great grains

I love big filling salads on a summer night, based around some good old starch. Pasta or grains, please. And with grains, there are endless choices. I do lots of salads with quinoa, wheat berries, different rices, freekeh, farro, bulgur, spelt; the list goes on and on. This week, it was barley, a grain I usually only use in soups, but has a wonderfully nutty flavor and satisfying bite when cooked and cooled.

The great thing about having a variety of grains in your pantry is how easy it makes improvising a meal after you've raided the farmer's market for the freshest veg you can find. There's always a base to work off of, they keep for ages, and they keep things interesting. Recipe for my barley, heirloom tomato, arugula, zucchini, mozzarella salad after the jump:



SUMMER BARLEY SALAD

1 cup whole grain barley
1 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium zuchinni, quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly
3 or 4 big handfuls of baby arugula
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 lb fresh salted mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepot. Add the barley, bring down heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 35-40 minutes until tender. (You can also soak your barley overnight, which cuts the cooking time down to about 15 minutes. You need less water to cook if you soaked it). Fluff the barley with a fork and set aside to cool well. You can cook the barley well ahead of time and cool it in the fridge so that it's ready for the salad any time.

In a large bowl, toss the cooled barley with all of the vegetables. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and dress to taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Top with the cubed mozzarella.

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insisting on spring

Weather, what a tease. We had the briefest glimpse of warmth and sun, followed by a plunge back into the depths of a winter than just won't end. Did you know that one year ago today it broke 90 degrees in NYC? Yeah.

Anyway, enough with the winter, I refuse to acknowledge its death grip on the city. I will eat spring foods and I will not wear my winter coat or boots. I will make risotto with fresh peas and leeks and bright happy lemon, and that's that. Recipe after the jump:



RISOTTO WITH PEAS AND LEEKS

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, thoroughly washed and sliced into half-rings
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups fresh shelled peas
zest of one lemon
1 cup freshly grated parmiggiano-reggiano
salt and pepper, to taste
chopped fresh mint, optional

Heat the stock in a small saucepot and keep at a low simmer at a burner adjacent to where you will cook the risotto.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the dry rice and saute to coat the grains with the fat. Add the wine and stir until fully absorbed. Add 1 cup of the hot stock and stir until absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1 ladleful at a time, stirring continuously until absorbed before adding the next ladle.

When the rice is almost al dente, about 30 minutes, add the peas. Continue to cook until peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Take off the heat, add the lemon zest and cheese and stir to incorporate. Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm topped with chopped mint.

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weekly granola

I'm obsessed with granola. For some reason, it just struck me a few weeks ago that homemade granola is an ideal breakfast. I can control the sugar and fat levels, everything is of the highest quality, and I know there is no questionable crap in it. Throw a handful on top of some fat free Greek yogurt and you have a filling, nutritious, tasty breakfast. And the best thing about it is that I can constantly change it up, so I don't get too tired of eating it several times a week. It's a fun puzzle to come up with interesting flavor combinations every week. Sometimes I want something a little strange, sometimes something classic. I've made an island-inspired flavor with pineapple, coconut, and macadamia nuts. A sort of middle-eastern flavor with apricots, cashews, and cardamom. This week, it's my super-health mix: blueberry for antioxidants, almonds for calcium and vitamin E, flax seed for fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. I use olive oil in all of my granolas for flavor and healthy fat, and I sweeten with agave syrup, which apparently has a lower glycemic index than sugar or honey. Normally I don't worry too much about that, but I'm experimenting with the glycemic index issue for breakfast, to see if it keeps me on a more even level throughout the day.

Alright, that is a paragraph of way more healthiness than I am normally inclined to discuss on this blog, so I'll stop now. Did I tell you that I tasted a heavenly lardo at Dickson's the other day? Recipe after the jump:

SUPERHEALTHY BLUEBERRY GRANOLA

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup raw pumkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup raw sesame seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup flax seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch ground clove
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup light agave syrup
1 cup dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except blueberries. Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every ten minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before breaking up. Break up into a large bowl and add the blueberries, tossing to combine.

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in season: hide the cauliflower

That's not a particularly attractive dish right there. But it's one of those special recipes with hidden surprises. It is perfect fall food in several ways. Cauliflower is at it's best right now, and nothing is more warming and yummy on a chilly autumn day than a bowl of steamy, creamy risotto. This is a cauliflower and leek risotto. You can't really see the cauliflower hiding amidst the rice, but you take a bite and it bites back, just a tiny bit. Surprise. Need I say more? Recipe after the jump:

CAULIFLOWER LEEK RISOTTO

3 tbsp butter, separated
1 medium leek, chopped into half-moons
1 small head cauliflower, about 1 to 2 lb, cut into small florets
1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth if you prefer this dish vegetarian)
3/4 cup parmiggiano-reggiano, or more to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan until boiling, then lower to a low simmer. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a heavy 4-quart pot over medium heat until foam subsides. Add the leeks and cauliflower and saute until just starting to loose the raw color, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and toast, stirring about 1 minute. Add the wine and stir, allowing a strong simmer until the liquid is completely absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth and repeat the stirring and simmering process. Continue to add broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and simmering, until the rice is tender and creamy looking, about 25 minutes. You may not need all of the broth. Remove from the heat, add the cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

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true fusion: kedgeree

A few years ago some Brits made me a interesting dinner that I'd never had before: Kedgeree. It was my kind of food. Rice and stuff, all mixed up in a vat. You know how I love vat food. But this had an interesting flavor and a curious heritage. Clearly it is a fusion of Indian and British flavors, but it's primary origin seems to be under question. Some say it comes from Scotland and was taken to India by troops during the British Raj, where it adopted it's Indian flavors. Others say it originated in India and was brought back to the UK by British soldiers where lentils were swapped out for fish and it transformed into a breakfast dish. Chicken and the egg I guess.



So nowadays, Kedgeree is all about smoked fish. Usually haddock, but I went with this gorgeous smoked trout. Because it's gorgeous.

Another important component of kedgeree is hard boiled egg. The first time I had it, it was chopped up and mixed in with that vat-food style I so love. But I guess many people just halve or quarter the eggs, and I guess it looks a little nicer that way. Otherwise this dish just looked like a pile of rice. I also used brown basmati rice instead of white because it's what I had. This did take quite a bit longer to cook as a result, but the nutty flavor of the rice was really fantastic. And finally, I threw in about a cup of freshly shelled peas because it needed something green, and I figured peas are pretty British. Recipe after the jump:



KEDGEREE

2 tbsp ghee
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 cup vegetable or chicken stock, or water
salt and pepper, to taste
6-8 ounces smoked trout
1 cup fresh shelled peas (or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs

In a medium pan, heat the ghee on medium heat until ripply. Add the onion and sweat for about 5 minutes. Add the rice, curry powder, and paprika and saute until the rice is coated with oil. Add the stock or water, bring to a strong boil, then lower to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 35-40 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.

While the rice is cooking, place the eggs in a small pot with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cover, turn off the heat, and allow to sit undisturbed for 7 minutes. Remove the eggs to a bowl of cold water and peel immediately. Set the eggs aside until the rice is done.

When the rice has about 5 minutes left to cook, stir in the peas. Once the rice is fully cooked, flake the smoked trout and stir into the rice to heat through. Add the parsley. Serve with the eggs quartered, or chop the eggs and mix in.

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not his mom's stuffed cabbage

Maybe it's someone's mom's stuffed cabbage, but as J-Cat so tactfully informed me upon tasting it, it's not his mom's. I wasn't exactly thrilled with that statement, but in all fairness I don't think he necessarily meant that he didn't like it. I think he just meant that it was not the same style as his mom's. Of course, I've never tasted his mom's stuffed cabbage, nor seen the recipe, so I have no idea what her's is like. Thus, I was obviously not shooting for that. I also know better than to even attempt to compete with someone's mom's way of doing things, obviously I understand the sanctity of moms' cooking. All I know is that apparently she does the raisin thing, and I'm not into that. The deli downstairs does the raisins in stuffed cabbage thing, and I'm not a fan. I went a much more straightforward route with these, I made the stuffed cabbage I thought I would like best, based on many years of ardent stuffed cabbage fandom.



This is what I want from my stuffed cabbage:
1. Beef, not pork
2. Tomato sauce, not gravy
3. Good rice to meat ratio
4. No raisins

My mother never made stuffed cabbage, but as far as I'm concerned, if she did it would probably be a lot like this. Actually, she'd probably put raisins in it, too. Recipe after the jump:

NOT J-CAT'S MOM'S STUFFED CABBAGE

1 head green or Savoy cabbage, about 2 lbs
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 parsnip, shredded
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 to 4 cups tomato sauce

Peel off about a dozen of the largest cabbage leaves and place in a large bowl. Boil a small pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for ten minutes until wilted.

Heat the oil in a large, wide pot. Cook the onions until they are soft, add the carrot, celery and parsnip and saute them for a couple extra minutes — until they are also soft. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool a bit. Mix in the meat, rice and tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.

Drain the cabbage and pat the leaves dry with paper towels. Cut out the large vein from the cabbage. Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf, roll like a burrito, and arrange in the same pot you sauteed the vegetables in. Pour in enough tomato sauce to cover the rolls. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting them simmer covered on the stove on low for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

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basbousa

That cake not doing it for you? Why don't you try dousing it with sugar syrup? Because that can't be bad, right? Especially if that sugar syrup is lemony and sweet and fragrant with rose water, and the cake is dense and rich with semolina and yogurt. Basbousa - a cake popular throughout the Mediterranean under several different names - is quite sweet, and should probably be cut into much smaller pieces than this. In my defense, my version was not as syrup-soaked as is traditional, because I was impatient to eat it and didn't want to wait around for more syrup to soak in. Recipe after the jump:



BASBOUSA
For the Cake:
7 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
12-1/2 oz (2 cups) semolina
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 oz (1/2 cup) blanched almonds

For the Syrup:
16 fl oz (2 cups) water
2 cups superfine sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp rose water

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Start by making the batter. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Gradually blend in the semolina and the baking powder. Add the yogurt and mix well until the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 12-inch round oven-proof pan. Cut into diamond shapes and place an almond in the center of each diamond. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

In the meantime, make the sugar syrup: In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil, then add the lemon juice and reduce the heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool.

When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake. Cool, cut and store in an airtight container.

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on-set torture: squash & chickpea tajine

When you make food television, sometimes you sit around all day tortured by delicious aromas they you just CAN'T. EAT. YET. This recipe tops the list because not only did it take forever before all the shots were done, this incredibly aromatic dish was persistently gnawing at my senses, insisting that I would love anything that smelled like that. Cinnamon, cumin, garlic, onions, wafting, all over the studio, driving me crazy.

This recipe was also responsible for a rather exciting first day back on set, as Aida sliced her finger while chopping up some preserved lemon. I discovered that glopping on liquid bandage wasn't really going to work if it just kept bleeding and bleeding and the blood was diluting the liquid bandage. Then I discovered that the blood clotting spray in the first aid kit was a joke but might have made us giggly. Then I discovered that our EP Matt was strong and could possibly break Aida's finger while trying to apply pressure. Then I discovered that the tannic acid in a wet tea bag works as a natural coagulant. The more you know. Recipe after the jump:

SQUASH AND CHICKPEA TAJINE

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick
1 pound butternut squash, large dice
3/4 pound red potatoes, large dice
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
Pinch saffron threads
1/2 preserved lemon, finely chopped
1 cup brined green olives (recommend: Cerignola)[note: I used Moroccan Oil-cured olives because they were pitted, cheaper, and Moroccan, which I thought was fitting]
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, for garnish
Toasted slivered almonds, for garnish
Plain Greek yogurt, for garnish
Steamed couscous, for serving

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tightfitting lid over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add onion, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are aromatic and onions is just soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add squash and potatoes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir to coat, and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes and their juice, and saffron. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until squash is fork tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in preserved lemon and olives. Serve over couscous garnished with cilantro, almonds, and yogurt.

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emergency cookies: white chocolate cherry chunkers

Oh my. What a week I've had. Such a week that I can't even remember when I made these cookies or how I had the energy or time. But it's a good thing I did, because it turns out that J-Cat is practically surviving on them. On Saturday night, my manchild of a boyfriend broke his upper arm skateboarding and now is pretty much unable to do anything. Between multiple visits to the hospital and the realization that I have to do quite a lot to help him (imagine all the things you can't do with only one arm) and a severe lack of sleep, I'm wondering if perhaps I baked these cookies in the middle of the night. Luckily, these hearty white chocolate cherry chunk cookies are full of oats and relatively low on sugar, so when I go to work and leave the gimp alone at home all day, he can easily eat these rather than try to get something off of a shelf or whatever.



The recipe comes from the new book The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread, with some minor modifications from me to reduce the sugar (I always do that, as I actually don't like really sweet desserts), and increase the fiber. I also made smaller cookies than the recipe suggests, so I have adjusted the cooking time to account for it. Amy's Bread is an incredible bakery that constantly strives to thwart all of my attempts to lose weight. It's right downstairs from my office. It's magical. Recipe after the jump:



WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHUNKERS
Adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread
(Makes 36 small or 12 large cookies)

1 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dried tart cherries
3/4 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar

1. Position one rack in the top third of the oven, one rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the cookie sheets with baking parchment.

2. In a bowl, add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt and whisk together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. In another large bowl, add the cherries and white chocolate and toss gently to combine.

3. In another bowl, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. Gradually add the egg mixture until everything is well combined.

4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in stages. Mix only until everything is well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. There should not be any pockets of dry flour left in the dough. Add the cherries and chocolate and mix again on low speed until everything is evenly distributed. If you're using a mixer that has beaters instead of a paddle, you may want to fold these last ingredients in by hand with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.

5. Using a large soup spoon, a metal ice cream scoop, or your clean hands moistened with water, scoop out small balls of dough and place on lined baking sheet. Press down lightly to flatten them to a thickness of about 1 inch. They will spread a lot during baking. Bake the cookies for about 14 minutes, rotating the cookies halfway through the baking time. They should be golden brown and baked all the way to the center. They should be soft, but be careful not to underbake them or they'll be doughy and will fall apart easily.

6. Let cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack and cool completely before serving.

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another vat of goodness

Okay, maybe some of these vat dinners are getting repetitive. Rice, beans, greens, a touch of meat, how many variations of this have I made already? The thing is, this theme has countless variations, and somehow many of them are awesome. This time it was brown basmati rice, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and a bit of andouille. I went with the influence of southern ingredients and threw some dashes of tabasco in for a familiar bite. Recipe after the jump:



BLACK-EYED PEA, COLLARDS, AND ANDOUILLE RICE SALAD

1 cup brown basmati rice
4 ounces andouille sausage, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, cut into thin ribbons
1 15-oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
a few splashes tabasco sauce, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepot, combine rice with 2 cups water and bring to a strong boil. Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 40 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, saute the sausage until browned and letting out fat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes until onions are translucent. Add the collards and saute until wilted. Add the beans, tarragon, paprika, cayenne and tabasco sauce and saute until beans are heated through.

In a large bowl, combine the collards and beans with the rice and toss well. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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save the apples

J-Cat dropped a container with 4 honeycrisp apples in it. I'm not blaming or anything, but those apples were MESSED UP. It made me sad, because honeycrisps are for eating raw and these apples were too jacked. But just to prove that I don't hold any hard feelings, I made something with those jacked up apples that I knew J-Cat would love: a warm apple topping for some homemade buckwheat pancakes.



J-Cat isn't much for pancake syrup. He generally prefers a pancake with fruit in it so that it doesn't need the sweetness of syrup. But the bananas I got for Sunday breakfast just weren't ripe enough, so actually it's a good thing he dropped those apples. This was like a warm apple pie, for breakfast. Recipes after the jump:

BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
1-1/2 cups sifted buckwheat flour
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups buttermilk (or less is you like thicker pancakes)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oil
butter

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until they come together. Avoid overmixing as this will cause toughness. Heat a skillet over medium heat and grease with butter. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Pancake is ready to flip when bubbles start forming closer to the center. Flip and cook another minute or two until cooked through. Serve with warm apple topping, recipe to follow.

WARM APPLE PANCAKE TOPPING
2 ripe apples of your choice
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Melt butter in a skillet and add apples. Sprinkle with sugar, spices and salt. Saute over moderate heat until softened. Serve over pancakes.

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vat of quinoa, and other good stuff

I'm trying to be good. I'm trying to eat healthier, with better ingredients, and more reasonable human-sized portions. Psychologically, mixing a bunch of stuff in a big vat makes me think that I'm still indulging, even if all the stuff is really good for you. I don't understand why this is true for me, but I'm not going to question what appears to be working. This is a classic example of a vat of healthy stuff that actually satisfies. Granted, I threw some sauteed rock shrimp with asparagus on top of it, and that went a long way toward satisfaction, but I ate it on its own for lunch the next day and it still did a pretty good job. Recipe after the jump.

BLACK BEAN AND QUINOA SALAD
1 cup quinoa
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely minced
juice of one lime
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse the quinoa well and add to a scant two cups of boiling salted water. Boil for 15 minutes or until tender. When fully cooked, fluff with a fork to separate the grains. Toss the quinoa with the beans, corn, onion, tomato, jalapeno, and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the quinoa and toss to coat well. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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i hope you like yammin too

It's actually sweet potato, not yam, but I am endlessly confused by the distinction. I generally call the orange ones yams and the yellow ones sweet potatoes. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong.

What's not wrong is this salad of wild and brown rices, oven roasted sweet potatoes/yams, oven-roasted red onion, black-eyed peas, and goat cheese. It's a super hearty and balanced combination that makes a perfect dinner on a chilly autumn evening. The idea came about from a combination of occurrences - 1. I had leftover goat cheese from the fig sandwiches, 2. I found huge yams on sale, and 3. I was browsing a new casserole cookbook by Emily Farris called Casserole Crazy, which included a recipe for Sweet Potato Not-Pie, which combines sweet potatoes and goat cheese. Obviously, as we learned with the fig sandwiches, sweet + goat cheese = awesome. So I used that flavor combination as my inspiration. As I am a fan of meals where everything is all mixed up in a vat, the result was this warm salad-like dish. Nutty brown and wild rice, sweet yam, sweet caramelized onions, meaty black-eyed peas, tangy goat cheese, dressed with lemon juice for an acidic bite. All your bases are covered. Recipe after the jump.

WILD RICE, SWEET POTATO, & BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD

1/2 cup long grain brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
1 large sweet potato or yam, approx 1 lb, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds, rings intact
1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
3 ounces semisoft goat cheese

Cook the brown and wild rice in 2 cups salted water. Fluff cooked grains with a fork to separate, then set aside to cool slightly. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until browned and tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. About halfway through roasting, toss the potatoes with a spatula, then make room on the pan for the onion rounds. Lay the onions flat, brush with a bit of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven and continue to roast until cooked through. When onions are cooked, chop the rings into small pieces and combine with the potatoes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice, potatoes, onions, peas, and parsley and toss to mix well. Drizzle over remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss. Serve warm dotted with goat cheese.

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sunday supper: i'm roasting

I don't know what compels me to make roasts that require 450 degree ovens in the middle of the summer. I'm a dinner martyr. Actually, what made the decision for me this time was being reminded that one day several weeks ago when I ate this on set I freaking loved it. This episode hasn't aired yet (Ask Aida Saturdays at 12:30 ET), but as a special sneak preview for a brand new show, you can find all of the recipes on the site now.



This citrus marinated pork loin roast came out surprisingly juicy and tender, with plenty of tangy flavor from the orange and grapefruit juices, plus a hint of heat from serrano peppers. It was a cinch to do.



I didn't fare as well with the Cilantro Rice, mine came out a little mushy. I think I either need to adjust the liquid to account for the humidity, or I need to boil it uncovered for a little longer to evaporate more. It was still delicious, and actually J-Cat ate an incredible amount of it considering how he usually can't handle too much starch at a time.



A big plus to this pork roast - I turned leftovers into pork fried rice the next day. That is always a winning recipe in my book. Recipes after the jump:

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH SOUR CITRUS SAUCE
From Ask Aida at foodnetwork.com

1/2 cup freshly squeezed yellow grapefruit juice (from 1 medium grapefruit)
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
2 medium serrano chiles, halved and seeded
4 medium garlic cloves, smashed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (from 4 medium oranges)
1 (3 to 4 pound) boneless pork loin

Mix all ingredients except 1/2 cup orange juice and pork until thoroughly combined. Add pork loin and turn to coat thoroughly. Place in refrigerator and let marinate at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 450 degrees F and arrange rack in middle. Remove pork from refrigerator and let rest at room temperature while oven heats up. When oven is heated, remove pork from marinade, strain marinade and discard solids and reserve juices. Season pork well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place pork in a roasting pan and roast until skin is golden-brown and internal temperature registers 145 to 150 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 50 to 55 minutes.

Remove pork to a cutting board and let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, combine reserved marinade juices and remaining 1/2 cup orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim sauce let cook until mixture is reduced by 2/3, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary. When pork is ready, slice thinly and serve with orange sauce over top.

CILANTRO RICE
From Ask Aida at foodnetwork.com

3 1/2 cups packed cilantro leaves (about 3 ounces)
3 medium garlic cloves
1 medium serrano chile, halved lengthwise and seeded
3 1/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine cilantro, garlic, chile, and 2 cups broth in a blender and process until smooth; set aside.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add rice and salt stir to coat in oil and cook until rice becomes opaque, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour the cilantro mixture and the remaining 1 1/3 cups broth into the rice and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low so rice is at a simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice rest covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.

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cuckoo for cauliflower

Last month the NY TImes ran a very amusing article on "recipe dealbreakers" that any cook would probably relate to. For me, the mention of candy thermometers, any phrase similar to "keep the individual sheets of filo moist with damp paper towels between each layer", or "don't be afraid", in a recipe generally turn me off. But what about the other side of the coin? What makes me decide that I absolutely have to try a recipe, without even completely reading it? Perhaps, cauliflower?



I think I have a fair number of cauliflower recipes on here. And here's another. But I tried to at least makes things a little more aesthetically interesting by using an orange cauliflower for this one. Pretty.



This is from Mark Bittman's recipe for Indian-Style Rice Salad in this week's Dining & Wine section. I had pretty much all of the ingredients available at home, so I couldn't resist. And it was as yummy as I had hoped. Recipe after the jump:

INDIAN-STYLE RICE SALAD
(Slightly) adapted from The Minimalist at nytimes.com

1 1/2 to 2 cups brown basmati rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallion
1 cup cubed cooked potato
2 cups cooked cauliflower florets
3/4 cup cooked green peas
1/2 cup light coconut milk, or more as needed
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, or more to taste
1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste
1 jalapeño or other hot fresh chili, stemmed, seeded and minced, or to taste, optional
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

1. Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it’s just done; white rice will take 10 to 15 minutes, brown 30 or a little longer. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables in a large bowl.

2. Combine black pepper, coconut milk, rice wine vinegar and curry powder in a bowl and whisk until frothy. Taste and add more vinegar a teaspoon or two at a time until balance tastes right to you, then add more curry powder, salt, or pepper, if needed.

3. Drizzle vinaigrette over rice and vegetables. Toss to combine, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains. Stir in chili and cilantro, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

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obsessive couscous

Remember a few posts ago when I said that I get obsessive about Israeli couscous? Well I wasn't kidding. It's all I want lately, and I can't get enough of it when I do have it. This is actually my favorite way to have it, a sort of faux-pilaf with wheatberries. When the wheatberries cook, they plump out to be pretty much the same size and shape as the couscous, so it's a perfect match. Plus the toastiness of the couscous married with the nuttiness of the wheatberries makes this dish so much more flavorful than either would be on it's own. It looks kind of boring, but don't let that fool you. Recipe after the jump:



ISRAELI COUSCOUS AND WHEATBERRY "PILAF"
1 cup wheatberries
1 cup Israeli couscous
4 cups water
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the wheatberries and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 30 minutes. Add the couscous, and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until tender. If too much water evaporates before it's time to add the couscous, simply add more and bring the heat up to get it simmering again. When both the wheatberries and couscous are tender, drain any excess water, add the olive oil, oregano, and thyme, and toss to coat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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super simple sides: tabouleh

The only thing you need to heat up when making tabouleh is some water for the bulgur. It's just too easy. Super fresh, super delicious, I can eat it straight out of the bowl, or I can be civilized and serve it as a side. I actually ran out of parsley for this one, so it was heavy on the grain and light on the herbs, but it was tasty. The acidity was very helpful in cutting the richness of the Kafta. As with the previous two recipes, I'm not really sure how authentic my version is, it was just my closest approximation based on previously having eaten tons and tons of this stuff. Recipe after the jump:



TABOULEH
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
2 bunches flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the bulgur and cover with plastic wrap for 20 to 25 minutes until bulgur is tender. Drain off any excess liquid and fluff with a fork. Toss with chopped herbs, tomato and onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over the tabouleh and toss to coat evenly. Can be served at room temperature or chilled.

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five ingredients or less: mujadarrah

It's not much to look at, but the classic Lebanese Mujadarrah is one of my favorite dishes. It works as a side, but also as a vegetarian main course, and it's reasonably healthy in the grand scheme of things. I paired this the other night with the Kafta, which was quite fatty. This is also a recipe that seems to be difficult to screw up, since I messed every step up and it still turned out pretty well. I didn't start with enough water, then overcooked the lentils, then oversalted it, then overcooked the rice. It was kind of a mushy mess in the end, but we still ate it. A ton of it. The best part is the subtle sweetness from the onions, which goes so nicely with the meatiness of the lentils. I was guesstimating amounts, for the most part, so I apologize for the vagueness of the recipe, but like I said, it's hard to really screw this up. Recipe after the jump:

MUJADARRAH
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 cup green lentils
1/2 cup long grain white rice
salt and pepper, to taste

Place lentils in a medium sauce pan and add enough lightly salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and let simmer about 10 minutes. Add the rice and additional water, if necessary, to just cover. Return to a boil, then again reduce to a simmer and cover for about 15-20 minutes, until rice and lentils are tender but not mushy.

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until rice and lentils are cooked. Mix about 2/3 of the onions into the lentil and rice mixture, then top with the remaining onions to serve.

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comfort of all comforts: pork fried rice

For me, there is no greater comfort food than fried rice. I find myself thinking quite a lot about it these last few days, as we approach the one-year anniversary of my father's death. He once told me that the way to know if a Chinese cook was really any good was to taste his fried rice.He was a true master of fried rice. It was the dish that he always made for me, he knew how much I loved it. Family meals were not complete without it, and he always made extra for me to take home. I miss his fried rice. Of course, mine does not really compare, but I'm working on it.

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good but not good for you: shrimp & grits

I don't get why people eat this for breakfast, it just seems so much more like a dinner. But I guess it includes two ingredients often associated with breakfast. Grits:



and Bacon:



This was delicious, hearty, very flavorful, and I loved it, but I will say that if I made it again, I could do without the added creaminess in the grits. With the level of richness in the shrimp and bacon part of the dish, I found the creamy grits a little overwhelming. I could feel my arteries clogging. I imagine someone in South Carolina would have a real problem with me saying this, but I think some simple, unadorned grits would be perfect with the shrimp. Okay, maybe a pat of butter would be nice...Recipe after the jump:



SHRIMP & CREAMY GRITS
1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, peels reserved
1 cup heavy cream*
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock* (see recipe below), or chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup stone ground grits
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
6 slices bacon
1 small onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced

*If using quick-cooking grits, reduce cream to 1/2 cup, and shrimp stock to 1 cup. Quick-cooking grits will cook in 5 to 7 minutes.

To prepare grits: In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, shrimp stock, and water and bring just to a boil. Slowly add the grits, stirring continuously to avoid sticking to the bottom. Season with salt and pepper, lower the heat to low, and stir occasionally. Simmer for 20 minutes or until grits are thickened and tender. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, squeeze lemon juice, salt, pepper, and thyme over the shrimp and toss to coat. In a large saute pan, fry the bacon until browned but not overly crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain, then chop when cooled. Drain out excess bacon grease from pan, leaving about 2 tbsp. Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic in the bacon grease until onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Add shrimp with lemon juice and chopped bacon and saute until shrimp are cooked through, about 5-7 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp. Serve the shrimp over the grits, topped with additional fresh thyme leaves.

To make shrimp stock:
Rinse the shrimp shells and tails well, then place in a medium stockpot. Add enough cold water to just cover the shells. Add any aromatic vegetables, such as celery, onion, and carrot, to the water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 1 hour. Strain out the solids.

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