Published by mel on October 29, 2008 in entree and recipe.
It’s finally (finally!) cooling off here, and so I can justify all of my soups, stews and casseroles. In honor of the cold weather (what? 55° is cold for Miamians!), I made a spicy Chicken Enchilada Casserole with a crumbly, cheesy tortilla crust.
This casserole reminds me of a 7-layer dip, even though you’ll find no canned chili or cream cheese in here. You start with a layer of brown rice, then follow up it with layers of beans, hominy, sauteed onions and poblano peppers, shredded chicken, Enchilada sauce, corn tortilla dough and shredded cheddar cheese. Into the oven for 35 minutes, and out comes a slightly spicy, bubbly, cheesy casserole of goodness.
This dish can be made a day or two in advance and baked just before you’re ready to eat. I suspect you could easily freeze the casserole whole for those times when you find your fridge and pantry bare (a trend in my house lately).
Tom loved this casserole, and I gotta say, it’s crazy delicious in that messy comfort food kind of way. I can’t wait to get into the leftovers, and I’m thinking about making another batch soon to stock the freezer. There’s just nothing better than a cheesy, melty casserole and a chilly beer to welcome the fall.
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Published by mel on October 17, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I wasn’t going to post this recipe. This was supposed to be a super simple, healthy weeknight dinner. Not interesting enough to deserve a whole post. But then I tasted it and knew I had to share. These beans are deceptively easy and mind-blowingly delicious. There’s something hearty and earthy about the combination of beans and smoky, salty, crisp-like-bacon prosciutto. Add a little fresh sage, Pecorino and fancy olive oil and you’ve got a quick and tasty dinner.
I used Rancho Gordo’s Black Calypso beans and grabbed the recipe idea from their site. You can substitute dried Anasazi beans, or even canned great northern beans if you’re not up to cooking dried beans. Either way, these beans are definitely worth a try.
And now it’s time for some shameless self-promotion. As you know, the Ile de France cheese company, sent me some goat cheese to blog about awhile back and I submitted my tartlets to their recipe contest. Well, it’s time to vote! Help a girl out and head on over to the contest page.
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Published by mel on September 19, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I see on the news that it’s starting to cool down in some places. Not here. It’s still getting up to 90° most days, but the humidity is starting to let up. And so, it’s time for soup. Warm and hearty soups full of beans and grains and vegetables. Yummy soup that fills you up and comforts you on a bad day.
I love soup. It’s so good for you, comes together in just a few minutes and you’ve only got one pot to wash when you’re done. A few years ago, when I still lived in a place where it snows in winter, I discovered bean and barley soup. It sounds so simple, I know, but there’s something about red kidney beans and barley that taste amazing together.
For this soup, I added in some hot Italian chicken sausage to really make it a meal and some smoked paprika and lime to perk it up. It’s the kind of soup I’ll make on a Monday morning and eat for lunch the rest of the week with some whole grain bread or crackers. It’s thick and flavorful, stick-to-your-ribs goodness.
Related: Simple Sausage & Red Lentil Soup
p.s. See if you can spot me in the spoon. Hi guys!
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Published by mel on July 14, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Some people find it surprising that the biggest tag on this site is vegetarian. People who know me know that I love big, juicy burgers, chorizo (duh), short ribs, lamb and sausage. And while I’m pretty sure I’ll never go vegetarian, I think more than half my meals are meatless. There’s no real reason why I make so many vegetarian dishes, I just like them. Besides, going meatless reduces greenhouse gases and so is good for the environment and good for my health.
This three-bean chili is warm and hearty and just perfect for lunch. Black, kidney and great northern beans are mixed with fire-roasted tomatoes and green chilies. Bulgur adds a nice texture and masa harina is my secret (not so much anymore) thickening agent. It also gives it a little bit of that cornbread flavor that goes so well with chili powder. My other secret is a bit of smoked paprika, which goes a long way at giving this chili a rounder, meatier flavor.
I made a little hominy salsa with lime juice and cilantro to top the chili and brighten the flavors. I also made some jalapeño cheddar and chickpea muffins, but those were a complete failure and I had to throw them out. Sigh. I hate it when that happens.
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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.
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Published by mel on April 11, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Earlier this week I posted a dish inspired by fall. Not very timely, though I hear it’s still snowing in some parts. In an effort to be more season-appropriate, I made a spring soup with a light broth, mini meatballs and fresh asparagus.
For the meatballs, I ground the pork myself from some cutlets. I also threw some turkey bacon in the food processor for that smoky depth and rounded it all out with fennel seeds and crushed red pepper. I’d never ground my own meat before, and honestly, it was a cinch. Just place everything in the food processor and run it for a minute or two. It’s a lot fluffier (for lack of a better word) than the compacted stuff you get at the butcher counter, and I bet freshly ground beef is the key to the perfect burger.
Anyway, nothing says spring like crisp asparagus. Washed and sliced, it went in at the last minute along with some lemon juice. The soup was somehow light and hearty at the same time. All it needed was a nice heap of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a big spoon.
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Published by mel on March 18, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Tom thought I was insane when he opened my order from Rancho Gordo. He pulled bag after bag of heirloom beans from the DHL box, laughing the entire time. He lined them all up on the counter, poked fun at me and took a picture. That was before he tasted them and admitted they were the best beans he’s ever had. So there.
On Sunday morning, I left some Anasazi beans soaking while I went to the beach. Unlike the beans you buy at the grocery store, Rancho Gordo beans are really fresh and start to plump up right away. I let them simmer for a few hours and simply added some salt, raw garlic and sauteed onions. The raw garlic is my grandmother’s secret to amazing beans. She always crushed them in a mortar and pestle until the cloves turned into a paste. If you just mince the garlic, it won’t melt into the liquid and if you sautee the garlic with the onions, the beans will take on a slightly bitter flavor. Her beans are legendary among the family.
The Anasazis made an excellent “pot liquor” and I served them simply with a squeeze of lime, cilantro leaves and queso fresco. They were so meaty and satisfying that I almost forgot I hadn’t added ham or chorizo as is the tradition with most Cuban and Spanish bean dishes.
I imagine these would make a fantastic base for rice and beans or tacos. I’ve got 7 other varieties stacked neatly in my pantry that I can’t wait to get into!
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Published by mel on February 15, 2007 in recipe and sides & bites.
Recipes that call for chipotle peppers usually ask for 1 or 2 peppers. The cans of peppers, on the other hand, only come in one size: huge. How to use the remaining peppers? Fajitas were eh — too boring. I was going to roast a pork loin rubbed with chipotle pepper and onion paste…but I can never remember to defrost things. A quick search on epicurious.com turned up these hot and smoky beans.
They had everything a girl could want: dark beer, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard and BBQ sauce. Bingo!
Honestly, these were so delicious. We ate them with a simple salad for a filling and yumtastic dinner.
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