ground turkey
- Worcestershire sauce
- Jalapeno hot sauce
- Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming spice (optional)
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
- ½ of a red onion, sliced
- Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Salsa
- Olive oil
- Whole wheat tortilla chips, for garnish
For the vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of lime zest
- 1 tablespoon of lime juice
In a large skillet, heat some olive over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and cumin seeds and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground turkey, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and cook until turkey is browned and cooked through. Add about ½ cup of water and a more than a few dashes of jalapeno hot sauce and simmer uncovered, until nearly all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Season with a sprinkle of Arizona Dreaming spice.
tasty turkey taco meat
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk together (or place everything in a jar and shake) the cilantro, red wine vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, lime zest and lime juice.
To assemble the salad, layer lettuce and red onion on a plate. Top with a large spoonful of ground turkey, a handful of shredded cheese and a dollop of salsa. Drizzle lightly with the cilantro-lime vinaigrette and garnish with tortilla chips.
The spicy turkey mixture would also be great in your favorite taco shells or tortillas.
Fruit and Square
Posted: May 21, 2012 Filed under: desserts | Tags: bars, dessert, food, fruit, recipes, squares 3 Comments »
there’s fruit in the middle
There are a lot of things you can call these baked raspberry treats. Bars. Squares. Bite-sized cobbler bits. And there are a lot of ways to describe them. Crunchy. Crumbly. Fruity. Easy-peasy. Feel free to use your own raspberry preserves, if that’s your thing. And try ‘em with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Or with nothing, because they’re pretty great as is, too.
Raspberry Squares
- 1 ½ cups of flour
- 1 ¼ cups of quick oats
- 1/3 cup of sugar
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup of finely chopped almonds (or pecans or a combo)
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) of unsalted butter, diced and softened
- 1 ½ cups of raspberry preserves
- 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
- Cooking spray
Lightly coat a 9×9 baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with pieces of parchment paper so the edges hang over. Lightly spray the parchment paper with cooking spray and set aside.
Heat your oven to 350º.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the flour, oats, sugars, baking soda, salt and almonds on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the butter pieces and mix on low until the mixture resembles wet sand, about 2 minutes. Tip: a pair of clean hands works really well too. Just don’t over mix.
Transfer 2/3 of the flour/oat mixture to the prepared baking pan. Use your hands to press the mixture evenly into the bottom. Bake until the crust starts to brown, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the raspberry preserves and lemon zest in a bowl and set aside. After 20 minutes, spread the raspberry preserves evenly over the hot bottom crust and sprinkle with the remaining flour/oat mixture. Bake until the preserves bubble around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
be there or be square
Let cool to room temperature about 1 ½ hours. Remove from the pan using the parchment paper and then cut into squares.
Chicken Divine
Posted: May 15, 2012 Filed under: meat | Tags: casserole, chicken, classic, food, meat, recipes 10 Comments »
a real diva(n)
Isn’t there something great about a good casserole? The way everything just bakes together, creating one completely comforting and satisfying meal … it’s almost divine. Chicken divine? No, today it’s chicken divan. This is an update on the classic dish that most people have probably had in some form or another. There are a lot of recipes out there that call for cream of whatever soup, but it’s just as easy to make your own cream sauce like the one here, flavored with two kinds of cheese, fresh thyme and a little cayenne. I love that the rice, broccoli and chicken form these tasty layers that bubble with delight as it bakes. And the way the bread crumb and almond topping give it a nice, slightly sweet crunch.
Chicken Divan
- ¾ cup of bread crumbs
- ½ cup of slivered almonds
- 1 large broccoli crown, cut into bite-sized florets and stem pieces
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 1 ½ cups of long grain & wild rice
- Garlic salt
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- ¼ cup of flour
- 2 cups of low-sodium chicken stock
- ¾ cup of light cream
- 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar
- ½ cup of grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped thyme
- ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 5 to 6 thinly sliced chicken cutlets
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
In a food processor, pulse together the bread crumbs and almonds. Add a drizzle of olive oil and process until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
Heat your oven to 400º.
Fill a Dutch oven or large pot with 4 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and teaspoon of salt and cook for 1 minute, or until the broccoli is bright green and crisp tender. Drain and set aside.
Wipe clean the Dutch oven and then heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and broccoli stem pieces and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Stir in the rice, season with a little garlic salt, and cook for 1 minute. Add about 3 ½ cups of water and bring to a simmer. Then cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the water is nearly all absorbed and rice is tender, about 16 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and cream, and bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Off the heat, stir in the cheddar, Parmesan, thyme and cayenne pepper until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
Add the rice mixture to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Add the broccoli florets in an even layer over the rice. Add the chicken cutlets on top, making sure each piece slightly overlaps like shingles. Cover the chicken with about 2 cups of the cream sauce and the bread crumb mixture. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, the top is brown and the edges are bubbling, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve with the additional sauce and eat.
Sprung on Risotto
Posted: May 9, 2012 Filed under: pasta, sides & soups | Tags: food, recipes, risotto 3 Comments »
mind your peas and Qs
Spring has sprung! Well, kind of. The weather in New England has been the usual mix of sunny weekdays and cloudy, rainy weekends. Just when you think it’s time to put away the long sleeves and pop on some flip-flops, it goes and rains for 3 days straight. So, in the hopes of making the weather gods happy (or just making myself happy), I’ve made a risotto featuring some lovely spring vegetables. This is a slight variation on the roasted butternut squash risotto I made in the fall, swapping out the squash for leeks and peas. The little green peas add a nice burst of color, right?
Bacon, Leek & Pea Risotto
- 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
- 6 slices of thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 large leeks, thinly sliced
- ½ of a yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 2 cups of Arborio rice
- ¾ cup of white wine
- 1 cup of petite frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- 1 small handful of parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup of grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
- Garlic salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Crushed red pepper flakes
Bring the chicken broth and ½ cup of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cover to keep warm.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp. Place on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Add the leeks, onions and garlic to the drippings (or some olive oil) and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then stir in the white wine and cook until the wine is absorbed into the rice.
Next, add the broth mixture, ½ cup at a time and stirring constantly, to the rice. When full absorbed, add another ½ cup of broth. Repeat this process until all of the broth has been absorbed into the rice. Add the peas and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the bacon, butter, parsley and Parmesan. Season to taste with garlic salt, pepper, even some crushed red pepper flakes. Plate, top with some extra bacon, parsley or Parmesan, and eat.
Lotsa Lemon
Posted: May 7, 2012 Filed under: cookies, eggs! | Tags: cookies, desserts, eggs, food, recipes 11 Comments »
check out those specs of lemon
My cookie quota has been seriously low lately. Aside from the carrot cake cookies I made for Easter, I haven’t really baked in a while. So to get myself back into the swing of things I thought I’d make one of my “new” classics: lemon ricotta cookies. I call them a new classic because even though I’ve only been making these cookies for a few years, they’ve been a big crowd-pleaser and already made it into my recipe book. Things just seem more permanent and serious once you written a recipe down by hand, right? What’s great about these cookies (which are actually more cake-like) is that they’re really simple to make and have such an unbelievable lemon flavor. The combination of the lemon in the cookie plus the lemon glaze on top is really something. Maybe they’ll become one of your new classics, too.
Lemon Ricotta Cookies
For the cookies:
- 2 ½ cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 15 oz container of whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 lemons, zested
- 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
- 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 pinch of sea salt
Heat your oven to 375º.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Next add the ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice, and then beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.
Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Let them cool a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze, combine the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and stir until smooth. Spoon a little over each cookie and then let the glaze set.
¡Enchiladas excelentes!
Posted: May 4, 2012 Filed under: meat, sauces & gravy | Tags: chicken, food, meat, Mexican, recipes, salsa, spicy foods 6 Comments »
fiesta feast
I’ve talked about my love for Mexican and Tex-Mex foods before, so with Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to make something I haven’t. And something I’ve never made at home are enchiladas. I’m normally a quesadilla / fajita / taco kind of guy. But like most Mexican dishes, it’s just a variation on something else and is really simple to make. Rather than traditional tomato salsa I thought I’d also use a new vegetable (to me, at least) to make some a fresh, green salsa: tomatillos. If you don’t know what tomatillos are, they’re those small, green things that look like small, green unripe tomatoes – but they’re actually not even tomatoes. It’s also a really fun word to say. Tomatillos. Tomatillos. Say it with me now: TOM-a-TEA-ohs. Anyway … make yourself a Mexican feast and have a Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
- 8 tomatillos, husked
- 1 large white onion, quartered
- 2 jalapenos, stems cut off
- 5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
- 1 large handful of parsley
- 2 teaspoons of cumin
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 lime, juiced
- ½ of a medium white onion, diced
- 3 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- ¼ cup of flour
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 3 roasted chicken breasts, shredded
- 6 corn tortillas
- 8 oz of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
- Garlic salt
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
Heat your oven to 400º.
Place the tomatillos, quartered onion, jalapenos and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 to 18 minutes, until the veggies are soft and start to brown around the edges. Remove the garlic from the peel and then place the veggies into a food processor, along with any juices from the baking sheet. Add the parsley, cumin, salt and lime juice and pulse until it’s the consistent you prefer. (Adjust to taste with additional cumin and salt.)
Heat a skillet with a little olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cumin, and cook 1 minute. Add the flour and then stir in the chicken stock. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Off the heat add half of the tomatillo salsa and the shredded chicken. Season to taste with garlic salt, salt and pepper.
Lower the oven to 350º.
Add a few spoonfuls of the salsa to the bottom of a large baking dish. To assemble each enchilada, add some of the chicken and salsa mixture to the center of a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and then fold the tortilla over the mixture and roll like a cigar. Place enchilada seam-side down in the baking dish. Continue until all of the enchiladas are made. Pour the remaining salsa over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Let cool slightly and then eat.
i know … it’s missing the beans & rice (and a margarita)
Looking for a festive breakfast or brunch dish? Try huevos rancheros with chorizo. Mmm.
Pretzel Twist & Shout
Posted: May 2, 2012 Filed under: apps & snacks | Tags: appetizers, food, pretzels, recipes, snacks, spicy foods 10 Comments »
twist it up baby
It’s funny where food inspiration can hit you. Flipping through a cookbook. Watching the Cooking Channel. Stumbling across an unusual ingredient at the store. Or, during a snack break while on an epic shopping trip to the outlet mall. Yes, it’s true. My friends and I stopped at a certain pretzel chain for much-needed refueling. And you know what? It was good. And, it inspired me to make soft pretzels at home. I tried a slightly different (and more complicated) recipe a few months ago, but I think I prefer this one. The milk and brown sugar gave them a good flavor. I also made a spicy cheese and jalapeno dip to go with them, which seems appropriate since Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner.
Soft Pretzels with Spicy Cheese Dip
For the pretzels:
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 package of active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 ¼ cups of flour
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, diced & softened
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 cup of baking soda
- Sea salt for sprinkling
For the dip:
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon of flour
- ¾ cup of milk
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1 cup of Colby Jack cheese, shredded
- Cayenne pepper
Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it’s about 110º. Pour the milk into a large bowl and add the yeast. Let the yeast soften and bubble, about 2 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup of flour, and then stir in the butter. Add the remaining flour and salt and mix into a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until it doubles, about 1 hour.
Heat your oven to 450º.
Punch the dough to deflate it and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 (or so) pieces. Roll and stretch each piece with the palm of your hands into 22 to 24 inch ropes. Form each rope into a pretzel shape.
Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups of warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the liquid and then place onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each pretzel with some sea salt. Bake until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.
For the spicy cheese dip, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine, cooking about 1 minute until smooth. Whisk in the milk. Add the jalapeno and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with cayenne.
Chickeny With a Chance of Meatballs
Posted: May 1, 2012 Filed under: meat | Tags: chicken, comfort food, eggs, food, meat, meatballs, recipes 5 Comments »
someone took a bite out of one of those! and sprinkled them with extra parmesan! oh no!
So yeah, this is happening: two chicken recipes in a row. Does that make me a lazy cook? I say no. It’s just further proof of how cluckin’ crazy obsessed with chicken I am. And seriously – who’s not looking for another chicken recipe? Some people might find ground chicken a little weird, but without it, you wouldn’t be able to make tasty meatballs like these. Serve them with your favorite red sauce and pasta for a hearty, yet simple-to-make supper.
Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- 1 lb of extra lean ground chicken
- ½ cup of breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup of grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons of Montreal Chicken seasoning
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- Red sauce (like this perhaps?)
- Pasta, like ziti rigati
Heat your oven to 425º.
Mix the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, seasoning, olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Form into 12 meatballs and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, flipping over halfway through, until golden brown.
I like to put the meatballs into a large pan of simmering sauce, and let it all cook together for about 10 minutes. The sauce gets added flavor from the meatballs, and the meatballs get covered in sauce. It’s a win-win situation.
