Nov11

Thai Shitake Mushroom Coconut Chicken Stir-fry

Posted on November 11, 2013 by athaidek

Because what else is there to do after you run 7 miles with your soul sistah?!?! “We’re goin ta flavor town with this one!!” would be the response we’d get from Guy Fieri if he were interviewing my friend Sarah and me on DDD. SOLID post-run meal if you were wondering, and also good with white vino. I was telling someone the other day that it’s gonna be a longggg road before I feel comfortable recommending wine/spirits pairings with food, but hey, the cheapest bottom shelf Pinot Grigio at Whole Foods worked well here. So there you go.

If any of you out there have listened to the Parent Trap Pandora station, you’ll understand my confusion when the entire playlist throughout this cooking experience provided us with songs from the 1950s. To give those non-Parent-Trap-lovers some perspective, the classic was filmed in 1998. NEVERTHELESS, OLDIES BUT GOODIES. AHHH what a great night it was. And really, you should make this for a group of four. Preferably to impress them with your chopping skills because you’ll have some mastery after all these veggies go in.

Being all non-cultured with the appropriate seasonal vegetables, we were not aware that Whole Foods does not sell Napa cabbage this time of year. Luckily, savoy is a useful alternative my friends! Serve this recipe from EatingWell circa 2010 over some simple short grain brown rice or rice noodles. You can’t go wrong! Honestly. In fact, if you’re nervous about cooking meat, just eliminate the chicken and throw in a few more mushrooms.

Can someone help me with my Thanksgiving pinterest board by the way?? I’m struggling big time. I seriously need some advice on sides?!

Props to Sarah you’re my chopping hero. We used chicken breasts and pounded them thin to get the pieces all tender!

Friends all hangin out and whatnot – Scallions + Ginger + Jalapeno

Mushrooms simmering away in coconut milk, fish sauce, and lime juice

Cabbage!

We almost bought a basil plant to get this lil bit…but then we found some. The end.

Nov8

Swiss-chard wrapped Black bean Bell pepper Quinoa Burritos

Posted on November 8, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

Good news, swiss-chard can be a substitute for collard greens! Maybe not the best green to wrap into burritos, but they’ll work! I very slightly adapted this recipe (literally only swapped swiss chard for collard greens bc they didn’t have it at Publix) and served two of them with a burr and some salsaaa. Goes perfect with some chips on the side but you know, I pretty much ate those as my appetizer and “protein powder” for getting me through the cooking process. For the record, I do realize there is no protein in tortilla chips.

My sister stopped by and although she wasn’t the biggest fan of the green leaves, she gave another stamp of approval for this flavor-rich filling. When to serve this? I’d suggest it for a low-key dinner for you and one other friend. Jill says you can make the filling a day in advance, and it’s not the kind of meal you really want to prep for a big dinner or party. All that leaf-wrapping-and-stuffing-flying is not the mood you’re going for on an entertainment night, right?

I ended up with some leftover quinoa great for lunch the next day, and I made a few without cheese that ended up great as well! One problem with using swiss chard is when you try and cut open the burrito, the tough red center of the chard is difficult to cut without a steak knife. So, get in your steakiest mood and whip out the big guns!

Start by blanching your chard or collard greens in a boiling bath of salty water. Takes a bit of the toughness out of the greens. Meanwhile get your quinoa going on a smaller burner.

Quick peek! See ya soon!

Got my quinoa going, time to make the filling. Shred up the carrots and scallions (I used 4 instead of 3)

Garlic is in the pan cooking with the cumin+coriander+oil

Filling infusing with spices! I added some salsa to make it more saucy

Set up your station. Don’t forget to put potholders underneath hot pans. Key step here is to slice the chard’s stem so it can wrap easily over the filling.

Here’s how I went…quinoa, filling, cheese, roll, REPEAT (I am now a military chef)

Example uno

Little guys before going in the oven, covered at 350 for 20 mins.

MMMMMMMMM helllooo

The cut open pic wasn’t as cute, so I’ll spare you 🙂

Oct31

Cornbread Testing – Joy’s Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread

Posted on October 31, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

I was a bit timid bringing the rest of this batch into work the next day, because it’s definitely not what you’d expect when biting into a cornbread square! But I think the intense moisture gives you a bit of open-mindedness going into the rich orange and rosemary flavors. If there’s one thing I require in my cornbread, it’s density!! They liked it, so you should bring it to work too 🙂

Mind you, this was like numero 10 on the midnight toaster-oven bake series, for no other reason except I had to finally test this. And I FINALLY had an orange lying around. Maybe even if you want some natural potpourri this would be a good thing to make. My favorite part of these kinds of recipes is when you make the flavored sugar. You press the orange zest and rosemary into the sugar and it brings out the natural oils/essence in the fruit and herbs. A simple mix of wet and dry, this cornbread is simple yet seems pretty sophisticated right? Maybe this is meant alongside chili, but I liked it with a cup of milk or just as a regular piece of bread with my lunch.

What recipes do you like to vary? My friends Collin and Mike came over on Monday and Mike brought an AMAZZINNGG mouthwatering, sweet, dense cornbread (see meal pics at the bottom). Chili and cornbread can’t be beat. This weekend I’m making white chicken chili…got any recipe suggestions?

chili and a different cornbread that’s classic and amazing…thanks Mike!

Oct23

Mushroom Spinach Wheat Crepes with Dill and Sherry

Posted on October 23, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

I’m not sure if I’d try crepes again, BUT, I am so glad I made these, because the filling was bomb. Although this was a rich dish, I strayed away from adding cream because I wanted to really test a healthier version. The problem was, every single recipe I could find was either so creamy or it was super vegan. Always somewhere in the middle, what can you do.

So, I mushed some together and here’s what I came up with. Ingredients:

– 4-5 shitake mushrooms

– 1 lb button mushroom, sliced thinly

– 1 onion, thinly sliced

– a big ole handful of dill, chopped roughly

– 1/4 cup sherry

– 1/2 cup white wine

– 3/4 cup chicken stock

– 1-2 TBS butter

– 1/2 tsp dried thyme

– A whole bag of fresh spinach

– 1 TBS flour

– a few cloves of minced garlic

Steep the shitake mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid.

Make this recipe according to Alton Brown’s recipe, substituting white wheat for All Purpose if you have it. Set aside in the fridge while you whip up the filling.

Sautee your thinly sliced onion in butter on medium heat until the onions soften. Sprinkle with salt and pepp. Add garlic but cook only for a minute before adding mushrooms, as they can burn easily. Add sliced mushrooms and let them get a little brown and soft. Remember, mushrooms like their space so spread them out! Slice up your shitake too. Again, season with a bit of salt and pepp. Once the mushrooms are soft, add in your sherry and turn up the heat to high, cooking off the ALCH. Then add in your wine. These ingredients are based on what flavor you like, but I added a lot since I thought that without the cream it needed a big boost of flavor.

At this point I added the dried thyme, and let everything meld together before adding in the chicken stock. In addition to the chicken stock, I added a bit of the shitake mushroom cooking liquid. I let it boil, then wilted in the spinach and returned the heat to low. Simmer for around 15 minutes, and I added flour because I thought the sauce needed some more thickener. If you’d like to add cream, that’s an option as well! At the very end, with a few minutes left, add in the dill.

Get your bad self on with the crepes. After I had the sauce all simmering and bubbly, I set up the crepes right before eating. Ugh, I don’t think I can provide any advice on how to do this, but follow Alton’s directions!! I added in some chopped dill to my crepes to give them flavor. Serve with a big ole salad and some vino! Big point here is have everything ready with the filling so you can focus entirely on making the crepes that cook really quickly. If any other bloggers/experimenters/crepe lovers out there have any recommendations to help me in the future, share your crepe recommendations below s’il vous plait!!

Oct17

Raw beet and carrot ginger shallot salad

Posted on October 17, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

What do you do with a ton of beets in a pinch?!??! Well you HAVE to make a version of this salad.

I got on a Mark Bittman kick last week, reading his favorite recipes over and over again, sort of methodically hoping that the more I read, the more of his skills I’d gain. I used his recipe for raw beet salad as the inspiration for this last-minute salad. It was so last-minute that I ate it all straight from the bowl. I have to be honest here and say I’m not sure it’d be worth making if I didn’t have the food processor with a grater attachment. Because hello, beets are SOOO messy. But if you happen to be wearing a large rubber raincoat, Red Lobster bib, or elbow-high gloves, it might be less messy for you.

Here’s my rendition taking from some advice from Mark. So, beets apparently are so sweet that they require a ton of acid. Well, I went a little overboard but it’s ok!!! There’s always room to tweak that. (tweaking, t-w-e-a-k-i-n-g tweaking…Tom Hanks, You’ve Got Mail).

1. Grate 1 beet and 1 carrot

2. Mince 1 in chunk of ginger (peeled) and 1 shallot

3. Whisk together minced ginger, juice of a lime, some shakes of sherry vinegar, a few squeezes of honey, dijon, some SESAME OIL and olive oil- KEY INGREDIENT HERE

3. Pour dressing over beets and carrots

4. Chop up some cilantro and throw in the mix to your liking

5. Chop up some salty peanuts, almonds, or whatever nuts you have on hand. I’d even add chopped ramen if I had any 🙂

Ok so at this point, mine was a little too acidic, so the way I mellowed it out was by adding some guacamole. But really, chop up an avocado if you have one – I think that’s the key addition.

A few nights before, I went to this restaurant with friends where they have these spicy marcona almonds with manchego cheese and chocolate. Holy cow, amazing appetizer. So you realllyyy need to go to that restaurant and use the leftover almonds in the salad, that was key here.

beetsonbeetsonbeeeets!!!