Jerk Beef on Sweet Potato Chips

For as much as I cook and bake, I don't get the chance to make too many appetizers. I'm not one to hold a party where I whirl around the room with hors d'oeuvres on a silver platter. And when I'm invited to such a soiree, I usually bring tasty baked goods. On this occasion, though, I really wanted to try something new and different.

Jerk Beef on Sweet Potato Chips
Makes 40 servings. Adapted from Gourmet magazine.

Ingredients
1 beef tenderloin
2 tsp jerk seasoning paste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp cocktail onions, rinsed
1/3 cup cilantro
40 sweet potato chips (or plantain chips)

Directions
Quarter beef tenderloin lengthwise and pat dry. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and rub all over with jerk paste.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beaf and sear on all sides, 4-5 minutes total. Remove from pan and let rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/2" slices.

Finely chop onions and cilantro together. Top sweet potato chips with beef, then onion and cilantro. Arrange on a platter and serve.


These delightful bites were quite a success. The sweet potato provides a sturdy base for the savory piece of beef. The meet is bookended by the vinegary onion and the sweet chip. Plus a little cilantro never hurts. These little mouthfuls have all the flavor components you need for a well-rounded amuse bouche.

Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers

I'm not sure I understand why, but during the heat of summer people love to fire up their grills. I think grilling is something that would work better in spring or fall when the weather is more fair. But there is something freeing and relaxing about cooking outside after life has slowed down for summer. And there's nothing that is better suited for the grill than burgers.

There are a near infinite number of ideas and flavors and permutations thereof when it comes to burgers. They can be big or small; beef, pork, turkey, veggie, or a combination; have cheese or not; bacon or not; lettuce, tomato, onion, or other toppings; mayo, mustard, ketchup, guacamole, chimichurri, tzatziki, satay, or any other sauce. From this myriad of flavors, I decided to go a smokey, earthy route using this recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine.

Barbecue sauce is very easy to make. In 20 minutes, you can have your own sauce fit to your tastes and needs. No more putting up with gritty, overtly sweet mixtures from the supermarket.

Texas Barbecue Sauce
Makes about 1.5 cups

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 chipotle, minced (from a can in adobo sauce)
1/4 tsp cayenne

Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, cooking until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Reduce sauce until it is about 1.5 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If not using right away, put in a storage container and chill in the fridge.

Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
Coffee Rub
1 tbsp ground coffee (not flavored)
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt

Burgers
8 bacon slices
1 lb ground chuck
1 lb ground sirloin
8 slices smoked provolone
8 hamburger buns
8 slices of red onion
8 slices of tomato

Directions
For the coffee rub, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels and break in half. Set aside.

Mix ground meats in a large bowl. Form into 8 patties about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Making an indentation (dimple) in the burger so that it cooks evenly.


Prepare barbecue with medium-high heat. Press in about 1 tsp of the coffee rub onto both sides of the burger, then place onto grill. Cook until desired doneness, flipping halfway through. Top each burger with 2 slices of bacon and 1 slice of provolone, cooking until the cheese melts. Place burgers on buns and top with onion, tomato and some barbecue sauce. Cover with top buns and serve with additional barbecue sauce on the side.


These burgers were quite amazing. When each portion of a dish is well-seasoned, then you end up with something simply sublime. Everything exuded a smokiness, from the coffee in the rub to the bacon to the cheese to the sauce to the grill-marks. The coffee deepened the flavor of the burger and accentuated the barbecue sauce. These were everything burgers should be. Bold flavors, hearty and messy. I was most intrigued to cook with coffee, but it really is just a minor part of a wonderful burger creation.

Korean Rice Bowl

I've been eating a good deal of Korean food lately, so I thought I would try it at home. The April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit had a recipe for an easy take on a classic Korean dish that I thought would be perfect for a weeknight dinner.


Bibimbap is pretty much the poster child of Korean food. It's as much of an icon as pho is for Vietnam, tikka masala is for India, and spaghetti and meatballs are for Italy. In classic bibimbap, a combination of vegetables and bulgogi beef are served on top of rice with a spicy sauce and a fried egg is placed right on top. If you order bibimbap in a dol sot (a hot stone pot), the dish comes out sizzling and the egg starts off raw but cooks as you mix the food around.

In this simplified version, rice is served with slices of strip steak, asparagus sauteed with garlic and sesame, and, in keeping with tradition, a fried egg is put right on top. Add a side of kimchi and you're set. I enjoyed this dinner immensely because it felt rather healthy and fulfilling. When you see all of the ingredients in the final product, it feels so elemental. The fried egg helped to add some unxiousness to the dish after I popped the yolk and let it run into the rice. This version of the Korean staple is simplified, but it also maintains a combination of clean and satisfying flavors.

Bagel Dogs

Perusing the blogosphere, I came across a food item that immediately threw me back to my childhood. All of a sudden, I was sitting on a barstool at the counter in my mom's kitchen, legs swinging, patiently waiting for one of my favorite treats to heat up. The chime on the microwave goes off to let me know that delightful deliciousness is imminent. My mom opens the microwave, retrieves my treat, turns around and presents me with a delicious, poppy seed-dusted bagel dog. Scientifically- or mathematically-speaking, the greatness of bagel does is not an additive effect of the ingredients, but rather the effect is exponential. In other words, hot dog = good, bagel = good, bagel dog = magnificent (instead of doubly good). The chewiness of the bagel adds far more interest to the dog than a mere bun ever could. Based on this attack of nostalgia, you can imagine how excited I was to find a recipe for these beauties fromFood People Want.


Instead of copying the recipe, I will outline the basic steps in making a bagel dog. Food People Want has all of the measurements and details just right, so no need to reinvent the wheel. First, you make the dough. My dough hook failed to help me knead the dough, so I got my hands dirty and finished the job. The dough rises and gets punched down (one of my favorite parts of making bread). You cut the dough into 12 strips and wrap them around the dogs. I would recommend keeping the wrapping a little tight, especially being sure to secure the ends. The dough rises again around the hot dogs. Then you put the dogs into simmering water for a minute so they'll puff up. Bagels are made in this way too. I'm assuming it's this step that makes sure the end product is especially chewy. Lastly, you sprinkle on your toppings and put the dogs into the oven for about a half hour.


I used Hebrew National hot dogs and some feta-spinach chicken sausages for my bagel dogs. On top are sesame seeds, herbs and dried garlic and, of course, poppy seeds. My bread-baking abilities are still at the novice stage, but this recipe came out perfectly. The bagel was the perfect texture, creating a cushiony blanket around the hot dogs. I would recommend using tubed meats without skin. It was not always a problem, but sometimes it was difficult to get through the bagel and the dog in one bite. The best part is this recipe made 12 bagel dogs that freeze and reheat exceedingly well. I will be eating these portable edibles for at least the next week, and my inner child can't stop smiling.

Garlic Mojo Hot Dogs

Back in July of last year, Bon Appetit ran an article about atypical ways to top your hot dog. It was the peak of summer and grilling was a way of life. Now that we're in the dead of winter, a little reminder of summer is in need. Nothing makes you think of warmth more than some grilled tubed meat.


Mojo is very tropical in flavor, which is no surprise since it hails from Cuba. In this version, you saute some garlic and tomato in lime and orange juices, with a little bit of cumin. After this simmers you season with salt and pepper. After grilling your dogs, place them on top of the bun with some sliced romaine. Then add chopped avocado, pineapple and the sauce. As a word of caution, I would try to use a lower-fat hot dog for this, either low-fat beef, pork or even poultry would do. The avocado and the sauce already have enough fat for most palettes. But aside from that, the sauce brightened up the dogs well. The tomatoes provided an element similar to ketchup while the mojo and avocado gave the meal a decidedly lighter feel. And considering we've been going through some cold spells recently, any glimmer that spring and summer are coming is a welcome change.

Patty Melts

One of my longtime favorite greasy-spoon indulgences is the patty melt. Grease from meat, cheese and butter combine with bread and onions in a wonderful sandwich. In essence, the patties are flattened hamburgers, so this recipe is no more difficult than making a Cheddar cheeseburger. But its sumptuousness extends beyond that of your everyday burger, especially since you leave off most of the vegetables.


Patty Melt, recipe from Saveur Magazine
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1.5 lbs ground beef
Kosher salt
Black pepper
5T canola oil
2 yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
12 slices rye bread
12 slices Cheddar cheese
8T unsalted butter, softened

Instructions
1. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Divide the meat into six 1/4-inch thick patties.

2. Heat 2T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 12 minutes. Set the onions aside and wipe out skillet. Working in batches, heat 1T oil in skillet over high heat and cook patties, flipping once, until well browned, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to plate.

3. Top each of 6 bread slices with some onions, one slice of cheese and a burger patty. Top each burger with another slice of cheese and a piece of bread (I omitted the second piece of cheese). Spread butter over the top and bottom of each sandwich.

4. Heat skillet over medium heat and cook sandwiches, flipping once, until golden brown and heated through, about 6 minutes.

The Palace International

Have you ever had African food? For most people, including me last week, the answer is no. If you have, it may have been Ethiopian or Moroccan. But how about food from a Kenyan? If you live in Durham, you have the opportunity to have authentic African food at The Palace International.


I've heard of ox tails in Hispanic cuisine, but I've never had the gaul to order them. It turns out they are very similar to Korean short-ribs. American-style ribs are cut in between the bones to produce corn-on-the-cob-style eating. Korean-style ribs, on the other hand, are cut through the bone, so you end up eating the meat off of each piece of bone. These ox tails were exactly the same, except they had been slowly simmered in a garlic-ginger-tomato sauce. The tail meat is a little fatty, but that just adds to the delicious, savoriness of chewing the meat off the bone. On the side I had some yellow rice with collards that were sauteed but still fresh and green.


The other entree we ordered was the curried goat, which was outstanding. The meat was amazingly tender. There were some large bones involved, but also some stand-alone pieces of meat too. The curry sauce was great. It was packed with curry and garlic flavors without being overbearing or too spicy. We had this dish with ugali, a cake of solid grits-like-grain that was a little course but still good.


Dessert choices were decidedly un-African, but they sounded too good to pass up nonetheless. We ordered strawberry Tres Leches. Tres leches is a marvelous Latin dessert that is moist but not soggy. The cake is immersed into a mixture of multiple milks and sugar. This tres leches was served with strawberry jam and white chocolate. As it was served, it was topped with a splash of sweet wine which really rounded out the flavors and made this dessert absolutely incredible. The overall feel of this cooking was a mixture of Spanish, Indian and Ethiopian, which is quite intriguing. I will definitely return to The Palace International to try some of the other dishes that I missed.

From Hungary to Japan and Back to Germany - 4.13.09

Last week my cooking had a decidedly international flair. Let's start on our whirlwind tour:


First stop is Hungary for some goulash. There's nothing like slow-cooking some beef to make it nicely tender and full of flavor. Some of you may be familiar with a recipe involving some macaroni and ground beef, but this is a decidedly more sophisticated version. First you brown about a pound and a half of cubed beef in a pan, then remove it from the pan. Cook 3 chopped onions and 1 green bell pepper until they are softened, stirring in some garlic afterwards, followed by 2T tomato paste and 2T flour, cooking for another minute. Return the beef to the pot and add 1c beef stock, 1 bay leaf, 3T parsley, 1T paprika, 1t salt, and 1/4t pepper. Let the mixture cook on low heat for 2.5 hours. Remove the lid and simmer for another 15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Serve on top of egg noodles with a dollop of sour cream. The veggies and paprkia give this dish a slightly sweet nature to pair with the tomato-based sauce that makes the beef delicious. The sour cream serves to add some tang and a little richness to the sauce.


Next, a quick and easy seafood dish with some Asian flavors. First you dry and season some large sea scallops, then sear them in a hot pan. After they are seared, remove them from the pan and brush with some hoisin. Wipe out the skillet and add a full bag of baby spinach, 3 sliced scallions and 1c chopped cilantro, cooking until wilted. After removing from the pan, drizzle some sesame oil on top of the greens. Serve the scallops on top of the greens and enjoy. The flavors of this dish are simple, bold and enjoyable. The hoisin, which by itself can be overwhelmingly sweet, makes a nice glaze for the scallops. And if you are iron deficient, an entire bag of spinach cooked down to 4 servings will do the trick.


A graduate student in my lab had her final defense a couple weeks ago. She's a big fan of coconut, so I made these delightful confections: German sweet chocolate cupcakes. The cupcakes are very light, helped out by a dose of sour cream in the batter. After baking, the cupcakes are split and the butter-sugar-pecan-coconut filling is put in the middle and on top. I thought these tasted pretty good, and most everyone else who had one agreed. My lab is going to love me for using them as an excuse to bring in goodies (for Easter I brought in Cadbury cream eggs and jelly beans, mostly so I could eat just one).

Italian, Asian, Soup, & Dessert - 2/2/2009

I managed to do all of this week's cooking during the weekend. That way I can bring non-sandwich food for lunch and all I have to do for dinner is push some buttons on the microwave.


The soup of the week (soup du...week) is split pea with ham. It started with cooking some carrot and onion until soft in some butter. Then I added around 7 cups of chicken broth, 16oz of split peas, cubed ham steak, some salt, whole allspice, whole peppercorns, thyme, and a bay leaf. In theory, I should have made a bouquet garni (spices held in a small bag or tied with twine) so I could easily remove them after they soup was done cooking, but I did not have any cheesecloth, so I did it the unfancy way. I cooked the soup for an hour or so until all of the split peas were softened. I like my soup nice and thick (almost paste-like in consistency), so I made sure to cook it until some of the moisture had evaporated. Even though this was the first time I've made this soup, it all balanced out pretty well. The spices provided good depth of flavor and ham is a must for split peas. This will definitely make a good lunch this week.


I made some excellent Asian marinated steaks too. I combined some white miso, mirin (sweetened sake), soy sauce, and sesame oil in a bowl, then tossed some steaks in the marinade and let this mixture sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, for my side item, I cooked up some jasmine rice. After it was cooked and cooled a bit, I mixed in chopped garlic, olive oil, cumin, half of a cucumber (halved, seeded, and sliced), cilantro and lemon juice. Lastly, I grilled the steaks in my cast iron skillet and served it all immediately. The steaks adopted some good flavor from the marinade and the rice salad was a great way to add some veggies to the usual carb side.


No, you're monitor doesn't have its colors wrong. Those light green florets are, in actuality, broccoflower, a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower. It is mostly like cauliflower but with some hints of broccoli flavor. Plus it's a weird limey green color. Anyways, I roasted the florets with grape tomatoes on the low rack of an oven for 15 minutes. While it cooked, I chopped garlic, sage and prosciutto in a food processor, then mixed this with the roasting vegetables to finish cooking for another 5-10 minutes. I cooked the last of my linguine primavera from Italy and, once it was done, reserved some of the cooking liquid. Once the veggies were done in the oven, I combined the pasta, vegetables, some cooked and chopped chicken breast, parmigiano, and arugula, along with some of the pasta water to moisten it all. Some salt and pepper helped accentuate the flavors. I have not had pasta in a while, so this dish was a nice change, especially since I don't have to feel too bad about it with all of the vegetables and grilled chicken inside. Guilt free and delicious!


I was invited to a get-together with my classmates this past weekend. I heard it was someone's birthday, so I thought I'd try out a cookie bar recipe: ginger bars. The dough is made much like cookies: cream butter and sugar, add eggs and then the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg). This was spread in a relatively thin layer in a greased 9"x15" baking pan, then baked for about 15 minutes. It did not look entirely done (it jiggled in the middle), but it baked like a cookie, staying soft until it cools. I let it sit until it was entirely cooled, then cut it into triangles. The ginger flavor was not as strong as gingerbread, but it was like a soft, chewy, triangular, ginger cookie. They went very quickly at the party, so I guess that says something about how they tasted.

Barley Soup, Flank Steak & Sweet Slaw - 1/3/2009

Happy New Year! Now that the holiday festivities have concluded, it's time to start cooking healthily again.


I'm considering cutting down on the carbohydrates I eat at dinner, so the carb element of this meal is a smaller serving of barley soup. You cook raw barley in vegetable broth for half an hour. Then add two sliced carrots, 2 cups of sliced mushrooms, tomato paste, pepper, paprika, thyme, and salt. Let this simmer until tender, about 30 minutes more. To serve, you add a small splash of vinegar and some parsley.


The main feature of the day, though, is an Asian flank steak with sweet slaw. You start by marinating a flank steak in soy, vegetable oil, ginger, and garlic for 30 minutes. While this is marinating, thinly slice some cabbage and green onions. Dissolve equal parts sugar in rice vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. After removing from the heat, add some more fresh ginger. If you want to add some heat, add some thinly sliced jalapenos. Pour the vinegar mixture over the cabbage and green onions, then toss to coat. I grilled my steak using my cast iron skillet, then let it rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing it thinly. Serve the steak atop some of the sweet slaw. I really like this recipe because it was pretty easy and the flavors melded nicely.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2009!

Fall Flavors and Mock Falafel - 11.23.08

I've been cooking so much that I haven't had the energy to update the blog in the past couple of weeks. So here is my pre-Thanksgiving update:


I have wanted to cook with squash and I decided to go through with it. First is chicken curry in a roasted acorn squash. While baking two halves of an acorn squash in a 450 degree oven, you saute chicken, red bell pepper, and onion with curry powder, some milk and golden raisins (those with good eyesight will notice in the picture that I could not find golden raisins so I used regular raisins). As always with any milk-based sauce, you want to make sure not to overcook it and "break" it. After everything is done, serve the chicken inside the squash halves and garnish with chopped cilantro. I found this recipe in Men's Health Magazine, so it is reasonably healthy, very filling if you can finish an entire half of an acorn squash (I may quarter it next time) and has decent flavors.


The second dish is one you could make year-round since it does not rely on fresh squash. I combined pumpkin puree with toasted pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, asiago cheese, a lot of arugula, peppercorns, and salt in a food processor and blended until smooth. If you, like me, does not always want to make fresh pasta dough for ravioli, you can use wonton wrappers. The recipe I used called for cornstarch dissolved in water to seal up the ravioli. This worked very well and the ravioli did not burst when I boiled them (only for a few minutes until they float). For a sauce, I combined 6 tablespoons each of butter and chopped sage. I may have cooked the sauce a little too long, but the end result was a nice butter sauce with crispy sage in it. I used some shaved asiago cheese at the end as a final touch.


As an accompaniment to the ravioli, I made a very quick and easy steak dish. Start by patting the steaks dry and seasoning them with salt and pepper. Cook them in a pan with oil until they reach the desired doneness. Remove the steaks from the pan and add 4 sliced garlic cloves and about a cup and a half of coarsely chopped olives. This time around I used a combination of black and pitted kalamata olives. Cook this until the garlic is browned and everything is heated through. Top the steaks with the olives and garnish with chopped parsley. I've discovered I like my steak medium rare to give it a nice juiciness and flavor. The olives add a simple, rustic flavor that matches the steak well.


The last dish I've made is a little out of left field. It's a non-traditional version of falafel using pinto beans instead of favas. Combine mashed pintos with monterey jack cheese, tortilla chips or breadcrumbs, green onion, cilantro, cumin, and egg whites. Form this odd mixture into patties and cook in a pan with olive oil until the patties have a nice, crispy outside. I wanted to make an avocado spread for this, but my avocado went bad prematurely, so I combined sour cream with lime juice, onion, and tomato for a cool topping. I served these inside of pita with shredded iceberg lettuce. These falafel may not be as crispy as the usual ones are, but they turned out to be quite enjoyable anyways.

Lots of Updates - 10.26.08

I've been staying busy busy for the past couple of weeks, so I haven't gotten around to updating the blog. But now I've found some time, so here's what I've been up to.


One of my pseudo-Scottish favorites, shepherd's pie is an easy casserole for entertaining friends or for a quiet evening at home. While boiling some potatoes for the top portion, cook ground beef in a pan, adding some onions, carrots and garlic. Once it's all cooked, stir in some flour to let it combine with the fat in the pan. Gradually stir in some tomatoes and beef stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Add Worcestershire sauce, sage, salt, and pepper, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. While it's simmering, mash the potatoes with some butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Adjust the consistency with some milk.

Stir mushrooms into the meat and cook until tender. Turn the mixture into a shallow ovenproof dish. You can either pipe the mashed potatoes with a star tip (fancy version) or you can delicately spread them over the top of the meat mixture (time and energy efficient version). Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let cool a bit, slice and serve.


I wanted to make a slightly different dessert, so I opted for this grape and mascarpone upside-down cheesecake. You puree some grape juice concentrate with some grapes, then simmer this in a saucepan with some whole grapes, sugar, raspberry vinegar, and cornstarch, cooking until it is thickened slightly. Pour this into the bottom of a springform pan (this will form the bottom of the cheesecake, which will be served as the top). With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and mascarpone cheese with some sugar and flour. Pour this mixture over the grape mixture and bake until the center is just set. Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate for 4 hours. When ready to serve, invert onto a serving dish and remove the springform pan. This dessert came out nicely balanced: not artificially grapey and not overtly sweet, which were my main concerns. The last thing anyone wants for dessert is a diabetogenic cheesecake that tastes like Dimetapp.


With winter at our doorstep here in North Carolina, I was in the mood for soup, so I wanted to re-make some mushroom rice chowder I prepared about 3 years ago. You start by cooking mushrooms, leeks, shallots, and garlic in a pan with butter until everything is tender. Add 4 cups of chicken stock, 1 cup of wild rice, marjoram, thyme, and pepper. Simmer, covered, for about an hour until the rice is cooked. Slowly stir in 1 cup of half-and-half, cream cheese or sour cream (depending on how creamy and fattening you want your soup). Heat soup through but do not boil. Serve in large bowls and savor the warmth and flavors at your leisure.

Since I'm such a fungi (fun guy haha), I continued the mushroominess and made these steaks with red wine and mushroom sauce. Salt and pepper the steaks, then cook them up in a saucepan to the desired doneness. When finished, transfer to a covered, oven-safe dish and place it in an oven set on warm. In the same pan, pour out most of the fat, and add 8 ounces of mushrooms and some shallots, and cook until tender. Add some beef broth and heat until boiling. Mix cornstarch into half a cup of red wine, then pour this mixture into the pan. Cook this mixture until the sauce is thickened and adjust the flavors with salt and pepper. Plate the steaks and spread the sauce on top. The version I made turned out rather bland, so additional spices and maybe a bit less cornstarch would help. It did look nice, though, with some chopped parsley on top.


For a nice treat for my lab, I made some zucchini bread. I have made so much banana bread over the past few years, I decided to try my hand at zucchini bread. I got the recipe from Food Network and tweaked it a bit. After mixing together 3.25 cups flour, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp baking soda, 3 cups sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon (I also added to this 1 tsp of cardamom, a wonderfully warm and underused spice), I made the wet mixture: 1 cup vegetable oil, 4 eggs, 1/3 cup water, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 2 cups zucchini. To grate the zucchini, you can do it the hard way with a hand grater or, as I found out, you can do it the easy way with the proper attachment to a food processor. I grated 2 zucchini in 15 seconds. Mix the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just mixed together. If you want, fold in 1 cup of chopped nuts (I used pecans). Bake this in 2 loaf pans (I only had 1 regular loaf pan and 3 mini loaf pans) for about 1 hour (or 45 minutes for mini-sized) until a tester comes out clean. I did have a difficult time getting the loaves out of the pans, but after that they were fine. I also used a light vanilla glaze on the large one before I brought it in for my lab to devour like piranha. It had a wonderful spiced flavor to it and the zucchini was more for consistency than for flavor.

In the past couple of weeks, I went to the NC Renaissance Fair as well as the State Fair. I meant to document the wonderful foods at both, but was so excited that I only remembered my camera when I was halfway through gorging. At the Renaissance Fair, we enjoyed a turkey leg, chocolate-covered strawberries, sausage on a stick, hot cider, strawberry shortcake, and fried mac-n-cheese. At the State Fair, we had a soft pretzel, another turkey leg, fried cheesecake, mint chocolate chip ice cream, a foot long corndog, and, the best of the best, fried oreos and Reese's peanut butter cups. The oreos were good, but the peanut butter cups were out of this world. Our original intent was to eat all of the other fried goodness (including, but not limited to, fried pickles, twinkies, Snickers, and Milky Ways), but we did not find the right booths until we were already stuffed. Luckily we carried around our many and varied stuffed animals, so that might come near the number of calories we consumed...at least if you fudge the numbers a bit.

Steak au Poivre with Pasta Pesto and Goat Cheese-Walnut Salad - 9/25/08

This menu pretty much created itself after my mom sent me a recipe for a pesto made with arugula and walnuts instead of basil and pine nuts. Arugula has a nice peppery flavor to it, so what better to pair with it than steak au poivre and a salad with walnuts.


Cook up the pasta according to package directions. I used creste di gallo (rooster crowns - they look like large macaroni with some fringes on them) because I liked the multiple colors they come in. For the pesto, combine one garlic clove, salt, half a cup of walnuts (toasted for extra credit), 2 cups arugula, half a cup of basil, 2 tablespoons of parmigiano, and one tablespoon of lemon juice in a food processor. While processing, stream in about one third cup of olive oil until the pesto is smooth. Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper as desired. Toss the pesto over the pasta.

For the steak, salt both sides of the meat and cover both sides with cracked peppercorns. If you want a lighter pepper flavor (or if you start sneezing uncontrollably), you can use ground pepper, just make sure you use a good amount of it. The pepper is the only real seasoning for the steak, so use as much as you can tolerate. You may be concerned that the pepper will be overpowering, but the cooking process dulls the flavors a bit so you probably won't have a problem. Anyways, cook the steak in a pan to desired doneness. If you really want, you can add a little brandy or red wine to deglaze the pan, then add a little heavy cream and cook until thickened. Be careful with the cream, though, because if you cook it too long past the thickened stage, the sauce will break and become more watery. This sauce is not totally necessary to enjoy the dish, though, as the pesto makes a nice accompaniment.


For a nice side salad, start with a base of fresh spinach and arugula, then add some toasted walnuts and crumbled goat cheese. For the dressing, whisk together some walnut oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard. Pour a smattering if this dressing on top of the salad and toss to mix.

Beef & Noodle Stir Fry - 6/27/2008

It is so nice to be able to cook for myself again. I stocked up on groceries today to prepare for some friends who are visiting for about 5 days. Amongst all of that I did pick up some good food for today. Sliced beef is marinated in minced garlic and ginger as well as some oyster sauce and soy sauce for 30 minutes. After finding this out, I took the opportunity to step out to the local post office to pass the time. Next, I boiled some water and cooked wide egg noodles. The recipe actually calls for rice noodles, but I could not find any so I subbed out egg noodles which are admittedly not as delicate, but nontheless still delicious. I cooked the beef until it was almost to where I like it (medium to medium-rare), then added the drained noodles to coat them in the beef juices. Then I added long pieces of scallions and cooked the mixture until the scallions were a little wilted. To add a little extra flavor, you add more oyster sauce, soy sauce and a little sugar. Toss to mix everything well and serve. And don't think oyster sauce means it will taste fishy, because this dish did not have that at all. For as few ingredients that are in the dish, it tasted very nice. It had an Asian flare without tasting like take-out. It had a simple yet elegant flavor, so give it a shot if you like.

Happy Mothers' Day! - 05/11/08

I know this is a little late, but happy Mothers' Day! I've been traveling and graduating a bit lately, so the blog pretty much fell by the wayside. But here is a smörgåsbord for your eyes and mouths.


Mom wanted the meal to be simple since I had put so much effort into the graduation day festivities. I decided to stop by Fresh Market and pick up some of their pinwheels. The one in the center is Italian with some cheese, spinach and ham. The other two have portabellas and cheese rolled into them. They take about 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven, but cut into them to be sure as it is very easy to undercook them.


As the starchy (i.e. carbohydrate-filled) side dish, I made some roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Earlier in the day, I put two heads of garlic (tops cut off, bottoms wrapped in foil and tops lightly covered with olive oil) into a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until they were golden brown. After boiling the potatoes until they were tender and draining them, I returned them to the pan and got out the good old hand masher. The masher is quite easy to use and recommended if you want more rustic potatoes with some lumps or just very chunky. After a light mashing, I squeezed out what garlic I could onto the potatoes and added a little salt, pepper, spray butter, and warm milk. I kept adding a little bit of milk at a time until the potatoes were the consistency I wanted.


To jazz up the potatoes, though they were quite good already, I served optional sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, scallions, and mild goat cheese. I had mine with goat cheese and thought it made a good combination.


As a "healthier" side, I served broccoli rabe. This leafy green has small broccoli florets attached and is a nice vegetable to serve. First, you should blanch the broccoli rabe for about 2 minutes. This means to place it in boiling water for 2 minutes, then shock it in some ice water to stop the cooking process. You can do this with other vegetables that you do not want to steam until they are too soft and disgusting to eat. The main key to flavoring the broccoli rabe for this meal was pancetta. Pancetta is pretty much Italian bacon, except it is salt-cured instead of smoked. You can have it cut into nice, thick slices. I cut one slice into small cubes and cooked them until they were golden on the outside. I removed the meat from the pan and used their grease to start cooking the broccoli rabe. Once it was heated through, I added the pancetta back to the pan to finish it off very briefly. This dish is pretty much the same idea behind some Southern dishes such as collard greens cooked with bacon or some other pork fat.


With dinner, we served my new champagne discovery: Petalo, Il Vino dell'Amore (Moscato Spumante). This is the champagne I had for New Year's Eve and my family has now adopted it as one of their favorites. It is smooth and sweet, but still not expensive. It makes wonderful mimosas. I would recommend it to anyone who says they do not like champagne because it is not as dry as the other stuff that is out there.


For dessert, the main feature was a flourless chocolate cake that I served at graduation. It is made with many eggs, some sugar and a little Kahlua. My guess is the Kahlua adds the coffee taste to accent the chocolate instead of actually adding coffee. On the side are some flourless dark chocolate cookies that also turned out to be one of my best chocolate cookies to date. You can find them in June issue of Bon Appetit magazine.


Last, but not least (and not food), are the flowers I arranged for my mom this year. Usually, I pick out some tulips, but I felt this year was time for a change. I went to (you guessed it) Fresh Market and found some lovely lilies (two types), some purple bell-looking flowers and pink peonies. They also had some nice vases there in which I could place the flowers. Though I had no idea what I was doing, this arrangement turned out pretty good. You never know what you can do until you give something a shot.

St. Patrick's Day - 3/17/08

I had not planned on doing anything for St. Patrick's Day, but then inspiration struck me on my way home. I went to Fresh Market and here's what I managed to put together:


For lunch I made these St. Patty Melts. I found a nice Irish soda bread at Fresh Market. It had some raisins in it, but I figured that would not throw the flavor off too much. On top of this, I put a few slices of corned beef and some spinach. On top of this, I put some shredded Irish cheddar. I grilled this sandwich up and, as a garnish, I placed a few more spinach leaves on top.


For dinner I made a classic British dish: bangers and mash. The bangers (sausages) were Irish for those purists out there. To the mashed potatoes, I added some more spinach for a nice green color. Admittedly, I should have used cabbage instead, but I like spinach better. As a beverage, I made some green (ginger) ale. May the luck of the Irish be with you all!

Steak with Onion-Tomato Relish - 2/29/08

Here's the first of two updates for today.


The steak is cooked just with some pepper rubbed into it. Then, after cooking the steaks, the onions were sauteed in the juices. Tomatoes were added with some salt, pepper and sage. This was all cooked until it was tender and heated through. On the side is some whole wheat rice pilaf. I liked this meal because it turned out good with not a lot of work.

Indian Beef, Zucchini & Muffin - 2/18/2008

When most people think of Indian food, the first thing to come to mind is usually curry. This food does not have any curry, but is still pretty good.


The main course is a beef dish, though it should probably be made with lamb. The beef is stir-fried with garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and allspice. Then some onions and garlic are cooked separately, then combined with the beef and some toasted pine nuts.

The first side dish is supposed to be served as a cold salad, but I'm not a fan of cold zucchini, so I ate it warm. Some zucchini is sauteed with garlic, mint and lemon juice. After it is tender, raisins and pine nuts are added. The second side dish is a broccoli-cheddar muffin. I know it does not fit the other two dishes, but I was in the mood for a muffin and I figured this was a way to keep it moderately healthy-ish.