Published by mel on May 30, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Nothing says comfort food like a big bowl of slurpy noodles. Surprisingly, I don’t miss living in New York as much as I thought I would. I’ve adjusted well to the tropical weather and the beach across the street from my home. And the flip flops. But one of the things I really miss is the delicious and plentiful Asian food. It’s sorely lacking here in Miami, so I’ve taken to making much more of it at home than I ever did in New York.
Lately, the craving has been for a big bowl of Udon noodles with pork, dumplings, fish cakes (they’re delicious - I swear!), shrimp tempura and a poached egg. A bit weird since it’s full-blown summer here and that’s definitely a winter meal. But I craved it nonetheless. And it’s nowhere to be found. (If anyone has a recommendation, please please please leave a comment!)
Where was I? Oh yeah - so I made some Udon soup to calm the craving. It’s not really authentic, and doesn’t have the shrimp tempura or the fish cakes, but it’s still a big comfy bowl of noodle soup. And it’s delicious!
Continue reading ‘big, slurpy bowl of udon noodles’
Published by mel on May 28, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Usually potato salad means boiled potatoes and globs of mayonnaise. (Um, duh.) And while this kind of potato salad can be just the thing for a backyard BBQ, it’s not exactly what you want to eat for lunch everyday. I posted a vinaigrette-based version a few weeks ago, and when I saw the pretty, locally-grown fingerlings at the grocery store, I snatched them up for more potato salad.
This time, a simple green salad with oven-roasted fingerlings, greens, feta cheese and pistachios dressed with a lemony vinaigrette. A lighter alternative to the standard potato salad that works equally well as an entree or side. And honestly, roasted potatoes are just perfect for a salad. Hearty and creamy and perfectly satisfying.
Continue reading ‘a different kind of potato salad’
Published by mel on May 27, 2008 in recipe and sides & bites.
Everyone needs a pretty and easy hors d’oeuvre recipe. Whenever I have people over, I usually end up with one hopelessly complicated starter that takes me entirely too long to make. Whether it’s fussily topping mini toasts with cheese and fresh herbs or wrapping something together until it’s just so, I always end up in the kitchen sweating it out until the very last minute before my guests arrive.
That’s why you have to have those other make-ahead hors d-oeuvres. Like hummus or dip. The ones you can make in the morning and pull out of the fridge right when you need them. I found this recipe for simple goat cheese cylinders coated in fresh herbs and spices over at The Pioneer Woman and thought I’d give it a go for a dinner party.
That was the night I stupidly left the ravioli-making until the very last minute. Thank God I’d made these pretty little goat cheeses earlier. They saved the day and they were a total hit. My guests devoured them. Loved every last bite of them.
So, in case you missed it on the Pioneer Woman, here’s the “recipe” with the addition of a poppy seed coated cheese. Next time, I might try an aromatic curry one, or Chinese five spice. I highly recommend you make these for your next dinner party to save yourself some stress. Or maybe you’re smarter than I am and you make everything ahead of schedule, in which case, don’t rub it in…
Continue reading ‘the pioneer woman’s easy goat cheese hors d’oeuvres’
Published by mel on May 23, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I think this is my new favorite salad. Actually, I’m pretty sure it is. It’s spicy and smoky, crunchy and refreshing, which is good because it’s been over 90° here this week with 10,000% humidity. It would also be the perfect bring-to-cook-out dish (and Monday is Memorial Day!).
It all starts with a giant jicama. This one was the last one in the store and was buried under a pile of celery root. I dug it out though. And it was huge. I mean, huge. At least 2 pounds. When I shredded it, it filled my entire food processor container, and that thing is big.
Next came the black beans. Those were simple — I used canned. Then I cooked a few slices of sweet, center-cut bacon. It has less fat than regular bacon and gives the salad that smoky, meaty flavor. Then I quickly sauteed the shrimp in the bacon fat until they were just done. (If you’re not into the whole bacon thing, you can always use steamed shrimp and add a tablespoon of smoked paprika for flavor.)
A lot of lime zest, lime juice, scallions, cilantro and a couple of serrano peppers went in as well and everything was tossed together in a big blue bowl. A refreshing and satisfying salad for a cook out or a quiet summer evening.
Continue reading ’shrimp, jicama & black bean salad w/lime serrano dressing’
Published by mel on May 21, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I love french fries. When my parents took me to France as a teen (with an unfortunate curly-fro), I saw a french fry sandwich. A french fry sandwich? Yep. Fries stuffed into a baguette and smeared with mayo. It was a beautiful sandwich. Very healthy.
Anyway, I’m always looking for ways to make fries at home that are healthy and tasty. Not just regular tasty, but the addictive, can’t-stop-eating-them tasty of a real french fry. Last night I made a batch of sweet potato fries spiked with smoked paprika, lime zest and a ton of freshly ground pepper. Usually the sweet potato is far too sweet for me, but the citrus and spices cut the sweetness nicely. They were definitely addictive.
Sweet potatoes are also “good carbs” with a low glycemic index and a high nutritional content, so i don’t even feel that bad about eating my entire portion and half of Tom’s. Not one bit.
I served these alongside an espresso-rubbed pork tenderloin, which was bold and a bit spicy. A simple weekday meal.
Continue reading ‘espresso pork tenderloin & smoked paprika sweet potato fries’
Published by mel on May 19, 2008 in entree and recipe.
My mom is famous for her Arroz con Pollo. Down here, everyone’s mom knows how to make Arroz con Pollo, but my mom’s is the undisputed best ever. There are millions of ways to make this dish, with each country and region laying claim to a different “authentic” variety.
Every Arroz con Pollo starts out with a basic sofrito of diced onions, garlic, bell pepper and spices sauteed in olive oil. Some people make their dish the traditional Spanish way where the rice ends up a bit dry and fluffy. I hate this version. My mom makes hers in the Puerto Rican style, which is very creamy and a bit soupy. Like a Latin risotto. Her secret ingredient? She adds a beer to the pot just before cooking the rice. It plumps the rice up and adds a nice zing to the pot. This recipe reveals her other secret tricks, such as soaking the rice in warm saffron water. I hope she won’t mind.
Arroz con Pollo is the Latin American version of meatloaf. Or pot roast. Or mac & cheese. Everyone’s got a recipe and everyone swears that theirs is the most authentic and the most delicious. Well, they’re wrong. My mom’s recipe is the most delicious. It just is. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.
Continue reading ‘mom’s arroz con pollo (chicken & rice)’
Published by mel on May 16, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Every Friday night is pizza night at my house. I make the dough in the morning and it rises patiently on my counter top while I work. My husband gets home first, so he preheats the oven and the pizza stone and gives the dough a bit of a knead for it’s second rising (um, it’s not as dramatic as it sounds).
Then we eat our pizza in front of the TV with ice-cold I.P.A. in our frosty, fancy monogrammed beer mugs. After dinner, I usually fall asleep on the couch before 10, all the while pretending that I’m still awake while Tom tries to switch the channel to a movie I’d never in a million years watch with him. It’s a nice tradition.
A few months ago, I decided it was time to break tradition and branch out into the world of calzones. I stuffed them with ricotta, Parmesan, basil and toasted pine nuts. Having faced previous disasters with dumplings, raviolis and empanadas, I was very careful not to over-stuff. I waited patiently while the baked. Then I finally took a big bite, expecting a beautiful, creamy filling surrounded by a thin, crisp crust. Wrong. All I got was bread. And the filling? I could barely taste it. So bland.
The moral of the story is this: Fill the crap out of your calzone. And fill it with big, bold flavors. None of this subtle ricotta and toasted pine nuts. So I tried again with Portuguese Chourico (duh), sun-dried tomatoes, onions, arugula and semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese. Now that was a calzone worth posting. Spicy, rich, meaty and you could definitely taste the filling. It’s a calzone mighty enough to break tradition and delicious enough to make again and again.
Continue reading ‘pizza pie! how to make a tasty calzone.’
Published by mel on May 14, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I love summer rolls for a number of reasons.
1. They’re pretty
2. They’re hand-held
3. You can dip them in sauce
4. They’re healthy
5. They are super tasty
I don’t like summer rolls for a few reasons.
1. They’re a pain to wrap
2. The rice paper is delicate as all hell and a pain to wrap
3. Man, are they ever a pain to wrap
I’ve always loved summer rolls. I just never got why they were so expensive. Five or Six dollars for some vegetables wrapped in rice paper? Why? I finally found some rice paper wraps at Whole Foods and thought I’d give them a go. How hard could they be?
Turns out, they’re not so easy. The five or six bucks is for labor, not ingredients. You have to dip the rice paper in warm water to soften it up. You can’t do more than one at a time or they’ll stick together (at least in my experience). And you have to be careful wrapping the little suckers or they’ll break and you’ll have to start all over again.
But they are tasty. Very tasty. Like a hand-held salad you dip in dressing. Maybe I just have to get the hang of it. Maybe, like dumplings, they just take practice. I’m sure I will try and try again until I get them right (I still have like 50 rice paper wraps in the pantry). Next time, I’ll also throw some shrimp in there. I think they need it. Everything is better with shrimp.
Continue reading ’summer rolls w/ spicy peanut & sesame basil dipping sauces’
Published by mel on May 12, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Normally, I would spend the day with my mom, but my parents are on vacation in Argentina. When they first announced their plans, I was envious of all the beautiful leather shoes my mom would buy and the delicious steaks they’d eat. But as it happens, all of the pilots in Argentina went on strike this weekend.
Last week, my parents were in Patagonia, on a glacier, enjoying nature’s beauty and were supposed to catch a plane to Buenos Aires on Saturday for some shopping, eating and sight-seeing. Instead, they ended up on a 40-hour bus ride from the bottom of the earth back to civilization. And that’s how my mom spent her Mother’s Day. I don’t think I envy the beautiful leather shoes anymore. And the steak? Well, I made up for it by buying some thick and meaty short ribs of my own.
While my mom was taking in the beauty of the Argentine countryside, I was braising those short ribs for my Nana. If you ever want to make someone feel special, make them short ribs. They’re fall off the bone, melt in your mouth, barely even have to chew, decadent and delicious. And the leftovers will be finding their way into a nice, crusty baguette tonight. I can barely wait!
Continue reading ‘espresso and pasilla braised short ribs’
Published by mel on May 8, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Back in college, Saturdays in the Fall used to be all about football. And football started first thing in the morning. It’s very important to get a few hours of tailgating in before the noon kick-off. So that means kegs and eggs. Yep, beer and breakfast. I’ll admit the first beer doesn’t go down so easily, but you get used to it after the first one, and you’re definitely enjoying it by the second or third. Some girls started with mimosas, but I’m a beer girl.
Last night I was cooking the potatoes and onions for my frittata when they began sticking to the pan. I didn’t want to add more oil and I didn’t have any chicken stock handy. Water is flavorless, and I needed something to help the potatoes and onions soften. Then that Corona in the fridge caught my eye. I promptly poured 1/3 of the bottle over the potatoes. The pan deglazed, the potatoes softened and a nice beer-y smell filled the air. Kegs and eggs anyone? Yes, please.
The roasted tomato salsa was a perfect match for the Corona-spiked frittata. It would also be darn tasty with some tortilla chips. I encourage you all to regress to those college days and try some kegs with your eggs.
Continue reading ‘potato & spinach frittata w/ roasted golden tomato salsa’
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