spring fever steak

I've had enough with the winter at this point and I'm ready for some warm sun and grilling. This will be one of the first recipes we try when it's finally warm enough to break out the grill.

Mojito Steak Salad

1 (8-ounce) top sirloin, fat trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ounce white rum (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
½ red onion, minced
1 cup corn cut off the cob
8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing:
½ cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons taco sauce or salsa
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mint, sugar, rum and juice of 1 lime. Pour over steak and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper, and sear until golden- brown or desired doneness, preferably medium-rare or medium.

Let steak rest and slightly cool.

In a large bowl, mix together lettuce, peppers, onions, corn and tomatoes. Thinly slice steak and toss with salad.

Mix all dressing ingredients together, and pour over salad. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Jamika Pessoa 

(apparently - I have no idea where I originally found this

 recipe but the same one is attributed to her everywhere.) 

carrot joy

The first time we made this recipe we tried it with beets, zucchini and carrots. The beets were good, but messy and there are a thousand better ways to prepare zucchini. I expected that the carrots would be okay, but nothing special. I was wrong. Though carrots are, by far, not my favorite vegetable, this recipe made them delightful. I didn't even miss the potatoes I usually make these with. They still need sour cream though, no matter what veggie you use.

Or, as we discovered, you can stuff them with goat cheese. Lay down a thin amount of veggies, add a pat of goat cheese, cover with more veggies and cook as directed.

Vegetable Latkes

3 cups grated carrot, turnip, beets or zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
Pinch of salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Wrap a light weight dishtowel around 1 cup of grated vegetable at a time and squeeze as much water out as possible.

In a bowl, mix grated vegetable with egg, salt and pepper. Start with the two eggs per 3 cups of grated vegetables to bind the latkes. After frying a few, add more egg as binder only if necessary.

Heat 1/2 cup oil over medium to medium-high heat. Toss a pinch of grated vegetable in the pan – you’ll know the oil is hot enough if it starts sizzling immediately. Scoop 1/4 cup or less of grated vegetable into your hand and form into a very loose patty. Set the patty in the hot pan and press it down gently with a fork.

Cook at least 2-3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

You can keep the oven at 250 degrees and keep latkes warm inside the oven while you cook the whole batch.

If the oil becomes dark or begins to smoke, it is necessary to dump out the oil, wipe out the pan and start fresh before frying more latkes.

Recipe from Mark Sisson's Daily Apple

soup du jour

Nothing sounds better when snowed in than soup - so everything we saw on Mark Bittman's soup and sandwich episode looks amazing. We haven't tried any of these yet, but wanted to pull them all together so that their easy for us to find.

Wintertime Tomato Soup

1 28- or 35-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, optional
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart (4 cups) stock or water
1/4 cup chopped parsley.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drain tomatoes and reserve liquid. Halve them and put in a roasting pan; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons oil and the thyme, if using. Roast, turning once or twice, until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Use wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits from pan, adding a little liquid if necessary.

2. Put remaining olive oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add garlic and cook just until it begins to color, a minute or so. Add carrot and onion and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper and stirring, for about 5 minutes. Stir in stock or water, along with contents of roasting pan and reserved tomato juice.

3. Turn heat to high and bring soup to a boil, then lower heat so it bubbles gently. Cover and cook until vegetables are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.

From The New York Times

Zucchini-Pear Soup

3 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil, or a combination of both
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 medium potato, preferably high-starch ("russet" or "baking"), peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or a pinch of dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium zucchini, trimmed and diced
2 medium ripe (but still firm) pears, peeled, cored and diced
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or use water
Mint leaves for garnish, optional

Put butter, oil or combination in a large skillet over medium heat; when butter melts or oil is hot, cook carrot, onion, potato and thyme with a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, adjusting heat so vegetables do not brown. When onion is softened, about 5 minutes, add zucchini and continue to cook until everything is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add pear and cook until it has softened, about 5 minutes more. Add liquid and bring to a boil; taste and adjust seasoning. Cool mixture, then puree. Serve cold or reheat and serve hot, garnished with mint, if desired.

From Cooking Channel

Escarole Soup with Rice

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil
3 or 4 cloves garlic, finely minced, plus 4 or 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cups coarsely chopped escarole (about one head)
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1/4 cup short-grain white rice, like arborio
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Parmesan rind, optional

Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add onions and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 more minutes. Add escarole and cook, tossing gently, until it begins to wilt, about another 3 minutes.

Add stock and rice to the pan, bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, put remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a small skillet. When oil is hot, add sliced garlic and cook over medium-low heat until it turns golden brown and begins to crisp. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside.

When rice is cooked through, season soup with salt and pepper, top with a grating of Parmesan and garnish with garlic slivers.

From Cooking Channel

And the sandwich to go with all those soups:

Pork-Fennel Burger

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into large chunks
3 to 4 cloves garlic
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, with some of the fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, or more to taste
Peeled orange slices, chopped olives, chopped parsley, chopped roasted red pepper and fennel slices, to serve, optional

If grilling or broiling, heat should be medium-high and rack about 4 inches from fire. Put fennel and garlic into a food processor and pulse until just chopped; remove to a large bowl. Put pork fat in processor and grind until just chopped; add to bowl. Working in batches, process meat with fennel seeds, caraway, if using and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, until meat is just chopped (be careful not to over-process). Add to bowl and mix well. Shape mixture into 8 patties.

To broil or grill, cook about 5 minutes on each side, turning once after 4 or 5 minutes and again as necessary, 8 to 10 minutes total. For stovetop, heat a large skillet over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes, then add patties; cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes, then rotate them so they brown evenly. When browned, turn. Total cooking time is about 10 minutes. (They can remain ever-so-slightly pink in the center.)

Garnish with peeled orange slices, chopped olives, chopped parsley, chopped roasted red pepper and fennel slices, to taste.

From Cooking Channel

quick 4 ham gumbo

While trying to use up a bunch of stuff in our freezer I created a delicious gumbo out of all of the ham products we had.

Ingredients:
homemade ham broth
1 cup of chopped tasso ham
4 links andouille sausage, sliced
1 link linguica, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 bag of frozen okra

Heat the ham broth in a separate pan until boiling. Put a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of oil in the stew-pot. Sweat the onions and then add the tasso to the pot. Cook until the bottom of the pot begins to brown. (If possible turn off the pan and let the bottom get really brown without burning.) Add the andouille and linguica and cook for 5 minutes. Add the boiling broth. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the okra and heat until cooked through or until it just begins to boil.

Eat deliciousness.

the best kind of iced

...besides coffee that is.

We love Japanese hot pot, and each time we go I try to try a new ingredient. Recently my favorite addition has been iced tofu - a spongy version that soaks up the broth and has a texture very much like matzo balls. And after a little research I found out it couldn't be easier to make.

Ingredient:
1 pkg soft tofu

Remove the tofu from the package and drain. Wrap tofu in cling wrap and place in a zip-lock freezer bag. Freeze overnight. Thaw in the fridge or on the counter to use the same day. Drain the rest of the liquid - you may need to press the tofu a bit to get all of the liquid out.

You can then slice the tofu on the short end, or as the hot pot place does, make tofu triangles. To make triangles: cut the tofu in half from the top so that you have 2 rectangles. Cut each rectangle from the top in half again and then cut each of those rectangles on the angle to create two triangles. Lastly, cut from the side to cut each triangle in half.

The iced tofu can be used in soups or in other dishes with a sauce - anything delicious that can be soaked up by the tofu. I can't wait to try it with chicken soup and see if it really can be a substitute for matzo balls.

Recipe courtesy of Little Corner of Mine

stuffed balls

A great combo...

Turkey Meatballs

2 lbs ground turkey (2/3 dark meat, 1/3 white meat)
1 egg
2 leaves of swiss chard
1 clove garlic
half an onion
parmesan cheese
romano cheese
salt
pepper
garlic power
onion powder
dried basil

Chop up swiss chard, spinach or kale very finely. Mix ground turkey with one egg, chopped chard, finely chopped garlic, finely chopped onion, parmesan and romano cheeses, and spices (all spices to taste). Form into meatballs. Pan fry in olive oil.

Grated cauliflower, carrots or zucchini, in place of the swiss chard, will also go very well and add needed moisture to the meat.

Top with tomato sauce.


Mini Stuffed Peppers

1 package of mini-peppers
1/2 pkg cream cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese
salt
pepper
garlic power
onion powder
dried basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the tops and the seeds of the peppers. Heat cream cheese for 20 seconds and add spices. Mix to combine. Stuff peppers with cream cheese mixture and top the cream cheese mix with a small bit of shredded mozzarella cheese. Place on cookie sheet and brush each pepper with olive oil. Cook in the oven for 28-30 minutes. Be sure to remove from the cookie sheet as soon as possible to prevent the cheese from sticking to the pan.

calamari cavalcade

Angelo the fish guy provides some of the best seafood I've ever prepared. But you really get it like it's right out of the ocean, so when I asked for a box of small calamari I had no idea what I was in for. It took two hours to clean and prepare, until I was left with close to 3 pounds of calamari rings. Now what to do with it.

Fried Calamari

I wanted to start with fried battered calamari, as it's one of my favorite things. I tried the following recipe, but it probably needed to be cooked a little longer and needed more salt for sure.

1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 heaping tablespoons potato starch
3 large yolks, beaten
3 cups vegetable oil
1 pound fresh squid tubes, cleaned and sliced into rings

Pour the oil into a wok and warm to 350 degrees F over high heat. Dip the calamari rings into the batter using a slotted spoon and stir until well coated. Shake off the excess batter and carefully lower into the hot oil. Fry, stirring frequently with a strainer, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer the calamari to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with salt and pepper while hot.

Adapted from Cooking Channel

Roasted Calamari

For the roasted calamari I combined a recipe for a calamari salad with the vegetables that sounded delicious at the grocery store. I was really surprised at how sweet and delicious the calamari turned out and think they would work well in a lot of dishes.

1 pound cleaned small calamari, cut into 1/2-inch rings
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 poblano or jalapeno pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Halve the grape tomatoes and cut the poblano into medium sized pieces. Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes.

On a separate, large, rimmed baking sheet, toss the garlic with olive oil. Roast the garlic on the top shelf of the oven for about 4 minutes, or until lightly golden. Toss the calamari with the garlic, add salt and pepper, and roast for about 3 minutes, until opaque and firm.

Plate asparagus, top with tomatoes and poblano and then top with calamari and garlic. Squeeze lemon on everything to taste.

Adapted from Food and Wine

primal meal deal

This came together perfectly and it just happened to use up a bunch of leftover odds and ends that were sitting in the fridge. Skirt steak pairs well with just about anything and these sides were no exception. I make roasted brussel sprouts regularly, but these turned out so perfectly I had to make sure I captured the recipe.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Quarter brussel sprouts. Coat in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on cookie sheet. Check after 15 minutes, and cook no more than 20 minutes.


Turnip Risotto

3 turnips
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
fresh herbs

In one pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Peel and grate the turnips (either by hand or in a food processor). In a second pot, melt the butter. Add the grated turnips to the butter and stir. Add the boiling chicken stock. Leave the turnips on a high boil for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. For added creaminess, add butter or cream to turnips before serving (though this isn't necessary).

Heat oil on medium-high in a separate pan (you can use the same pot you used for the chicken stock). Add the sliced shallots and heat until browned but not burned. Remove from the oil.

Plate the turnips and top with fresh herbs and crispy shallots.


Broiled Skirt Steak

Pre-heat the broiler. Season the skirt steak on both sides. Place the skirt steak on the cookie sheet the brussel sprouts were roasted on, and broil for 3 minutes on each side. Let rest for a couple of minutes before slicing.

Altogether a filling, healthy meal that can use up all the bits and pieces in your fridge.

fresh citrus fish

Mark Bittman has been quite the inspiration lately as his recipes all look easy and flavorful. For this recipe you just need to make sure you use enough fruit to balance the heat and bite of the jalapeno and shallot.

Fried White Fish with Fruit Salsa

1 pound of white fish (haddock, etc.)

1 grapefruit

1 orange

1 lime

1/2 shallot

1 jalapeno

butter

salt and pepper

Start with the salsa so it has time to meld. Halve the grapefruit, orange and lime, and using a grapefruit knife, section each fruit and add to a bowl. (Squeeze the extra juice of each fruit into one glass, add ice and vodka for a citrusy treat.) Mince the shallots and add to the bowl. Heat jalapeno over burner on the stove until it begins to pop to add a bit of roasted flavor. Mince and add to the bowl. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Salt and pepper the flesh side of the fish. Heat butter in a pan (don't use non-stick) over medium-high heat until bubbly. Add fish to the pan, skin side down. Cook until the skin is browned and the flesh begins to whiten. Flip and cook until flaky.

Remove to plate, skin side down. Top with the fruit salsa to cover the whole fish - you're going to want to get a bite of the salsa with each bite of fish! 

tropical pancakes

This came together when I was craving pancakes and couldn't figure out what to do with a banana that only had a day or two left before it went bad.

Coconut Flour Pancakes with Fried Bananas

2 eggs
1/4 cup of coconut flour
1/2 tbsp half and half
1/4 tsp maple syrup
bacon fat
1 banana

Mix eggs, coconut flour, half and half and maple syrup. Heat pan to medium-high and melt bacon fat. Pour out 3-4 pancakes and spread out with the back of the spoon/fork. Cook until brown and the top is slightly dried, about 2 minutes, and flip. Cook another 2 minutes and remove to plate.

Add more bacon fat to the pan and add sliced bananas. Cook bananas until slightly browned. Top pancakes with bananas and drizzle with small amount of maple syrup.

shu, shu, shumai

We bought a steamer just for this recipe, but now we can't wait to use it for everything. This is a fun way to make something completely delicious.

Cabbage "Shumai"

1 lb of ground pork
2 Tbsp grated ginger (or more)
1 clove of garlic
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp Shao Xing rice wine
2 green onions (thinly sliced)
2 Tbsp coconut flour
2 eggs
1 head of cabbage
salt and pepper

Clean the cabbage and remove the core. Boil the cabbage until each leaf separates. Remove each leaf from the core as it separates and stack on a plate to cool.

Combine ground pork, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice wine, green onion, coconut flour, tamari, rice wine, eggs, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper and mix well.

Make packets by rolling cabbage around pork mixture, tucking sides in. Place the rolls seam side down in the steamer leaving enough space between each roll for steam to come through.

Over high heat, steam the shumai for 20-25 minutes until fully cooked.

Dipping sauce:

1 Tbsp Sesame oil
2 Tbsp Rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp Garlic Chili sauce

Combine all and mix well.

Adapted from Paleodad