Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili

Moar Balanced Bytes:

Recipe

1 lb chorizo
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 sweet potato (or 2)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
1 can (15 oz) black beans
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
2 c water

Remove the chorizo from its casing and brown over medium heat in a large pot, breaking up and stirring.  Dice the onion and mince the garlic, and add to the pot.  Cut the sweet potato into 1/2 cubes, and add them next.  Next, the beans (drained and rinsed), tomatoes (with juices), tomato paste, spices, and water.  Stir, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are soft.  Top with green onion, cheese, tortilla, sour cream, whatever.

Notes

By their calculations, this one is $9.  It's worth "splurging" on extra meat and sweet potato.  Then you end up with a couple meals-worth of very rich stew.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Build lean muscle while eating cookies?  Worth a shot...

Recipe

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup Splenda (really? maybe plain sugar instead?)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
sea salt

Mix the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg until doughy.  Line a cookie sheet with foil, lightly oil, and plop spoonfuls on there.  You can flatten them out and give them the standard press pattern with a fork if you want.  Give a very light sprinkle of sea salt.  Cook 10-15 minutes at 350, until golden brown.

Notes

Simple enough, but I don't think I got a single ingredient right in my first attempt.  I had chunky peanut butter, honey, and almond extract.  OK, an egg is hard to mess up.  And sea salt.  So not as bad as I thought, but still...  I said what the hell, I'll make it work through sheer force of will.  It was... interesting.

Dragon Noodles

Next up from Balanced Bytes:

Recipe

4-6 oz. lo mein noodles (or similar, e.g., egg noodles)
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large egg
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sriracha
cilantro, green onion

Start up the noodles.  Mix together the sauce: brown sugar, soy sauce, and sriracha.  Melt the butter over med-low heat, adding the red pepper.  Whisk up the egg and add it in with the butter, stirring and breaking it up until cooked through.  If necessary, remove from heat until the noodles are ready.  Add the noodles and sauce, and mix together.  Garnish with cilantro and green onion.

Notes

Like the first one from the same website, this one is cheap and easy.  It's also very fast - that's the nice thing about noodles and eggs.  After some 15 minutes you've got a bowl of rich, spicy, eggy noodles.  My first batch didn't really seem worth a picture without the little green touches though...

Chicken Fajitas

Down the reddit /r/food rabbit hole...  This is the first of a couple cheap & easy dishes:

Recipe

1 large onion
2-3 bell peppers (various colors)
1 lb chicken breast
1 lime
2 tbsp oil

Seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix the seasonings together.  Slice the onion, pepper, and chicken into thin slices, and place in a casserole dish.  Sprinkle the seasoning mixture and drizzle the oil over, and mix together until well coated.  Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400 degrees, mixing again halfway through.  Squeeze the juice from half of a lime over everything, and fix as desired - over rice, in tortillas, with sour cream or cheese, whatever.

Notes

This is super easy and, as per the website, cheap.  One main cutting board and dish.  And you don't seem to sacrifice flavor or texture by baking it instead of doing it up in a skillet.  Excellent to do as a big batch for some leftovers too.

Potato & Bacon Soup

Guy Fieri provided me with a great way to work through a big bag of potatoes and the summer's backlog of bacon-of-the-month:

Recipe

4 large potatoes (or more smaller potatoes)
12 slices bacon
1/2 c flour
6 c milk
5 oz cheddar cheese, grated
3 tbsp chives, chopped
sour cream
salt & pepper

Bake the potatoes at 350 degrees until cooked through and soft, about 45 minutes.  Once those are close to done, slice the bacon into thin strips (lardons - thanks Guy).  Crisp them up in a thick-bottomed pot, then remove but leave the drippings.  Stir in the flour and cook a minute.  Add the milk and whisk together, then cook about 15 minutes, until thick and bubbly.

Scoop out the insides of the potatoes and mash them into the milk mixture.  Add in most of the bacon and cheese, and some salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and serve with more bacon and cheese, plus chives and sour cream.

Notes

This one goes simply enough, not a ton of prep and everything goes in phases.  The one tricky bit was the potatoes.  Obviously, they took longer to bake than the 45 minutes, then were very hot to get out of the skins.  Next time, I'd probably just skin them before baking - not sure why that isn't the default.

In the end, the potatoes fit nicely into the soup.  Except for a few slightly undercooked lumps, we actually had a nice, thick broth with a ton of flavor:

Sweet & Spicy Chicken

Gave the top half of this recipe a try - will have to go back again for the sweet potato and bacon fritters.

Recipe

8(-ish) bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbsp coconut oil

Rub
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt

Glaze
1/4 c honey
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine rub ingredients and get it on the chicken.  Heat the oil high in a cast iron skillet and brown the chicken, a few minutes each side to get the skin crispy.  Then transfer to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile combine the glaze ingredients, then brush on the chicken and cook until done (at least 10 more minutes).

Notes

The chicken came out well, but it felt like it could have been crispier and spicier.  Some of that may be on me/something that can be fixed.  Still ended up as a nice meal:

Zesty Shrimp Penne

One of my favorite reasons to cook is to mix up what I'm eating, especially getting some seafood into the diet.  While I'm not a big shrimp fan, this recipe looked worth a shot (and a trip to Whole Foods to actually get some of the critters).

Recipe

1 lb shrimp, shelled and de-veined
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups penne

Combine the olive oil, cheese, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes.  Add to a Ziploc bag with the shrimp and coat thoroughly.  Marinate for at least 30 minutes (but plenty more if you have time).

Later on...  Get your pasta going.  About halfway through, Heat a skillet and add the contents of the bag.  Cook the shrimp until done, a few minutes each side.  Toss in the pasta (and some pepper never hurts) and serve.

Notes

As with other recent pasta experiments, I was worried about the amount of sauce going on the pasta.  As I poured in the penne, I wondered if I'd missed something and if I'd just be eating plain pasta with some shrimp tossed in.  I shouldn't have.  The pasta soaks up the rich, oily marinade and just gives you mouthfuls of flavor (you can see the sheen in the picture).  This recipe packs a lot of punch for relatively few, easy ingredients and steps - a nice combination of salty and a little sweetness.  Might become a go-to recipe when I feel like splurging on (pre-shelled and de-veined) shrimp!

Homemade Sauerkraut

Continuing to keep that jar full of veggie snacks.  Next up was getting in touch with the German heritage with some sauerkraut.

Recipe

1-2 jalapenos
1 head of green cabbage
2 large carrots
2-4 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper

Set aside a couple outer cabbage leaves, and chop the rest thinly.  Slice your garlic and jalapeno, and grate the carrots.

With about a third of the cabbage at once, squeeze the cabbage with some salt, releasing some of the water and making it wet.  Add the rest of the cabbage in stages and do the same.  Then mix in the carrot, garlic, jalapeno and pepper.

Next, the mixture goes in the jars, pressing it in to bring the water level above all the veggies (this may take a while).  Wedge in an outer leaf or two, and add a weight (e.g., shot glass) to keep everything under water.

Finally, everything sits out for at least a week - uncovered, room temperature, making sure everything stays submerged.  Once it's done to taste, you can cover and leave it in the fridge.

Notes

I only gave it that one week.  It's very fragrant for a small kitchen!  Because of the timing, my kraut didn't end up very strong, but it fit very tastefully into sandwiches and other dishes.

The original recipe has you char the jalapenos over a flame - also not very practical for the NYC kitchen.  I was also worried the full recipe wouldn't fit into my one jar.  I shouldn't have - it all mashes down pretty seriously.

Overall, a lot more work than pickling, but an interesting change!

Penne a la Vodka

Apparently this is a manly, alcoholic pasta dish:

Recipe

1 lb penne
1 lb Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb mushrooms, chopped
1 can (16 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 c heavy cream
2 tbsp vodka
4 c loosely packed spinach, chopped
Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp butter
salt & pepper

Brown the sausage in a cast-iron skillet, then set aside to drain on some paper towels.

Probably about now, start boiling water for your pasta.

Melt the butter in your skillet, and saute the onions until soft.  Then add the mushrooms, garlic, and red pepper.  Once that's all soft, add the tomatoes, cream, vodka, and sausage.  Simmer 10 minutes.

Toss with the pasta and spinach, and top with cheese and serve.

Notes

I'll have to take their word for it that the vodka is a crucial element of the recipe - it's good but doesn't really have a drunk taste.  My main concern was really there being enough sauce to cover the pasta.  It ended up more minimal than the basic Italian/pizza joint staple.  It's a lot of ingredients to prep, but it does rotate them through one skillet - you end up needing a handful of bowls ready.  All in all a little gimmicky, but good for a couple hearty pasta meals.

There's a little bit of a comparison to the pumpkin & sausage pasta from earlier.  This one today is probably a little simpler - fewer ingredients - but the vodka maybe doesn't stand out the way pumpkin does...

Jalapeno-Cheddar Scones

This was a clear first choice from A Snap Cookbook: Good and Cheap.

Recipe

2 1/2 c whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1 jalapeno, diced
2 eggs, beaten
1 more egg, beaten
1/2 c milk
salt & pepper

Prep things first because your hands will get messy: Pop the butter in the freezer, preheat the oven (400), and put out a baking sheet with some parchment paper.  And do the other stuff like dicing the jalapeno, grating the cheese, beating the first couple eggs, etc.

First, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Next, grate the (hardened) butter in and squish in with your hands.  The cheese, jalapeno, two eggs and milk go in next, and mix it all in with your hands.  Plop it onto a flat surface and shape it into a disk about 1 1/2" thick.  Cut it into six wedges, put them on the baking sheet, brush with the last egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook for about 25 minutes.

Notes

These came out pretty good, although I wasn't blown away by the flavors.  Use a big jalapeno and plenty of cheese.  And they're probably best going with something rather than just on its own.  But overall it's a nice savory pastry.

Hummus-Crusted Chicken

We're back after a little bit of a layoff for summer travels and being too hot to cook...  Original recipe here.

Recipe

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 lemons
hummus
smoked paprika
olive oil, salt, pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Toss the veggies with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put the veggies in a baking dish and the chicken on top.  Cover the chicken with hummus.  Squeeze one lemon over the chicken and veggies, and slice the other and put the slices under the chicken.  Sprinkle the paprika over everything, and pop in the oven at 450 degrees for about half an hour (until done).

Notes

It's interesting that the major flavor here ends up being the lemon in the veggies.  The hummus does add something to the chicken, but maybe slightly underwhelming?

The other advantage of this recipe is that everything goes into one dish.

Final note: The recipe says to cook for 25-30 minutes.  After 40-45, mine was still underdone.  I actually preferred the leftover chicken breast, which I just cooked the hell out of.

Sesame Salmon

This recipe from the folks at Wok Woks does not actually require a wok...

Recipe

1 lb salmon fillet(s)
1 tbsp gomasio salt
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 leek, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 lb snow peas, shredded
rice (optional)

Put the salmon in a (foil-lined) roasting pan and sprinkle with the salt, sesame seeds, and lime juice.  Bake for about 20 minutes at 425 degrees.  Meanwhile, shred and toss together the vegetables.  Serve the salmon and veggies together, with rice if you want, with the pan juices poured over the top.

Notes

The salmon is simple enough.  I don't have fancy gomasio salt, so just went for regular salt with some sesame oil for the flavor.  The recipe specifies skinless salmon, but whatever.  Anyway, the veggies are a nice touch though, as much as I'm not familiar with leeks.  After one attempt, I think it makes the most sense to grate the carrot and process the leek and snow peas.  All in all a good dinner.

Tofu Tacos

Yeah, I think I'll keep this intro brief and just present the links without comment: here and here.

Recipe

Tacos

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1 brick extra-firm tofu
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
salt, pepper
6 corn tortillas
optional:
cheddar cheese, shredded
avocado, thinly sliced
tomato, chopped

Heat the oil in a deep pan, then saute the onions and cilantro, seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper.  Crumble the tofu into the pan, add the tomato paste, and cook 3-5 minutes.

Line a baking pan with tin foil with three pockets for your tortillas.  Fill each tortilla with the tofu mixture and top with avocado, tomato, and cheese.  Bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Papaya salsa

1 whole papaya
1/2 a red onion, finely diced
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of half a lime
1 tsp Mexican seasoning (or sprinkles of paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper, oregano, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves)
salt

De-seed and -skin your papaya and chop into bite-size chunks.  Mix together with everything else.

Notes

As expected, it's really not quite as good as the real thing.  But it does have some nice things going for it - it's cheap and fast, feels very healthy, works well as a team effort, and (relatedly) I assume there's a reason you were looking for something vegetarian...  It came out as four big tacos.  Also just be aware that you'll have way more salsa than you need, so definitely plan on other ways to finish that off.

Almond Cookies

Here's an "old Dutch Colonial," recipe not house -->

Recipe

3/4 c butter (not a misprint - that's a stick and a half)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c almonds, crushed

Cream the butter, sugar, and almond extract.  Sift the flour with baking soda and salt.  Beat together the butter/sugar and flour mixtures.  Roll the dough out into about a 12" square.  Brush just enough of the egg onto the dough to cover in a light layer, then sprinkle the almonds on top.  Cut into squares and separate.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Notes

This was totally not my dinner tonight...

Asian Turkey Meatballs

I found a new bunch of recipes online courtesy of (the kind of hilariously-named) Eat to Perform.  Here's the first one.  It's Asian, so insert a meathead "ninjas really know how to perform" joke here, maybe?

Recipe

1 lb ground turkey (they say lean...)
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 egg

1/4 c scallions, chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 c stock

1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1/4 c scallions, chopped

Combine the first group of ingredients and make some meatballs, about 2".  Heat your oil over medium-high and brown the meatballs on both/a few sides, about 2 minutes each.  Move the meatballs to a pan for the oven and pour in the stock.  Heat at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the bottom set of ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until it thickens.  Drizzle the glaze over the meatballs (once they're out of the oven, maybe over some rice) and you're ready to eat.

Notes

A few things:

• I un-paleo-ed the original recipe a little bit but I hope it's still healthy!  Cause it's pretty good. 
• I also used the old cast-iron skillet to brown the meatballs, flipped 'em a last time, poured in the (veggie) stock, and popped the skillet in the oven.  Even cutting out the extra pan, it's still a lot of dishes to clean up.
• The recipe is a little ambiguous on where the scallions go.  In the meatballs?  Into the glaze?  Sprinkled on top?  I went with option B...

Glazed Chicken Breasts

Cooks Illustrated Science of Good Cooking again...

Recipe

1 1/2 c apple cider
1/3 c light corn syrup
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp vinegar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 c flour
2 bone-in chicken breasts
1 shallot, minced
oil, salt & pepper

Whisk together the cider, corn syrup, honey, mustard, vinegar, red pepper, and a little salt and pepper.  Preheat the oven to 375 and heat a couple tbsps of oil in an oven-safe skillet.  Pat the chicken dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and coat the chicken in the flour.  Brown skin-side down for 8-14 minutes, flip and cook another 5 minutes.  Set the chicken aside and cook the shallots for a couple minutes, then add the glaze and simmer until thickened and reduced, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and tilt the skillet, roll each piece of chicken to coat, and put skin-side down in the skillet.  Pop the skillet in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through.  When it's done, remove the chicken, heat the glaze for a few minutes to thicken again, and spoon over the chicken to serve.

Notes

There are a couple substitutions the cookbook recommends.  The recipe above is more or less the ones I chose - didn't have corn syrup so I just used extra honey.  It maybe kept the glaze from thickening a bit, but the end result did not suffer.  You should end up with plenty of glaze.  I sopped up the last dregs with a slice of bread.  Maybe all the concentrated sugar undermines the healthiness of the dish (and the steamed green beans), but I'm not complaining.

Beef Stir Fry with Green Beans & Shiitake

Tons of recipes to work through in the Cooks Illustrated Science of Good Cooking cookbook (cook cook cook)...

Recipe

Sauce
1/2 c vegetable broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Stir Fry
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
12 oz flank steak, sliced (with grain then across)
2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, grated
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, cut into 1" pieces
1 onion, chopped (optional but why not)
12 oz green beans, trimmed and halved
1/4 c water
3 scallions, cut into 1 1/2" pieces, white(-ish) pieces quartered lengthwise

Rice - cooked separately

Combine the (stir fry portion) soy sauce and honey and marinate the meat for 10 minutes to an hour.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together.  Separately, combine 1 tsp oil, the garlic, and the ginger.

Drain the beef.  Heat a tsp of oil in a large skillet - get it real hot - then brown the meat, in two batches if needed.  That means let it sit for a minute NO TOUCHING, then stir occasionally for another couple minutes.  Rinse skillet when you're done.

Add a tbsp oil, then cook the mushrooms (a couple minutes, till starting to brown (and onion too if you want)).  Add the green beans and cook 3-4 minutes, then add the water and steam for 2-3 minutes (covered, if possible).  Uncover, clear some space in the center of the skillet, and add the garlic-ginger mixture, mash it into the skillet a little for about a minute, then stir it all up.  Stir in the beef (and any juices), scallions, and sauce.  After another minute or so you're ready to go.

Serve over rice.

Notes

Part of the appeal of the stir-fry concept is that you cook everything in one wok, which in theory reduces cleanup.  Well, somehow I ended up with a teetering stack of dishes to clean after this one.  The recipe calls for a lot of ingredients that you really have to prep in advance, then reserve to be added in phases.  So if you're looking for a quick, simple Asian-inspired meal, go with something simpler.  But this one is pretty good (even left over) for when you're ready to go the extra mile.

I guess the other appeal is that you get your veggies and protein all at once.  This one at least looks pretty healthy!

Lastly, the cookbook used a couple beef stir fries to illustrate the Maillard reaction - browning beef pretty good to maximize flavor.  I don't think I nailed it this time, but it didn't ruin dinner and I'll go hotter next time...

Spinach Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Bacon.  Spinach.  Cheddar cheese.  Bacon.  Onions.  Bacon.  All solid ingredients.  Oh, and bacon.  What happens when you bake them all into one biscuity mass?  I'm glad you asked!  Original recipe here.

Recipe

1/4 lb bacon, chopped
1/2 lb spinach, chopped
1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 c bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 a small onion, minced
seasonings: pepper, mustard, jalapeno, hot sauce, etc.

Sizzle up your bacon.  Combine everything in a big bowl and mix up.  Cluster into patties and put on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Cook at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Notes

I'll be honest.  I scaled the amounts mathematically when copying the recipe above, but when I actually cooked this, I eyeballed everything - about half a bag of spinach, the end of a block of cheese, generous sprinkles of bread crumbs, a tiny onion, squeeze of mustard, etc.  My patties came out a bit crumbly, but I definitely had no cause to complain.  Really really good.  I ate it as a meal; it might be a bit hearty for a side, and probably too much for a starter if you plan on eating much else on the night.  Anyway, good stuff, worth tinkering with (soberer) for structural integrity if not taste reasons.

December 2014 addendum: So, did some tinkering around Thanksgiving this year.  These notes encompass some experimentation with ingredients, balance, etc...

• I shied away from frozen spinach at first, but it seems to be the best for not having everything fall apart.  Just make sure you drain it well so the spinach-y taste isn't overpowering.
• Moar bacons and onions and cheeses!
• The consensus was that it's better to err on the side of cooking longer, leaning toward crispness.

Chunky Chicken Chili

Chili is a key part of any guy's cooking repertoire.  The usual beef chili is hard to argue with, but it does take some time to stew together into rich, meaty goodness.  Apparently, though, you can switch up the meats for a quicker process.  I've already tried pork, and now, chicken.

Recipe

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) fire-roasted tomato chunks
1 cup chicken broth
1 lb chicken, cut into 3/4 in pieces
1 can (15 oz) hominy, drained
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
shredded cheddar cheese

Heat some oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until translucent.  Add the tomatoes, broth, chicken, hominy, beans, and spices.  Stir and bring to a boil, then simmer 10-15 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through and tender.  Serve with cheese and other fixings.

Notes

Not much to add.  Hominy is apparently tough to find, but just used some plain corn instead.  I've served it plain, over rice, and with mashed cauliflower (a topic for a future post), all nice - it can be a bit soupy by itself.

Sweet Potato & Apple

Sweet potatoes are great, lots of good ways to cook 'em.  I thought this recipe was worth trying:

Recipe

1 sweet potato
1 apple
1/4 c vegetable stock
butter

Slice the sweet potato and apple into thin semicircles.  Heat some butter and saute the sweet potato slices for a few minutes.  Then add the apple slices for another minute or two.  Pour in the stock, cover, and steam for a few minutes, until the liquid has mostly evaporated (and the sweet potatoes are soft).

Notes

I tried this one first as per the original recipe - with apple juice instead of vegetable stock - and it was way too sweet.  I wanted to try again with a more savory direction (including a chopped onion) and it was better.  But still not as good as hash or fries...

Pickled Snap Peas

It looks like most of my recent posts have been more side dishes, since by this point I've got a lot of my favorite entrees well established (and the Washington Ave. Key Foods doesn't have the most interesting meat cooler, bless its heart).  This one can be more of a snack - or even garnish - but it's definitely worth investing a little time in a batch you can keep around for a little while.  I've never been a big pickle fan, but more bite-size snap peas work for me!

Recipe

1 lb snap peas
1 1/4 c vinegar
1 1/4 c water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1-2 small chile peppers

Boil the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar until it's dissolved, then let cool.  Clean the snap peas, put them in a jar with the garlic and peppers, and pour the liquid over.  Let sit for a couple weeks.

Notes

Based on what was around, I used apple cider vinegar, (a lot of) honey, and jalapenos.  Also, I used a Ziploc bag instead of a jar because I'm extra classy.  I'm honestly not sure how much control the add-ins give you over the flavor, ultimately, but I did feel like I got a hint of honey sweetness.  Good stuff, might have to get a jar if I want to have these on hand regularly.

Root Veggie Mashed Potatoes

Look, if you've got some potatoes you just want to use up, boil 'em up and smash 'em and serve with ur meats nom nom.  I thought this rigorously-tested Cooks Illustrated recipe was worth trying though - a little extra effort, but some new tastes and probably vitamins and stuff in there.

Recipe

1 1/2 lbs potatoes, cut into small chunks
1/2 lb your combination of carrots, turnips, parsnips, celery root, etc., cut into small chunks
4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1/3 c broth
3/4 c half and half
1 tsp thyme

Start by crisping up your bacon in a large saucepan, then remove but leave the grease.  Put in your root vegetables and brown, then stir in the potatoes, broth, and a sprinkle of salt.  Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and everything is nice and crushable.  Mash gently (you want chunks, not puree) and mix in the bacon (if you haven't eaten it all in the meantime), thyme, and half and half.

Notes

This one will come down to the balance of liquid.  You want your potatoes to cook through softly but not end up soggy.  I didn't quite nail it the first time, but the flavors were still very rich (OK, it was mostly bacon but I'm sure the carrot and turnip (my combo) helped).  Here it is with a bit of the night's protein, baked salmon:

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

It really seems that there's no end to delicious-looking crockpot recipes - which works out nicely, because the same could be said about this winter.  Here's the latest (originally here):

Recipe

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, whatever
1 onion, minced
3/4 c honey
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c ketchup
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tsp cornstarch
1/4 c water
salt & pepper
rice (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)

Season your chicken with a little salt and pepper, and put into the crockpot.  Add your onions.  Mix together the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oils, ginger, garlic, and red pepper, then pour over everything.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

One more step: Once it's done, remove the chicken.  Whisk together the cornstarch and water, and stir into the broth.  Cook on high another 15 minutes, then serve - over rice, with sesame seeds sprinkled on top, etc.

Notes

I put this together in a flurry of about 20 minutes (although I forgot the garlic).  Then it did the crockpot thing sitting around for an afternoon, and now it is super delicious (I also forgot the sesame seeds at first).  Rice (or something similar/paleo) is a must, because the sauce is so good...  It might be worth tearing apart the chicken a little bit toward the end so that the juice can better sink in...  Definitely worth coming back to, testing some little additions (sriracha? more veggies? etc.).

yeah, could use some veggies...

Crockpot Pork & Chiles II

I'm always up for a new crockpot recipe.  This one is similar in a lot of ways to one of my favorites, but ends up very different...

Recipe

1 lb pork kebabs or roast
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken or veggie broth
1 cup tomato paste
1 can (15 oz) black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 can (4.5 oz) diced chiles
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sugar (or honey)
salt & pepper

Put it in the crockpot and cook low for 4-5 hours (longer for a roast).

Notes

This one ends up with a much thicker sauce - tomato and bean-based - than the other, brothier recipe.  It can mask the chiles a bit, but still a good one!

Anzac Biscuits

Happy Australia Day!  Anzac biscuits (history, recipe) are a classic Australia Day treat, with their origins (like the day itself) in the WWI era, when there was a need to send a tasty treat on a long sea voyage, and also one that did not require eggs as Australia's typically-bellicose dairy farmers were fightin' round the world.


Recipe

1 c quick cooking oats
1 c flour
1 c sugar
3/4 c coconut flakes
1/2 c butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix up the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, coconut).  Melt the butter and mix in the syrup.  Mix the baking soda and boiling water, then add to butter, then add all that to the dry ingredients.  Spoon onto a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Notes

I'm not much of a baker, so this first batch was a bit of a learning experience.  Still, not too difficult.  I used honey instead of "golden syrup."  I had to split the batch between two trays, and the one closer to the burner got a little overdone.  In retrospect, I should have pulled them out once they looked done; they were very soft, but toughened up a bit as they cooled.  Overall, plenty of tasty biscuits.  And as another plus, your kitchen will smell like delicious baked goods and/or melted butter.

Beer Bread

I haven't been much inclined toward baking, but I also kind of hate buying a whole loaf of bread that I'll use sporadically and then throw out half.  So why not try my hand at something more interesting that I'll actually want to use?  This just looked so simple it was worth a shot.

Recipe

2 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 12 oz beer

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine dry ingredients, and slowly mix in the beer.  Get the dough nice and even, put into a *greased* loaf pan, and bake about 45 minutes.

Notes

I understand none of the chemistry of how this works, but whatever. Having tried it twice with very positive results, I think if beer wasn't a major component, this would be the recipe you have your kids bake you.

The recipe also promises to be easily customizable, whatever you want or have on hand in terms of flour, sweetener (except I will save you the Googling - baking powder and baking soda are not substitutes).  I fully encourage experimentation, with corresponding labels such as "honey-lager bread" or such.

Steak alla Pizziaola

This recipe came from the folks at Lodge, makers of fine cast-iron cookware.  And lovers of good meat and veggies:

Recipe

Meat
4 strip steaks

Plant (& Fungi) I
1 onion, sliced
3 red bliss potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp capers

Plant II
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
3 sprigs thyme
a sprinkle (or a few) of red pepper flakes

salt, pepper, olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 and your (Lodge, of course) skillet medium-high with some olive oil.  Sprinkle the steaks with salt & pepper (or Montreal seasoning), and brown about five minutes per side.  Set the steaks aside, replenish the olive oil in the skillet, and in goes the first batch of plant (and fungi).  Saute for about 7 minutes, then add the second batch, stir up, and cook a few more minutes.  Put the steaks on top and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Notes

There's a ton of chopping (you want the potatoes small so they soften; at least you don't have to dice the garlic), but well worth it - chop everything in group I into a big, beautiful bowl of plant (and fungi) parts before you get started.  The small-ish steaks I used came out pretty well done, but still delicious!  Make as much as your skillet can hold (OK, so about as prescribed) because it's good left over

Beer-Glazed Chicken

...a.k.a Commander Roostro's revenge - unsuccessful, of course, but a close call...  Originally from Rachael Ray online.

Recipe

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup light beer (e.g., lager)
3-4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
"evoo" salt & pepper

Heat some evoo in a large skillet medium-high.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear until golden-brown, a few minutes per side.  Then add the beer, honey, and thyme.  Bring to a bubble and let the chicken cook/sauce thicken for about 5 minutes/until cooked through.

Notes

I loved boneless, skinless thighs that my old Morton-Williams carried.  Unfortunately Key Foods' best dark meat option was the full thigh, which was not nearly cooked through by the end.  The sauce was delicious, at least.  Worth trying again and getting right.