Chicken & Sliders Soup

I've never had much interest in making my own stocks before. Chicken stock/broth/bouillon was always something I bought in the store and never really minded. But sometimes in cooking you get the urge to try making something from scratch, if for no other reason than to appreciate how much hard work goes into making a soup from base ingredients. But then there's the question of what to do with the stock once you have it. Many people I've seen and read say you can freeze it in small quantities to use when you please, but I've never been much of a freezer stockpiler. My freezer currently has a loaf of bread (because it usually molds before I finish it), some frozen fruit for smoothies and some coffee. So I wanted to use my stock right away to enjoy the fruits of my labors. Then I remembered a soup that my mom used to make - chicken with sliders. Note: sliders, in this meal, are not miniature burgers, but rather fat, thick noodles that you slurp up with your soup.

Chicken Stock
From Elizabeth's Edible Experience.

Ingredients
2 rotisserie chicken carcasses, picked of meat (set aside), skin and fat
1 large yellow onion, unpeeled, quartered
3 carrots, unpeeled, halved
2 stalks of celery, cut into thirds
2 bay leaves
10 sprigs of parsley
5 sprigs of thyme
1 head of garlic, unpeeled and halved crosswise
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 gallon cold water

Directions




I started with two rotisserie chickens and de-meated them by hand. This is an interesting, messy and slightly gross process. It is interesting observing the structure of the chicken and how all the muscles attach to each other. The best part is letting your fingers roam, searching for pockets of meaty goodness. Get every last bit that you can because this meat will go back into the chicken soup after making the stock.


Place all of the ingredients except the water in a large (8-10 quart) stockpot. The easiest part of this recipe is that each of the ingredients, except the chickens, need only a minimal amount of preparation. The stock is strained at the end, so you don't have to worry about peeling or dicing anything. Just be sure your veggies are free of grit.


Add 1 gallon of cold water to the stock pot and bring to a boil. This will take some time since most of the ingredients are either at room temperature or cold and the water has to rise from 75 degrees F to 212 degrees F.


Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 4 hours. In this case, a simmer is heating the stock-to-be such that you see the occasional bubble float to the surface. Do not stir.


Strain the contents through a colander placed on top of a large bowl or pot. Remember, unlike cooking most foods, you want to keep the liquid and get rid of the solids. Don't forget and pour your lovely stock down the sink.


Just to be safe, strain the stock again through a fine mesh strainer. You don't want any small bones or inedible bits to get into the final product.


Place the stock in a large, sealable container and chill overnight. The next day, remove any surface fat. At this point the stock can be used immediately (after you're done admiring the magic of turning clear water into a golden broth) or you can freeze it in batches for up to 3 months.

Grandma's Chicken & Sliders Soup
Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients
Chicken Soup
Approx. 96 oz of chicken stock (see above)
3 carrots, peeled, large dice
2 celery, peeled, sliced
3 yellow squash, trimmed, diced
1 onion, peeled, large dice
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed, cut into bite-sized pieces
Meat from 1.5-2 rotisserie chickens (see above)
Salt and pepper to taste
Other dried or fresh spices (thyme, rosemary, etc.) to taste
Sliders
1 cup flour
1 egg
2-3 tbsp milk

Directions
Place chicken stock in a large soup pot and bring to a simmer. Put all of the vegetables, chicken and spices in the soup to cook, approximately 15-20 minutes, depending on how many veggies you like in your soup.


For sliders, place flour onto a cutting board in a little mound.


Form a well in the center of the flour pile. Drop the egg into the well.


Mix flour and egg together with a fork. Add enough milk to form a solid dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness (remember - noodles will plump in the soup) and cut into short, wide strips with a pizza cutter.


Drop the sliders into the boiling soup one by one so they don't stick together. Cook until they float, about 1-2 minutes.

And there you have it! Scratch-made chicken and sliders soup. The noodles are a little heavy and chewy, adding interest to the light chicken soup. This soup is perfect any time of year because it is versatile enough, light enough and filling enough to satisfy you no matter what the weather is like. The vegetables and rotisserie chicken make the soup taste fresh, adding to the homemade quality.

To Loukoumi - Astoria, NYC

New York City abounds with different cultural heritages. It's a city comprised of some hundreds of neighborhoods where immigrants from all of the world have built their homes in the New World. I found out that Astoria in Queens has it's own Greek area, so we took the Metro to where it ends on Astoria Boulevard, and walked east on Ditmars Boulevard to see what we could find. There was a definite Greek presence, but it was hard to decide on which restaurant would be authentic without overcharging us tourists. We walked east past a few overcrowded eateries until we came upon To Loukoumi.

The restaurant gets its name from sweet, chewy candies like Turkish delight, but the word has also come to mean "tasty," which is a good descriptor for all of their food. The menu avoids common dishes such as gyros in favor of authentic dishes that you don't find at your local Pita Pit. Everything you can imagine is on the menu, including saganaki (flambeed cheese) and chargrilled octopus. I was sad I could only fit so much food in my stomach because there were a number of dishes I wanted to try.


I could not decide on just one item from the extensive menu, so I ordered a selection of dips, served with fresh, warm pita bread points. On the left is skordalia, a thick garlic dip that just sings and begs to be spread on almost every piece of food that goes into your mouth. In the back is melitzanosalata, made from eggplant. Some unexpected sweetness came out of the earthy, smokey taste of this delicious dip. On the right is one of my favorites and what is seen as the most popular dip in Greek-American food - tzatziki. A combination of yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, lemon, and some other spices make a cool, refreshing, and astonishingly flavorful dip that is good on all sorts of pita sandwiches and meats. Lastly, in the foreground of the picture, is a spread made out of orange fish roe. This final dip tasted more like a smoked fish spread than I expected and was a delectable, salty counter to the other flavors.


The entree we ordered was ground chicken formed into these patties, then grilled. It reminded me of a flat meatball or a slice of meatloaf in some ways. The patties contained feta and some other unknown spices that really made it stand out. I'll admit that chicken patty does not sound that outstanding, but these were flavorful and moist, so what more could you ask for? On the side are sauteed dandelion greens which are like a hearty sauteed spinach.


It was a quiet evening in the restaurant and after we paid the check we were just about ready to head back to Manhattan when one of the owners approached our table and struck up a conversation. She, like her staff, was very pleasant and even convinced us to try some Greek coffee, free of charge. Like many Mediterranean cultures, this coffee is small, strong and sweet. The coffee is poured over sugar at a temperature that caramelizes the sugar and adds an interesting flavor to the coffee. Just don't drink too deep or you might hit some of the bitter grounds at the bottom.

While we were enjoying our coffee, the proprietor brought us a plate of Greek yogurt with blueberries, peaches and honey. We ate it so fast I did not have time to take a picture, but it was very delicious and a light end to a wonderful meal.

After talking with the owner for a while longer about the area, her family and some of the history of the restaurant, we left with stomachs full of good food and hearts content from good conversation. If you plan on visiting the Greek area of Astoria, go past the overcrowded standard restaurants for a couple more blocks to find this out-of-the-way, but worth-the-trip tavern.

Cobb Salad

I've been a bit lazy about making my own lunch as of late. Some weeks you just don't feel like planning what you want to make for every meal, so then you end up at the cafeteria every day. I tried to make healthy choices there, but you know that even if you get soup or even the salad bar, you end up with sub-par ingredients and extra, unforeseen calories. So I finally took action and took back my lunch.

Earlier this year, Saveur Magazine did a story on the origin of Cobb salad. They showed their recipe for the quintessential Cobb. For me, it involved a few too many ingredients for my state of mind, so I slimmed it down both in steps as well as in calories.

Cobb Salad
Makes 4 servings (or, in my case, 5 lunches)

Ingredients
Dressing
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, cored and chopped
2 oz blue cheese, crumbled
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked, chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, cubed
2 tomatoes, seeded, cubed
2 chicken breasts, cooked, cubed
2 tbsp chives, chopped

Instructions
To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender or plastic shaker and blend until smooth. I'm not sure why, but many recipes call for a lot of oil in their dressings, so I've halved the total oil content so you can taste more of the other ingredients.

The rest of the salad is pretty straightforward. Put some lettuce on a plate (or plastic container), and top it with the blue cheese, turkey bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and chicken however you like. Dust it all with chives and drizzle on dressing to taste.


A good salad should be satisfying. It's as simple as that. If you want to eat a salad as a meal to help cut calories, then you have to do it right. You can't eat lettuce with salt and pepper because you will be hungry in about an hour or so. You also can't go overboard with tons of creamy dressings and calorie-dense ingredients, because that defeats the purpose. This Cobb salad is a good balance of these extremes. You get good protein and vegetables to fill you up without ruining your figure. The dressing in this salad is good, but for me a Cobb is all about the vast array of ingredients that you get to eat in various combinations. A little salty, a little crunch, a little soft, a little bland, you get it all. So if you're tired of the same-old, bland cafeteria options, you can liberate yourself with a little blending and chopping.

KFC Double Down

American food preferences are difficult to understand. There always seem to be multiple trends existing, however discordantly, at the same time. It usually boils down to two main paths - one wholesomely packing as many nutrients into food as possible, and one optimizing the number of calories for the fewest dollars spent. The former gives us the current wave of organic, locally-grown produce and livestock. The latter yields the convenience foods with fast-food chains and other restaurants finding new and more absurd ways of getting more calories into every bite. The focus of this post is on this sector that is often shunned and belittled, despite its influence on our food and our culture.

As America became a more prosperous nation in the twentieth century, with food aplenty and mass production in full swing, fast food came into existence. Simple menus including burgers, the quintessential, hand-held, American cuisine, expanded to include French fries, fried chicken, milkshakes, and just about anything else that someone on roller skates can carry. A spinoff of this sector is the fried foods, so often beloved at state fairs and in home kitchens. If you've ever had a fried Twinkie, Oreo or PB&J sandwich, you can thank the rise of of McDonald's and Burger King. While some fast-food joints are trying to show their lighter side (eliminating super-sizing, offering salads and displaying calorie counts), at the same time they develop new and ever more creative vittles. The newest kid on the block is KFC's Double Down.


The formula is simple and almost right out of an American elementary school textbook: 2 fried chicken breasts + 2 slices of pepper jack + 2 strips of bacon + 1 squirt of spicy mayonnaise = 1 Double-Down. After my stomach stopped churning at the thought of the fat and sodium alone, my mouth started to water. But I knew I could not tackle the bunless 600 calories alone, so I found a friend to split this monster. After seeing all the commercials, I was a little underwhelmed by the size of the sandwich. It was probably about the size of my fist (and I have smaller-than average sized hands). But it does pack a punch on your tummy. In reality, this "sandwhich" is just a sum of its parts. It tasted fine. Nothing spectacular or life-changing about this next step in our fast-food evolution. But this may just be an intermediary on the way to the next big thing to hit the food world. Try it if you dare...or maybe just have a salad.

Indian Food on Wheels

Who says good food only comes out of stationary kitchens? Food trucks have seen a great rise in popularity the past couple of years, and I'm finally getting around to having my first meal from one of these mobile eateries.


Right next to Sam's Quick Shop on Erwin Rd. in Durham is a giant red school bus. At night in moonlights as a source of Mexican food (perhaps the subject of a future post), but by day this Magic School Bus showcases Indian cuisine.


In addition to some basic combo platters, there's also a changing daily special. On the day I went, it was aloo tikki chat, a crispy rice and potato dish. Unfortunately, the special was not quite ready when we rolled up, so I settled for the chicken combo.


For $6, I received a styrofoam box bursting with food and delicious sauces. Atop yummy rice were potatoes, peas and succulent chicken in a delightful light brown sauce. I'm not quite sure what specific sauce it was, but it had a nutty sweetness and a medium heat that made lunch a very enjoyable experience. It is still a little odd to get your food out of a vehicle without it being a pizza delivery, but it seems like the bar has been set pretty high with this new foodie avenue.

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.

Lentil Soup

The snow is mostly melted here, but the cold is still stuck to us like white on ice. And I'm still in a soupy mood, so that's just what I've been making as of late. My last soup, potato-broccoli-cheddar, is on that edge of healthy and fatty. This soup, however, is definitely on the healthy side, but not at the cost of good, homey flavors.


Lentil Soup
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine.

Ingredients
1 2/3 cup lentils, rinsed
5 cups water
3.5 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb turkey sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup chicken, cooked, torn
1/2 lb escarole, chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Directions
Simmer lentils, water, broth, bay leaf, and half of the garlic in a 4 quart pot, uncovered, for 12 minutes.

Heat oil in a wide 6 quart pot over medium-high heat. Cook turkey sausages until cooked through (if raw) or until browned (if pre-cooked). Remove sausages from pan and slice on a bias.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, carrots and remaining garlic with some salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Add the sausages back to the pan along with the chicken and lentils in their cooking liquid. Simmer the soup uncovered until lentils are tender, 3-5 more minutes.

Stir in escarole and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf and serve.


This soup turned out quite nice. The original recipe called for uncasing the sausages, but I like to see the nice round slices of meat. And the chicken adds some more protein and texture. The soup overall has a bit of a smokey quality. It's hearty but your spoon will not stick straight up in it. The escarole contributes some more vitamins to round out this as quite a marvelous soup. And what better accompaniment for soup than some freshly baked crusty bread.


My local grocer, Harris Teeter, has a decent selection of freshly baked breads. In addition to the loads of loaves, there are also some take-and-bake selections. If the description isn't enough, here's the gist: you buy some partially-baked bread, take it home and finish baking it in your oven. That way you are guaranteed that the bread is crusty and warm. Be warned, the bread will only last a day or so unbaked before the mold starts to get it, though I think it would hold up in the freezer. Nothing beats all the benefits of fresh bread without the hassle of making it.

Pressed Chicken with Squash & Tomatoes

One thing I was taught about making burgers was never to press on them while they're grilling. Pressing them squeezes all of the juices out into the grill and makes the burgers tough and dry. But now I'm attempting a recipe that does just that: presses meat to release its juices. The only difference is that this time I'm putting those juices to work.


This recipe comes from Gourmet Magazine. The main idea is that you press your bone-in chicken while it cooks with either a heavy skillet or a brick. This makes all of the chicken's juices go into the pan, so you can use them to make your sauce, which in this case consists of yellow squash, tomatoes, garlic, and marjoram. I was quite pleased with this dish. The chicken came out moist, especially with the nicely chunk tomato-squash sauce. The flavors were simple, but robust nonetheless.

On the side you can see some okra that has been steamed, then sauteed with ginger and green onion. Before making this, I thought okra was only used in gumbo and fried, but there's a lot to be said for this whimsical-looking vegetable. Also on the side is a potato salad with a Dijon mustard base with sliced radishes, onion and sugar snap peas. All of these vegetables came directly from my local neighborhood CSA, and both sides were different spins on the usual fare.

Cooking, Baking, Restauranting...Pretty much just eating anything I can get my hands on - 6/29/09

What a week! I managed to do a lot of cooking and eating this week and I'm not sure where it all came from. Let's start with what I made first.


Lunch this week, as a continuation of my soup series, is chili con carne. The recipe was from Cooks' Illustrated. After browning chunks of beef, you cook some onions and bell pepper (or jalapeno). Then, you stir in some cumin, oregano and garlic, then water, beef, diced tomato, and minced chipotles in adobo sauce, simmering it for 1 hour covered, 30 minutes uncovered. At the very end, you whisk in some cornmeal into 1 cup of the chili, then whisk this mixture back into the soup, simmering it until it thickens up. I was very surprised by the consistency of this soup. Most chilis I've had contained beans, but this one omits them in favor of thickening the soup using the cornmeal. The chipotles in adobo are a very easy way to bring some heat and a nice smokey flavor without resorting to liquid smoke. The beef stayed tender and everything else seemed to melt together into the background flavor. This chili was both surprising and outstandingly delicious for something homemade.


Dinner this week is a chicken fricassee with some citrus flavors. Briefly, the chicken is seared, then some root veggies and citrus are cooked in the same pot. Tomato paste is added, then flour, then some chicken stock, orange and lemon juices, white wine, and honey. The chicken is added back in to finish cooking. On the side, you cook some potatoes and blanch some veggies (I chose yellow squash and Mediterranean zucchini). Oddly, you remove the original veggies and citrus, then thicken the sauce using an egg yolk and milk. All of this is combined again to yield the final produce. Everything tastes good, but the citrus disappears into the background. I think adding in some citrus zest in at some point could help make the flavors more bold. But this makes for a fine dinner. The citrus lightens the heavier chicken with its skin on. Plus, lemon and orange are the perfect flavors for the summer.


A great deal of the ingredients used in the foods above came from this week's CSA assortment: corn, blueberries, potatoes, onions, zucchini, squash, cucumber, tomato, and three kinds of melon.


For cake decorating this week, we learned more piping techniques, including some specific to birthday cakes. Since my lab did not have any birthdays this week, I went for an "I <3 Cake" cake. The cake was supposed to be flavored by rose water, but that flavor did not come out. Instead, the major players were the apricot jam filling and vanilla icing. Cake writing is a little difficult, by the way, if you don't have the right size tip for one, but also because you have one shot to do it right (sizing, spacing, shaping). And always, always, ALWAYS remember to spell everything correctly. Here are some examples of what can go wrong with cakes: Cake Wrecks.


The SO (significant other) did some cooking this week too that was quite astounding. It started with some pork that was combined with pureed pears and plums. To this was added some cream cheese, cilantro and hazelnuts, among other ingredients. Wrap it in a tortilla, stick it in a pan with cheese and more hazelnuts, and bake it in the oven. The flavors for this dish were definitely out of left field, but they all combined together for quite a sumptuous dinner. Add a side of fresh cucumbers and raspberries and a cup of dilled sweet potato soup, and you've got one killer dinner.


As for eating out this week, I remembered my camera for most of our meals. First up is Pepper's Pizza on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. This was the second time I ate at this restaurant, and I've enjoyed it both times. The pizza pictured is one we made ourselves. They have some great ingredients and pre-formulated options, but we were in a creative mood. Half of the pizza was Italian sausage with fresh garlic (fantastically garlicky without being overbearing...but then again I don't know if you can have too much garlic), and the other half was a NC-style Hawaiian using pulled pork and pineapple (a great variation on true Hawaiian with ham and pineapple). Plus, they have great music while you eat. While we were there, they were playing Michael Jackson's album Thriller to honor his untimely passing. If you want some non-traditional options for pizza and you're in the area, give Peppers a shot.


While in Raleigh, we hit up the Flying Biscuit. This restaurant serves delicious, truly Southern food (breakfast all day to boot). I ordered my first chicken-fried steak and what an awesome dish it was! The crisp outside juxtaposed against a moist and delicious cubed steak, paired with a wonderful gravy made me want to wrap myself in the steak and never leave. The green beans were a good side, though a little oily. The homefries were seasoned with a house ("moondust," I believe) seasoning that made these tubers really pop. In the midground (between foreground and background), you can see their biscuits, served with strawberry jam. True to their name, these biscuits are light, airy, but totally indulgent with some good saltiness to them. Lastly, in the background, you can spy their sweet tea, which is one of the sweetest you can find without any sugar at the bottom. The South has risen again at this wonderful restaurant. Word to the wise: if there is a wait for a table, the bar seats in a first-come-first-serve fashion, so feel free to grab a stool and enjoy your food while others are still waiting outside.


In the Chapel Hill Timberlyne plaza is a rare find: an Ethiopian restaurant by the name of Queen of Sheba. If you've never had Ethiopian, try to find a restaurant and give it a shot. This one was very good with great service. To start off, we had an Ethiopian soda (flavored with spices and honey) as well as a sweet tea that was also given some depth by some warm spices. We had the vegetarian sampler, which had yellow lentils, a pea flour sauce, tomatoes, green lentils, and potatoes in a horseradish sauce, all atop and with a side of injera, the sourdough-ish spongy flat bread. Everything was fantastic. I love having lots of options when I eat, and this was the best way to get that. All of the flavors melded with each other but could still stand alone. They have many meat options too for compulsive carnivores. To finish, I had a cup of Ethiopian coffee, supposedly made with some butter, sugar, and more spices. The coffee was positively black with a rich and bold flavor that lacked that bitter aftertaste of many coffees. Overall, it was a marvelous experience that could not be beat.

This Week in Cooking - 5/9/2009

Last post of the night, and it's a long one. Last weekend, I went temporarily insane and thought I would need all of this food to get me through the week. So I made this all in the course of 9 hours split over two days.


I brought back soup for lunch this week with mulligatawny, a spiced Indian soup. It is made with many different spices (garam masala, cumin, tumeric, etc.), chicken broth, lentils, chicken, celery, carrot, and cilantro. While I'm sure Indian people may make this dish much better, my version came out decently enough for satisfying lunches all week long.


I've wanted to shove a can of beer up a chicken's patoot for quite a while. Supposedly, using a can of beer inside of a whole chicken as it cooks helps to preserve moisture and tenderness in the meat. I was going to fire up the grill for the first time this year to make this, but it was raining, so I settled for the oven. After marinating the chicken in garlic, herbs and olive oil, I propped the chicken atop the beer can, then put it in the oven. Towards the end of the cooking, I glazed the chicken with apple jelly mixed with lemon juice. The chicken did come out pretty well, though it does look like it has a tan line problem...


As a side dish for the chicken, I made these pan-fried smashed potatoes. After boiling the potatoes until almost tender, you mash them partway, then pan-fry them in oil with salt and pepper. After cooking through, you top with shredded parmesan cheese. The great part about this side is that you get to have a boiled potato with a crispy shell and nice, salty cheese on top.


I haven't had fish in a while, so I made this dish. I marinated some mahi-mahi fillets in a combination of white wine, olive oil, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and thyme for about an hour. Then I simply sauteed the fish in the marinade until it was done (flaked with a fork). The meaty mahi held up well to the cooking, and the marinade had a nice combination of flavors.


Looking for a pasta dish with a sauce that's not tomato-, pesto- or cheese-based? Then try almonds. The sauce for this pasta is made by processing blanched almonds with some garlic and salt, then cooking it until it thickened in a pan. Peas and toasted almonds round out the flavors of this very innovative pasta dish.


Another good option to change up the routine is to use edamame, evidenced by these next two dishes. You can often find edamame in the frozen food section of the grocery store. After blanching the frozen soybeans, stir-fry them with soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, jalapeno, and pepper. This creates a delightful and flavorful side dish that will complement many different types of food. Think of them as lima beans except better.


Lastly in this montage of culinary wonder is this dish: grilled chicken with edamame skordalia. I'm not entirely sure as to what a skordalia actually is, but in this case, you process edamame with some water, salt, pepper, and parmesan. It is almost like mashed potatoes except more flavorful and better for you. Pairing it with this grilled chicken created a very satisfying dinner dish. And that's all the food I thought I would eat in a week. The only way I could possibly eat all of this would be if I was training to be a sumo wrestler.

Greekfest - 5/8/2009

I had a strong desire for some Greek flavors last week, so here's what I managed to come up with:


I have to admit that I made this dish twice. The first time, I made it and set it out to cool before putting it in the fridge. Then I left town for a day and a half. When I came home, I was not willing to chance a week of intestinal problems just to eat some seafood, so I threw out the first version and remade it later in the week. This may appear to be a normal dish combining shrimp, tomato and feta, but it is not. You saute some garlic and onion, then add cinnamon and allspice. Cook the tomatoes in this mixture, add the shrimp, bake it all in a casserole dish with some feta on top, and serve sprinkled with dill. This combination probably would be pretty decent normally, but the cinnamon and allspice really make the flavors pop. The tang of the feta seems to go through phases of accord and combat with the spices on your tongue, but it's all in the realm of good flavors.


One of my favorite Greek dishes is the gyro, but who has the time to process lamb and other meats with spices, form it into a cylindrical mold and slowly roast it on a spit? It's probably better that I have a day job, otherwise I might give that a try. For those of us who don't have that kind of time all the time, nature has given unto us the rotisserie chicken. Shredded chicken meat is not only healthy, but an easy addition to this meal. The base of the gyro, instead of a pita, is naan, the classic Indian flatbread. It is brushed with olive oil and garlic, then broiled just a bit. The tzatziki sauce is made with Greek yogurt (my favorite brand is pictured above), with some shredded Kirby cucumbers, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, and lemon juice. On top of this is the chicken, a mixture of grape tomatoes, sliced red onion and lemon juice, then some shredded iceberg lettuce. While this may all prove to be quite a mouthful, it packs a huge flavor punch. If you want a good Greek fix without having to venture to a local pseudo-Greek eatery (where you may expect disappointment unless you live near a Greek mecca), give this recipe a try.

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.

Seafood Gumbo and Apple Chicken - 1.28.09

I've been in a soupy mood lately, so here's what I ended up with:


This is seafood gumbo. The only changes I had to make to the recipe I used was substituting turkey bacon for regular bacon, which meant I had to add more vegetable oil to the roux. I will admit I should have cooked the roux a bit longer to turn more dark brown, but I was impatient. With the roux, I cooked onion, bell pepper and garlic. Then I added the fish stock, canned tomatoes, frozen okra, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and scallions. After letting the vegetables cook, I added fresh shrimp, some canned oysters and lump crabmeat. It is my understanding that gumbo is served with a mound of rice, so I made my rice into an island in the center of a sea of the gumbo. This gumbo turned out nicely with seafoody goodness. It's a good thing I like it because it made about 10 servings worth of soup. It does make a nice lunch on cold days, though.


My main meal of the week was apple and honey-glazed chicken. Like most of the chicken dishes I make, this one is pretty simple. Cook the chicken breasts in a pan with some salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix together some honey, Dijon mustard, cinnamon, salt, and apple jelly. While the chicken cooks, baste it with this sauce. Once the chicken is done, serve it topped with the sauce from the pan. The chicken comes out sweet, but not overtly so, with an interesting addition of the mustard to the sauce. As a side, I made red quinoa and mixed in some cumin, turmeric, lemon juice, toasted pine nuts, chopped dried apricots, salt, and green onion. The spices in the quinoa as well as the sweet apricot complimented the chicken pretty nicely, and the combination of the two seemed to improve each other by adding depth.