Roasted Beets with Sautéed Beet Greens

I avoided beets for a very long time, because I dislike both pickled beets and borscht.  Much like brussels sprouts, beets once again prove my theory that there is a delicious way to consume any vegetable – you just have to know how to prepare it to your liking.  My favorite use for beets?  Roast the beets until the sugars start to caramelize, and serve over sautéed garlicky beet greens.  Delicious!

Roasted Beets with Sautéed Beet Greens
a Sugar Scientist original kitchen protocol

Ingredients:

• one bunch beets, well cleaned
• one medium onion, diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Scrub beets to remove all dirt, and rinse beet greens well.  Chop off greens where leaves end and remove remaining ‘stems’ from the beet root.
3. Quarter each beet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast beets in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue to cook uncovered at 400F for another 20 minutes until beets can be easily pierced with a knife.
4. Remove from oven and allow beets to cool.  Drain remaining beet-infused olive oil from baking pan and pour into a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.  Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces and add to the skillet.  Sautee until greens are wilted.
5. If desired, peel beets once they have cooled enough to handle.  The beet skin should easily rub right off, but the skin is perfectly edible and adds a nice texture.
6. Serve roasted beets over beet greens, topped with salt and pepper to taste.
   

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad

So many of the food blogs I follow create such labor-intensive, elaborate foods. Cooking for hour upon hour, multiple-day steps, tragic stories of one tiny mistake ruining the entire recipe. While I certainly appreciate, and often enjoy, mastering new techniques in the kitchen, I so often find that the most enjoyable meals are simple, fresh, and require no real skill whatsoever.

This is certainly the case with this salad. Every time I make it, I expect to be disappointed because I have built it up to such amazing flavors in my head, and yet each time, it's every bit as flavorful as I was expecting.

If you have a knife and an oven, make this. It's fast, it's easy, and it's unbelievably delicious.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
adapted from What Would Cathy Eat?

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1 bunch scallions, green and white parts, chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Spread the sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender and brussels sprouts are crispy.
3. Add the roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts with the red peppers, scallions, and black beans.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, mustard, and basil. Whisk in the olive oil.
5. Mix the dressing with the salad, adding additional salt, pepper, or lime juice to taste.

Update: I made a summer version of this salad for a 4th of July picnic, using what I had in hand… no brussels sprouts, but 4 red peppers, 2 yellow peppers, and  2 green peppers.  I loved it even more, with the crunch from all the peppers, and it was a perfectly light and colorful addition to the picnic!

Huevos Rancheros

I have never really been much of a breakfast person. On the rare occasion that I find myself going out to brunch, I bypass all the breakfast options and head straight to lunch. I suspect this is because I will almost always choose savory over sweet (probably unexpected from someone who wants to open a bakery), and most breakfast foods have a hint of sweetness to them -- french toast, pancakes, waffles. I'm also not a huge fan of eggy-flavored things, so omelettes, fritattas, and even simple scrambled eggs don't particularly excite me. But one thing I do love? Mexican food! So, it should come as no surprise that I adore huevos rancheros (the egg is balanced out with a tortilla and salsa), and it is at the top of my list for making weekend breakfasts when Husband comes to visit.

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients:

• 1 can seasoned black beans
• 1 cup salsa of choice
• 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat black beans in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Spray frying pan with nonstick cooking spray. Heat one tortilla until golden brown, then flip. Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the tortilla and let it melt.
3. Break one egg over the melting cheese, using a spatula to help hold the egg yolk on top of the tortilla. Once the egg white starts to set, quickly flip the tortilla over. Cook 2-3 minutes on the opposite side, until yolk firms, and then flip back upright onto a plate.
4. Repeat with remaining tortillas and eggs.
5. Serve with salsa and black beans.

Spicy Squash "Salad"

The term "salad" applies here very loosely -- the original recipe off of which it is based is served on a bed of arugula, making it kind of like a salad. And the original version looks very tasty, indeed... but I wanted something with more of a nutritional punch. I'm tired of playing the game where everything is so tasty that I want seconds, but can't fit it into my calorie count. Instead, I'm packing everything so full of vegetables now and making everything so nutrient dense that I can have seconds -- or thirds -- if I want!

The original recipe calls for three tablespoons of olive oil and a cup of goat cheese, both of which have been reduced. It also calls for 4 cups of arugula, which I swapped out for 2 pounds (approximately 8 cups) of cooked turnip greens. Why turnip greens? Well, they were recently on sale at my grocery store, so I decided to give them a whirl. I had no idea what a nutritional superfood they are -- one cup of turnip greens brings 5g of fiber, 2g of protein, 220% of daily Vitamin A, 66% vitamin C, 20% calcium (!!), and all for a mere 29 calories. Needless to say, I'm hooked, and have been eating my way through bags and bags ever since. Turnip greens have one of the highest calcium levels of the cruciferous vegetables, which contributes to its bite -- a definite peppery taste. I thought it would pair perfectly with a spicy dish, and this sure didn't disappoint.

As far as eating my fill, I ate until I was stuffed, roughly a fourth of the "salad", weighing in at 332 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 17 grams of protein. Imagine eating until the level of being "stuffed" on pizza or a pasta dish -- easily, quadruple the calorie count, and half the nutrients.

Spicy Squash "Salad"
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup green lentils
  
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus olive oil spray
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  
• 1 tablespoon paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 pounds (~8 cups) turnip greens
  
• 4 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
  
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  

Directions:

1. Soak lentils in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain, then cook in boiling water until tender but firm, about 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
   
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Toss butternut squash with cumin, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and spray lightly with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes, flip squash, and roast another 10 minutes.
   
3. Place turnip greens in a large (very large) stock pot with one cup of water. Cover and heat over medium-low heat until wilted, 10-12 minutes.
   
4. Combine lentils, squash, and turnip greens, and crumbled goat cheese in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Taco Soup

Even though I have hundreds (maybe not hundredS, but at least a hundred) recipes and photos waiting, I'm starting back up with something I made right now, and am enjoying while I write this out. One of the things I miss the most since I've moved is the "huge" (by inner-city 690-square food condo standards) pantry next to the kitchen. Now, I have a small kitchen with minimal storage, and I have to share it all with another person. Gone are the days of keeping a stocked pantry; I really have to grocery shop every few days now (carrying a gallon of milk uphill a mile totally counts as a workout, right?).

The last time Husband was down and I was able to grocery shop with his car, I noticed my cabinet was a little over-stuffed, so I've decided it's time to clear out the contents -- random cans leftover from something I decided not to make, jar of sauce leftover from a rare Costco trip, etc. Surveying the contents today, I discovered multiple cans of black beans and diced tomatoes. Ah-ha: taco soup time! And made even tastier with a few leftover tortilla scoops from our New Year's Eve party!

Taco Soup
(an original Sugar Scientist kitchen experiment)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds soy crumbles or ground beef
  
• 2 onions, chopped
  
• 1 red pepper, chopped
  
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  
• 2 jalapenos, chopped
  
• 4 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (or 2 packets)
  
• 12 ounces beer of choice (I used Abita Pecan Harvest Ale)

Directions:

1. If using beef, cook in skillet until no longer pink. Drain and transfer to a large Dutch oven or stockpot. If using soy crumbles, just add frozen crumbles directly to stockpot.
   
2. Add onions to ground beef/soy crumbles and cook over medium heat until onions begin to brown.
   
3. Add red pepper, tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans, corn, and jalapenos. Stir in taco seasoning. Pour beer into stockpot and stir gently.
   
4. Simmer soup over low heat for one hour. Partway through cooking, mash soup with a potato masher to thicken the soup.
   
5. Garnish with favorite taco toppings -- tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

One of the advantages to long-distance marriage is that I’ve been working my way through the massive list of recipe ideas which include ingredients I love, but Husband hates. This was an excellent candidate, as asparagus is my favorite vegetable and Husband refuses to eat it… and walnut are my favorite nuts, whie Husband is not a nut fan in general (unless they are in the form of peanut butter). Unfortunately for Husband, I think I liked this enough that it’s going to stay in the rotation even when we are living together again – good thing he knows how to make peanut butter and jelly!

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Add green onions and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes more.
3. Add cooked pasta to skillet, then stir in cheese and walnuts.

Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce

This is the 8th and final week of Whip It Up.  The end to the “challenge” won’t change things around here – after all, I’ve been posting a recipe per week since November – it just means that I can go back to posting from my archived recipes and pictures, rather than having to cook something new each week.  This week’s theme is “Make Your Own Take Out”, and I knew immediately what I would be making.  I may have actually drooled on my keyboard when I saw this posted over at Amy’s last month, containing my favorite Thai-inspired flavors (peanut and lime) with a mix of some of my favorite vegetables (broccoli, sugar snap peas, snow peas).  It did not disappoint – it was every bit as good as I was imagining, plus super easy and came together very quickly (in other words, a perfect weeknight meal).  It did, however, make quite a lot – eight Julie-sized portions, to be exact.  I was definitely tired of it by the end of the week after eating it every day for lunch and dinner, proving that you can, indeed, have WAY too much of a good thing.  I suspect it will be quite a while before I make it again… or I’ll just have to have friends over for dinner so they can save me from the leftovers.

Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce
Adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces whole wheat linguine
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups sugar snap peas
• 2 cups snow peas
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon lime zest
• juice from one lime
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 3/4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Toast the peanuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Set aside to cool.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold running water, set aside.
3. Steam broccoli, snow peas, and sugar snap peas in the microwave until bright green and crisp-tender.
4. Puree the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, scallion, ginger, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a food processor blender until smooth.  Coarsely chop the cooled peanuts.
5. Immediately before serving, toss the pasta with the peanut sauce.  Divide into bowls and top each serving with vegetables and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts,

Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish, and Artichokes (Daring Cooks)

There are very few things in life that I find as satisfactory as the ability to ‘kill two birds with one stone.’  Regardless of what it is, I love the feeling of getting double the results from my effort.  I still remember the exact feeling of the light bulb going off above my head in undergrad when I realized that classes for my political science major could also count as my general curriculum requirements.  In lieu of a language, I could apply classes I was already going to take for my major and count them as culture requirements.  Score!

I went through a similar feeling when the stars aligned properly for the two cooking groups in which I participate.  This week’s Whip It Up up theme is “Favorite Chef” – i.e., make a recipe from your favorite chef.  Well, the chef part was easy for me – Jose Andres.  Those in the D.C. area know him from his outstanding restaurants Jaleo (my favorite), Oyamel, Zaytinya, Cafe Atlantico, and minibar.  The rest of you may know him from his public television show “Made in Spain" or perhaps from his appearance on Iron Chef, where he defeated Bobby Flay in ‘Battle Goat’.  But then came the hard part… what to make?  I don’t own any of his cookbooks, so I scoured the internet.  While there were several recipes that piqued my interest, such as this amazing looking Guacamole in a New Way, I was often lacking access to ingredients or supplies (for example, my ice cream maker for the guacamole is in storage in my parents’ basement along with the rest of my kitchen supplies, waiting until I have a kitchen larger than a shoebox). 

Then, the Daring Cooks’ challenge recipe was announced.  And what was it?  Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish, and artichokes from none other than… Jose Andres.

Cha-ching!

The recipe was chosen by Olga of Olga’s Recipes, and you can view the original recipe here (I made a few changes in my version).  She suggested adding in squid in lieu of cuttlefish, which is what I did, since I was easily able to purchase fresh, cleaned squid at Whole Paycheck Foods.  I was a bit concerned about the squid in the recipe since it is boiled for so long – I have not worked with cuttlefish so perhaps it is perfect for the cuttlefish – but decided to just go ahead and try it as the suggested direct subsitute.  Typically when I deal with squid, if I am boiling it, I do it for no more than 30 seconds.  This recipe has a good 12+ minutes of boiling with the squid.  Indeed, the squid did turn out far chewier than I would have liked.  In retrospect, I should have listened to my gut and pan seared the squid in the beginning, removed it from the pan, and then added it to the boiling mixture for no more than a minute.  I need to be better about trusting my own judgment in the kitchen even when it deviates from a reputable recipe.  Even with the rubbery squid, I still enjoyed this quite a bit, and will certainly experiment with it more in the future.

Rice with Mushrooms, Cuttlefish, and Artichokes
adapted from Jose Andres

Ingredients:

• 6 artichokes, cleaned, chopped into eights
• 1 large portobello mushroom, chopped roughly
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 generous splash white wine
• 1/2 pound squid, mixture of tubes and tentacles
• 3 tablespoons sofregit (recipe below)
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric

Directions:

1. Cut squid tubes into strips.  Cut apart any large clumps of tentacles.
2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan and add the squid.  Add bay leaf, artichokes, and mushrooms.
3. Sauté until artichokes are golden in color.
4. Add splash of wine to deglaze the pan.
5. Add sofregit and mix well to distribute the flavors.
6. Add water and bring to boil.  Stir in rice and boil over high heat for 5 minutes.
7. Add tumeric and lower heat to medium.  Boil another 8 minutes. or until rice has softened.
8. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

  mmm… squid

Sofregit

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 giant tomatoes, or 3 medium sized, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 portobello mushroom, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• salt to taste
• pinch ground cumin
• pinch oregano

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft, approximately 1 hour.

Mushroom & Gruyere Quiche

This week's theme for Whip It Up is appetizers. I struggled quite a bit with this -- while I love to prepare (and eat!) a wide variety of appetizers, now that I'm living on my own, I have no reason to make them. I'm down to cooking once or twice a week and eating leftovers for the rest of the days, and well.... I just can't subside for multiple meals off of something based with spinach, artichoke, and puff pastry. So instead, I decided to make something that works for dinner as well as for appetizers -- a quiche. If I was going to make this as an appetizer, I'd press the rolled pie dough into muffin tins and spoon a bit of the filling into each to make a perfect two-bite sized quiche. But for me for dinner, I just made one big quiche. I use my own hand-rolled pie crusts (I really hate rolling out pie crust so whenever I need one, I'll roll out 6 at a time and leave the rest in my freezer), but I am quite sure that a store-bought pie crust would work just as well for a quiche.

Mushroom & Gruyere Quiche

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1/4 pound portobello mushroom caps, diced
• 1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, quartered
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pie crust
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 4 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, toss mushrooms with onion, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 15 minutes, or until cooked and firm. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. Pick pie shell all over with a fork. Prebake for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
5. Whisk together cream and eggs with thyme. In a large bowl, combine roasted mushrooms and onions with the shredded gruyere. Spread mixture in the bottom of the pie shell in an even layer.
6. Pour cream-egg mixture over the mushrooms, ensuring that all of the mushroom mixture is covered.
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean.
   

Tamale Pie

This week’s Whip It Up theme is “spicy”. Normally when opting for Mexican-inspired dishes, we turn to Mexican lasagna,vegetarian chili, or tex-mex pasta. But Whip It Up calls for new recipes, so Tamale Pie it was!

Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pound soy crumbles or ground beef
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can whole kernel corn
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1 package cornbread mix
• 1 egg
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the beef in oil. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper, cook for 2 minutes, until just tender. Stir in tomoatoes, corn, and seasonings; simmer for 5 minutes longer. Pour into a 13x9-inch baking pan.
3. Prepare cornbread batter using egg, buttermilk, and butter. Mix drained green chilies into batter. Carefully spoon over top of beef mixture.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until cornbread is lightly brown and filling is bubbling.

Stuffed Peppers

This week’s theme for Whip It Up was “healthy”, so the choice was obvious for me; stuffed vegetables. There is nothing better than a vegetable stuffed with more vegetables (Husband disagrees, which is why I am enjoying cooking just for me lately) and these certainly did not disappoint. Easy, healthy, and delicious!

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 4-6 bell peppers
• 1 pound soy crumbles or ground beef
• 2 onions, diced (separated)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces crushed tomatoes
• mexican blend cheese
• 1 ripe tomato, cored and quartered
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  

Directions:

1. To prepare rice, process tomatoes and onion (1) in food processor until smooth, about 15 seconds. Remove ribs and seeds from jalapeno, mince, and set aside.
2. Heat oil in saute pan with lid. Add rice and fry, stirring frequently, until light golden and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add jalapeno pepper, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in pureed tomatoes and onions, vegetable broth, tomato paste and salt; increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cover pan and transfer to oven; bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
3. Cut tops of peppers and remove seeds and ribs from inside pepper.
4. Heat large pan over medium-high heat. Add soy crumbles or ground beef and cook until browned. Add onions, garlic, and crushed tomatoes. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
5. Add a small handful of shredded cheese and one to two cups rice mixture (to personal preference) and mix thoroughly.
6. Fill each pepper with the mixture, squashing down to fill as much as possible. Stand upright in a baking dish.
7. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Remove foil, top each pepper with more shredded cheese, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

“Chicken” Pot Pie

This week’s theme for Whip It Up is “regional favorites”.   I was really stumped by this – I’ve been living in D.C. for 8 years now, and I really couldn’t think of a single food that was distinctly D.C. in nature.  Next, I pondered my future home in a few years – Philadelphia.  There are a plethora of foods associated with Philly – cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, cheese whiz, cheesecake, to name a few – but none which I was interested in making (or eating).  Bypassing Philly as well, I thought about my hometown where I grew up – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Now, I’d like to point out the flaw to the “Pennsyltucky” theory that Pennsylvania consists of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with Kentucky in the middle.  I grew up in the state capital, and I never knew a single person who lived on a farm, had more than a half acre of land surrounding their home, owned any sort of livestock, owned an old beat-up pickup truck, or anything else that would fit into the typical “small town” theme.  In fact, my parents’ own home is so urban, their mailbox hangs on the front door – none of that mailbox on a post at the sidewalk stuff that plagues the suburbs.

But, most of the population fails to recognize Harrisburg as an actual city, and groups it into “Central Pennsylvania”, which typically conjures up images of Amish and the Pennsylvania Dutch.  I have absolutely zero Pennsylvania Dutch in me – both of my parents were born in New York City.  I grew up in a very health-conscious household, so we rarely ate Pennsylvania Dutch type foods which were common in the area, but it’s the closest culinary theme for my hometown region.  I contemplated making my mother’s favorite Central Pennsylvania-related food – traditional Amish whoopie pies – but I am not really one for chocolate.  I considered my father’s favorite Amish delight, shoo-fly pie, but I knew Husband wouldn’t be intrigued by the molasses-based dessert, and since he came down to visit this weekend, I wanted to make something he would eat.  So finally, I settled on chicken pot pie, which I have to confess, I’ve never had before.

Traditional Lancaster-county chicken pot pies are laden with gravy and cream, and not something I would eat, even if I did eat chicken.  So, instead, I lightened it up, and made two separate smaller pot-pies, one with chicken for Husband, and one subbed with portobello mushrooms for me.  I always enjoy rolling out my own dough, but if you wanted to make it even easier, I won’t tell if you buy premade pie dough.  I was really pleasantly surprised with this, and look forward to my leftovers during the week.  Husband, who has only ever had the gravy/cream/lard version before, was disappointed with my lighter version and felt it lacked all the flavor and substance (and calories.. and fat… and cholesterol) of the traditional version.  I guess one of the benefits to being in a long-distance marriage means that I can cook for myself and not for him… so I can make this whenever I want in the future just for me!

Lightened-Up Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup trans-fat free vegetable shortening
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 cup green beans
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken OR 3 cups chopped portobello mushrooms
• 2 cups vegetable broth

Directions:

1. Cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse ground oats.  Add the cold water and gather the mixture into a ball, flatten, and cut into four equal pieces.  Coat each piece in flour.
2. Roll each quarter of dough out thinly, and place two of the sheets into 2-cup pie pans or mini-casserole dishes.  Let the excess dough overlap over the edges.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and all the seasonings once butter has started bubbling.  Stir vigorously until the mixture has thickened and fully mixed.
4. Add the milk and broth, bringing the mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients, stirring until everything is coated.  Spoon into prepared pie crusts, allowing the filling to heap in the center.
5. Cover each dish with a second sheet of dough, rolling the edges together and tucking on top of the pie.  Brush the top with milk and cut several steam vents in the top.  Cover with foil.
6. Bake 30-40 minutes at 450F.  Remove the foil for the past few minutes of baking to allow the crust to fully brown.

Rigatoni Pie

First off, I apologize that the last several weeks I have only managed to post recipes on the weekends.  I have so many things I want to write… and zero motivation.  Ever since Husband moved away, my motivation has just all gone out the window, and when I get home from lab I just sit on the couch and read or watch TV.  I’m not sure why – honestly, at least this far along it really doesn’t feel like things are that different since I was used to him being on call so much and the rest of my life is exactly the same – but if anyone locates my motivation, send it this way.

This week’s Whip It Up theme is “guilty pleasure” and this recipe has multiple reasons why it fits that category.  For starters, it is pasta based, and I try not to eat a lot of pasta even though I love it.  Second, it’s a recipe that I’ve had bookmarked from Martha Stewart for ages, and crossing a recipe I’ve wanted to try off my list is definitely a pleasure – I love trying new things.  Finally, it involves me being creative with food and taking a very long time to do something that has to do with presentation and not with actually getting dinner on the table – wasting time to do something fun is ABSOLUTELY a guilty pleasure, when I have the lab in the back of my head nagging me 24/7.

Rigatoni Pie
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 1 pound rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground beef (I use soy crumbles in lieu of meat)
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cook pasta until slightly underdone per directions in a large pot of boiling water.  When done, rinse in cold water and drain again.  Toss pasta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat.
3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add beef/soy crumbles.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown (or heated through for soy).  Add garlic, pepper, and salt (to taste).  Cook 2 minutes more.
4. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.
5. Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan.  Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end.
6. Spread 2 cups sauce on top of pasta, poking it into each of the holes (after trying a fork and chopsticks, I suggest the best way is just to use a finger).  Bake 15 minutes, sprinkle mozzarella on top, and return to oven until cheese is golden, 10 to 15 minutes more.
7. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges to loosen; unmold.  Cut into wedges and serve with remaining sauce.

Potstickers (Daring Cooks’ Challenge)

This month, the Daring Cooks recipe was to stuff, pleat, and prepare either postickers or dumplings entirely from scratch (potstickers are pan-fried, while dumplings are boiled or steamed). Having never had a potsticker before, I was excited to give this one a try. The opinions were mixed in the end – I enjoyed them, a friend we had over for dinner loved them, but Husband said they were just “okay” and complained that they lacked flavor. However, he was in a foul, miserable mood, so I’m going to discard his opinion since he was in a “hating everything” mood, and go with the fact that the other two of us were quite pleased.

I altered the original filling suggestions slightly, and went with two versions – one containing pork and one containing shrimp. If Husband hadn’t been unimpressed, this would have been the perfect food option for us, since I won’t eat pork, and he is allergic to shrimp, but both use the same dough. I wound up making three batches of the dough and still had quite a bit of filling remaining, so I’m planning on using them to make some fried rice for lunch today.

pleated dumplings, waiting to be fried into potstickers

Potstickers
Adapted from Jen of Use Real Butter

Pork Filling:

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 3 stalks scallions, minced
• 1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, minced
• 1/4 cup bamboo shoots, minced
• 1/4 cup water chestnuts, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

Shrimp Filling:

• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
• 3 stalks scallions, minced
• 1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, minced
• 1/4 cup bamboo shoots, minced
• 1/4 cup water chestnuts, minced
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

Dipping Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• few drops sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons spicy mustard
• pinch sugar

Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup warm water
• flour for work surface

Directions:

1. Prepare fillings by combining all ingredients and mixing well. (Minicing all the vegetables was my least favorite part of this by far; our old, dull knives were not up to the task.) Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour with 1/4 cup water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Dough should be firm and barely sticky to the touch.
3. Knead the dough for 20 strokes, then cover with a damp paper towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
4. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips 1.5 to 2 inches wide, and shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flattened circle. With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc, about 1/16th inch thick. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. For a picture tutorial of how to form pleats, see here. Personally, I found pleating the dough to be quite relaxing.
5. Place dumplings in a frying pan with 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until golden (pork took 2-3 minutes, shrimp took less than a minute because of lower fat content). Add 1/4 cup water (1/2 cup if you have a large frying pan and can fit lots of dumpings in at a time) and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away. Uncover pan and reduce heat to medium. Let the dumplings cook another 2 minutes to crisp up, and then remove from heat.
6. Serve with prepared dipping sauce.

frying to a crispy golden bottom

Ricotta Gnocchi (Daring Cooks’ Challenge)

Okay, OKAY, I know.  The posting date for the newly-formed Daring Cooks is the 14th of the month.  Today is the 17th.  I could tell you my woeful tale about how I got stuck in lab extra late analyzing a ton of data on the 14th and then was out of town for the weekend and managed to leave my power cord at home so had to conserve battery power for data analysis and not for blog posting… but instead I’ll just sum it up this way: you get what you pay for.  I cook as a hobby, I blog as a hobby… and if the Daring Cooks want to kick me out because I couldn’t get my act together in time, well then so be it.

That said, May marked the first month of the Daring Cooks, and ricotta gnocchi was chosen for the inaugural recipe.  I’m not sure if it was perhaps because it was the first month and the goal is to ease everyone into the cooking challenges, but I found this month’s recipe to be a bit of a disappointment, because it was so… easy.  Sure, it took a bit of time (though not so much that it prevented me from making it on a weeknight), but there wasn’t really anything complicated, hard, or frankly, challenging about the recipe.  Or perhaps this just means that I have flexed my culinary muscles more than I thought in the past.

The gnocchi turned out fine, though I still prefer potato gnocchi to ricotta gnocchi.  I also ignored the suggestion from the recipe author to use fresh ricotta – I have no doubt that it would be more flavorful, but it is also more expensive, and considering we had a near marital battle in the supermarket two weeks ago over the cost of portobello mushrooms, I was NOT going to push any buttons by requesting fresh ricotta when I had a perfectly functional tub of generic ricotta in the refrigerator.  I did, however, use fat-free ricotta because it tends to be a bit drier than full fat, which was probably a good call on my behalf.

Ricotta Gnocchi
from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judi Rodgers

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ricotta
• 2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, a few pinches of grated nutmeg, or a few pieces of lemon zest (optional)
• 1/2 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about 1/4 cup, lightly packed)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• all-purpose flour
• sauce of choice (I threw together a caramelized onion and basil tomato sauce)

Directions:

1. The day before preparing the gnocchi, the ricotta must be drained.  Line a sieve with paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve.  Cover and let drain for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash with a rubber spatula.  Add the lightly beaten eggs, the melted butter, the sage, nutmeg, or lemon zest (if using), Parmigiano-Reggiano, and salt.  Beat the ingredients together very well – the resulting dough should be soft and fluffy with no streaks.
3. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil.  When boiling, salt generously and keep at a simmer.  In a large, shallow baking dish, make a bed of the all-purpose flour that is roughly 1/2 inch deep.  Using a tablespoon, scoop up 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and use fingertips to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the flour.  Shake the dish to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi.  Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your handle to form it into an oval, but do not squeeze it – resist the urge to over-handle the gnocchi, as ricotta gnocchi are far more delicate than potato gnocchi.
4. Gently place the gnocchi in the simmering water.  It will sink to the bottom of the pot, and then float to the surface.  From the time it floats to the surface, the gnocchi should be cooked until just firm – 3 to 5 minutes. 
   1. If the gnocchi begin to fall apart, the ricotta cheese was likely too wet.  Beat in a tablespoon of egg white into the batter.
   2. If the batter was fluffy but the test sample comes out too heavy and dense, add a teaspoon of beaten whole egg to the batter. 
5. Form the rest of the gnocchi.  Gnocchi can be cooked immediately, or stored in the refrigerator for one hour prior to boiling to allow them to firm up.  Repeat shaping, flouring, and boiling process, but be sure not to overcrowd the pot of water with too many gnocchi (I had to make mine in 4 or 5 batches).
6. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the sauce of choice.  Carefully roll in the sauce until coated.  Serve immediately.

Beef “Faux”-ganoff

I haven’t consumed any land-based animals in well over a decade (I do eat fish), but even back in my childhood when I did eat meat, my family rarely ate red meat, and when we did it was generally once a year hamburgers on the grill in the summer and once a year beef stew in the winter. Beef dishes have always remained a mystery to me – not because my mother cannot cook them, but because I was raised in a health conscious household, and any meal revolving around red meat did not make the cut.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but back in college, I participated in intramural fencing, and one semester I had room for an extra credit, so I took fencing as a class for an easy A, which wound up being a lame A-. While we were actively fencing, the instructor would yell out various facts, like the number of quarks in a proton (three) or who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blucher). When it came time for our final at the end of the year, we had both a performance final, which I scored perfectly, and a written final… which tested us not on fencing… but on all the random facts that he had spouted during the course.

Quite humorously, one student associated the Battle of Waterloo victor with a beef dish… but couldn’t quite place which one. Unable to recall Wellington, he finally gave up and wrote down “General Stroganoff” as his answer. When the pompous English-born instructor told the class about this, it resulted in many laughs, followed by a 10 minute lecture on how it was such a “stupid answer” because how could anyone possibly associate Beef Stroganoff with England? At this point, I realized that I had no idea what was involved in either, and made a note just for my own knowledge to go home and look it up.

A few days later, I decided to give a whirl at my own meat-free version of beef stroganoff, which Husband has since re-named Beef Fauxganoff… but he’s been willingly eating it ever since!

Beef Fauxganoff

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound soy crumbles
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1/2 pound whole wheat egg noodles

Directions;

1. Melt butter in a large pan and cook shallots. Add frozen soy crumbles until warm.
2. Add the mushrooms, tarragon, and nutmeg. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the sour cream after reducing heat to low. Stir well.
4. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

Baked Stuffed Eggplant

Really, all I have to say about this is that it is, hands down, one of my absolute most favorite things that I have ever cooked.  If you like eggplants, make this.  Immediately.  I made this about three months ago and enough time has passed to sneak it back into the rotation (anything which features vegetables stuffed into more vegetables cannot make too regular an appearance or Husband would riot), so there are currently two eggplants sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be stuffed and baked this week (with matzoh meal, instead of bread crumbs)… I am getting hungry just thinking about it!

Baked Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 (1-once) slice bread (I used oatnut bread)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 1 1/4 cups diced red bell pepper
• 1 cup diced seeded cherry tomato
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Score cut side of each eggplant half by making 4 crosswise cuts.  Place the eggplant halves, cut side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 25 minutes or until tender.  Remove from oven; cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.  Remove inside pulp, leaving a 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick shell; reserve eggplant shell.  Chop/smush pulp.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
4. Place bread in a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup.  Drizzle the breadcrumbs with olive oil and pulse to combine.
5. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute for 3 minutes.  Stir in the chopped eggplant, bell pepper, tomato, oregano, and garlic; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat; stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and black pepper.
6. Stuff each eggplant shell with 1/2 cup of onion mixture; sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture. 
7. Place eggplants on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated and lightly browned.

Shepherd’s Pie

While I’ve classically heard shepherd’s pie as the name for the dish regardless of what goes in, I know there is some debate – some individuals like to define it based on the type of meat.  Shepherd’s pie contains lamb, cottage pie contains beef, and tonight Google informed me that what I eat would technically be considered a shepherdess pie, as it contains no meat at all.  But whatever you call it, and whatever you include, it’s a tasty way to clear out the vegetable drawer at the end of the week.

I’ve included my standard vegetables that I typically add in (measurements are an estimate – I just use what I have on hand; if it is out of season, I’ll use a whole can of diced tomatoes in lieu of chopping a fresh tomato, etc.), but what I love is that you can subtract, or add in, whatever vegetables you see fit.  Don’t like green beans?  Leave them out.  Have some celery and mushrooms nearing the end?  Chop them up and toss them in.  If your vegetable:meat ratio is too high, the final product may not hold its shape particularly well at the end (this happens to me frequently, as I love to stuff mine full of vegetables), but who cares?  Unless company is coming, I cook for taste, not for appearances.  And the more vegetables I can sneak into Husband without him noticing… the better!

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef, lamb, or vegetarian soy crumbles
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup peas
• 2 potatoes, boiled (I leave them unpeeled) and smashed (salt and pepper to taste)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook onion in oil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in the meat/non-meat substitute and basil and cook for 5 more minutes.  Mix in the garlic, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, and peas, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Transfer mixture to prepared dish.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg, and milk.  Spread evenly over meat mixture.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes start to brown on top.  Sprinkle with cheese and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

My Superbowl Food Brings All the Boys to the Party

For both undergrad and graduate school, I chose a national, private university.  As a result, the friends I made came from across the country and stretched to all corners of the globe.  This, in my mind, was one of the huge perks of attending a national university rather than a state or regional school, but because all my friends are from all over the country, I do not have any Steelers friends here in D.C.  Instead, my friends (comprised of 2 Eagles fans, 2 Patriots fans,  1 Redskins fan, 1 Giants fan, 1 Packers fan, and 5 individuals who think a quarterback pocket is where he stuffs a playbook in between passes) came for one reason and one reason only: to eat.  I don’t think they were disappointed.

Unfortunately, because I only have one oven, I wasn’t able to take pictures of what I made.  I prepped everything beforehand during the day, but once the party started, it was just a constant stream of putting something in the oven, taking it out, serving it, putting the next thing in, etc.  The following night I literally had an amazing fantasy dream in which I was picking out a second convection oven for my kitchen.  Some women have hot, steamy dreams of men with 6-packs… I have steamy dreams about second convection ovens.  Analyze away.

If you attended MY Superbowl party, you would have been served:

• buffalo wings served with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks
• buffalo  chicken dip
• bean dip
• spinach and artichoke dip
• macaroni and cheese
• brie and crackers
• beef “pigs” in a blanket
• pizza bites
• PhizzleDizzle’s bacon wrapped heart attack
• Steelers decorated chocolate cupcakes
• Nilla wafer banana pudding
• chocolate mousse
• and… the ultimate, edible snack stadium

The Ultimate, Edible Snack Stadium.  Field: guacamole with sour cream yard markers.  Steelers endzone: queso dip.  Cardinals endzone: salsa.  Players: beef lil’smokies sausages (at one point during the evening, they were all wearing Tostitos Scoops helmets).  Goal posts: slim-jims.  Stadium seats: mozzarella sticks. Fans: Tostitos and cheetos. Stadium walls: rice krispie treats.

And, almost the entire stadium was consumed by the end of the night.  Have I mentioned that many of my friends are large, hungry men?

When I told PhizzleDizzle that I was going to make her self-proclaimed “Best Snack Ever” for the party, she told me I had to take a picture.  I’ve already told her the story behind the magic bacon log, but literally immediately after I pulled it out of the oven, all rolled and full of melty cheese and set it down on the table, Harrison caught the interception and ran for a 100-yard defensive touchdown.  While I was jumping up and down like a maniac, the menfolk behind me were devouring the bacon log.  By the time I turned around to grab a picture, this was all that was left.  Needless to say, it was quite the hit.

If anyone is interested in any recipes for anything I made, let me know, and I’d be happy to pass them along!

So, who’s coming to my house the next time the Steelers are in the Superbowl?

Chickpea Potato Curry

I was going to post a recipe for one of the many cookies/brownies/truffles that I made for our Chrismukkah party several weeks ago, but then I realized that it might be mean to taunt anyone who resolved to eat healthier with pictures of things they are trying to avoid. I'll still post things later, but to help everyone off in the New Year, here's something a bit healthier... but just as delicious (okay, fine, maybe not... but still pretty darn good).

Chickpea Potato Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 6 baby Yukon Gold potatoes (approx. 12 ounces), quartered
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin (ground)
• 1 tsp coriander (ground)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• rice (we use brown), cooked accordingly
  

Directions:

1. In a large pot, combine the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, butter, ginger, salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Stir to mix and nestle the potatoes into the liquid.
2. Set the pot, uncovered, over medium heat. Simmer vigorously for 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and most of the broth has evaporated.
3. Serve in bowls over rice.

Note: Since Husband prefers meat with his meals, I seared some chicken in a bit of the excess broth and spice mixture from the curry.