Category Archives: My Recipes

Recipes that I’ve developed

Happy 4th of July!

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We celebrated the 4th with a great meal from the grill and classic rock tunes on the radio.

The meal was kicked off with cocktails and a much beloved grilled barbecue shrimp recipe.We have made this recipe many times (and have tried many other recipes for grilled shrimp) and I think it’s the best. Right amount of savory and spices, and easy to boot. It’s originally from Emeril and here is the link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/spicy-barbecued-shrimp-skewers-recipe/index.html

The shrimp and the our entrees were expertly grilled by hubs on our classic Weber charcoal grill. Perhaps hubs will guest blog one day on his grilling philosophy.

For entrees, we had burgers. Sirloin for the carnivore and portobello mushroom for me. Local, mixed greens from our friend Steve’s farm on the side. There might have been some ice cream for dessert, too.

On the Edge of your Seat: Veggie Rice Salad

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I know you’ve all been on the edge of your seats WAITING to hear what I did with the rest of Saturday’s bounty. Here it is again:

I’ve already spilled the beans on the beets (that recipe could not wait), so let’s go through the rest of the veggies.
2 Birds with 1 Stone
I felt like a healthy grain-based salad that would mix some of the crunchy veggies and herbs, but would also take a minimal amount of cooking (again, recall beets recipe). I decided to riff on a recipe from last month’s Bon Appetit that I had previously experimented with. The recipe is very flexible – add/subtract veggies based on what you have at home. I’ve included it below with some of my modifications in italics and also simplified the prep.

Summer Veggie Rice Salad

  • 1 small shallot, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups cooked basmati rice, cooled – I used Brown Basmati rice
  • 2 cups bite-size pieces assorted vegetables (such as radishes, tomatoes, peas, summer squash) or carrot ribbons- I used kohlrabi, peas, scallions, carrots and basil
  • 3/4 cup torn mixed leafy greens, sprouts, and herbs – I used arugula and mixed greens
  • 1/3 cup chopped red, yellow, or white onion or scallions
  • 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)

Preparation

  1. Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl combined; season with salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil and use whisk to mix dressing.
  2. Place remaining ingredients in a large bowl; drizzle with 3 Tbsp. dressing and toss to coat. Pass remaining dressing alongside for drizzling over.
I modified the recipe based on what we picked up from the farm and also a desire to make it more nutritious. I used brown rice in place of white, and heavied up on the veggies, herbs and greens. This was a big hit and enjoyed by all family members and guests (even hubs). This is a great dish for a picnic, or to prepare in advance. We had this for lunch on Sunday.
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Ok, so we already covered off on the beets, kohlrabi, sugar snap peas, scallions and greens. That leaves the broccoli, haricot verts and mixed greens. I decided on simple preparation for all 3 as I wanted to showcase the veggies themselves (and I, too, was losing steam).
  • Broccoli: Simple Asian-style dish. Steamed, then sauteed it with garlic and a dried, hot chili pepper, finishing it off with a dash of sesame oil.
  • Haricot verts: Sauteed garlic, then quickly stir-fried beans, keeping them green and crisp. Accompaniment for Saturday night dinner. Loved by all
  • Mixed greens: Used as a simple side salad with mustard vinaigrette for several meals
Oh, and the sunflowers went on the dining table.

Why Beets are Great to Eat OUTSIDE the home…but Never Taste Quite as Good

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Seriously, could one vegetable be more challenging to prepare than beets? Have you ever made beets at home? If so, you’ll know how easily they stain and how long they can take to cook. I wish I had taken a picture of my beet-juice splattered self from yesterday to share.

At any rate, if you do make the effort, you will be handsomely rewarded with jewel-colored, scrumptiously-sweet, vitamin-rich treats for your table. They even contain folate, which is super hard to find in other foods, and very, very good for you.  I prepared they beets from yesterday’s CSA pick up with mint after eating them at City Bakery near Union Square. I found an easy recipe for this tasty dish, and again, the toughest part is simply cooking the beets. I was quite unpopular when I turned on the oven for 1 hour 15 min on a 90 degree day. Whoops. And beets usually don’t taste good in salad bars and restaurants because they are from a can. Or overcooked.

The beets were ruby red and absolutely delicious, even prettier than the picture above from Epicurious. The mint complemented the beets both visually and on the palate. My guests  Josh Robertson and Milly Robertson loved them, but hubs still stayed far away. He was scarred as a child from eating canned beets. Friends don’t let friends…

Oh, and I steamed the beet tops separately. This was a first for me. They turned out great. I topped them with a little olive oil and salt, and they tasted similar to collard greens – the kind of thing that makes you feel healthy just because you’re eating them.

My friend Steve at Berkshire Bounty Farm even eats beets raw, but I haven’t been brave enough to try that yet. Maybe next week…

En Papillote: Startlingly Simple, yet Sounds Super Fancy

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It’s ridiculous, I know, that any time a dish has a French name, one assumes it is complicated, contains a heavy sauce and takes ages to prepare. Well, have you ever tried preparing fish en papillote? Or,  al cartoccio? Or in parchment paper, to use layperson’s terms? It is super simple, and I’d also add forgiving.  The most challenging thing might be to remember to purchase a roll of parchment paper suitable for cooking, because you probably don’t have it in your pantry. Oh, and did I mention this is a very light and healthy method, too?

Here’s a basic recipe for cooking en papillote (note I will try to use the French as much as possible):
  • Rip off a square of parchment paper (15X15 for instance)
  • Place 1 fillet of fish (that’s a fresh fillet of fish of your choice, not a Filet o’Fish) on the parchment. Try thin white fish, like sole or snapper, or denser fish, like salmon or halibut
  • Chop up some veggies that you have in the fridge. Julienne carrots, chop up asparagus, small florets of broccoli, etc, and place a handful on top veggies on top of fish fillet
  • Season with salt and pepper, and any other dried or fresh herbs to your liking.
  • Squeeze some lemon juice or lime juice (some sort of acid) and a drizzle of olive oil
  • Pull one side of the parchment paper to the other side and begin folding, eventually tucking the corner under the packet. Repeat for as many people you are serving
  • Bake in 400 degree oven for 15-25 min depending on thickness of fish
The great thing is that this is a FORGIVING method. Even if the fish is cooked a minute or two too long, it will still taste delicious. It will never get dried out because of the steam formed within the sealed packet. The downside of this method is that you can’t check for doneness. You must trust the recipe you’re following.
Apropos, this is what I’m making tonight – a great recipe from Real Simple.  Steamed salmon with asparagus and scallions. The juice from the lemon makes everything taste fresh and citrusy – yum. I skipped the potatoes (which you prepare separately), and added some cauliflower to the fish packets.  Hubs even approves of this dish, but he hasn’t had it with cauliflower before. Stay tuned…

Monday Night Dinner: Quinoa & Bean Salad

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I was feeling like something fresh and light after a long weekend of travel and nonstop snacking. I wanted a combination of veggies and a healthy grain or protein. I settled on quinoa, a newly discovered foodstuff for me.

Oh, quinoa, how do I love thee, let me count the ways?

You are easy to prepare, versatile and oh-so-healthy. Not quite a grain, more like a vegetable, high in protein and the good kind of fiber.  Downsides are that it is messy to clean up when consumed by a toddler, but even the munchkin likes it.
I loosely followed this recipe for Quinoa and Bean Salad, with a few substitutes:
  • Prepare quinoa as instructed on package
  • In a separate pan, saute 1/2 of a chopped red onion
  • Add 12 – 15 stalks of asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces
  • Saute’ for a few minutes and add quinoa once ready
  • Take off heat and mix in 2 cups of arugula, some shredded basil, crumbled ricotta salata and a few tablespoons of vinaigrette
  • Mix well and serve. The arugula should wilt slightly. Add additional salt and pepper as necessary
I used ricotta salata instead of feta in the recipe because I knew hubs would NEVER touch it if he heard it included feta. And I skipped the beans. Would have been another reason for refusal to eat from the audience…
Aftermath
Yummy dinner, maybe a little light as a main dish. Husband asks:

What’s the big deal about quinoa?

What do you do with Garlic Scapes?

Aside

We have picked up garlic scapes from our local CSA for the past few weeks and I know everybody says “use them just like garlic,” but I grew bored of our standard take on spaghetti all’aglio olio with garlic scapes in place of regular garlic. So I searched online and found a recipe for Scape Pesto. What can I say, but delish. Sooo addictive, and much more interesting than regular pesto. Basically, you use scapes in place of garlic, and you can use different types of nuts.

I used pistachios, which was also handy because I had some shelled pistachios on hand that had seen better days. The pesto was a “forgiving” way to use them. Check out the recipe I used on Epicurious. You can also use almonds, as in the recipe linked to in the first paragraph.