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Category Archives: Vegetarian

Feb 25 3 comments

Easy Boule

Holy deliciousness. A few month ago I added the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day to my Amazon order, ya know, because I needed to reach the free shipping level. I learned so much from my first read through and was excited at the prospect of fresh bread whenever I wanted it. They recommend using a pizza stone and pizza peel, both of which I do not own, so I put the book on the shelf. Out of sight, out of mind, you know how it goes. Then, a few weeks ago, I was hanging around Honey and Jam (love that blog) and noticed that she baked her bread in her cast iron skillet in the oven. Why didn’t I think of that?? Almost simultaneously the Artisan Bread in Five website posted that instead of using the pizza peel you could put your loaf on a sheet of parchment and remove the parchment 10 minutes before baking is finished to brown the bottom crust. Suddenly, I was out of excuses for not making this bread. Don’t make the same mistake, this bread is soooo good. A beautiful crunchy crust surrounds a spongy and flavorful interior. It reminds me of bread that we used to get at an Italian deli when I was a kid. While we were eating the first loaf, Marc kept looking at me with disbelief. He loved it and couldn’t belief how impressive the results were with very little effort.

You can find the recipe on Hannah’s wonderful blog or purchase the book. The only special purchase I made for this bread was a dough-rising bucket because with the master recipe you make enough dough for several loaves. I purchased mine from King Arthur Flour and used my husband’s drill to make a small hole in the top of the lid. Your rising bucket needs a place for air to escape and you can choose to keep the lid slightly ajar or drill a small hole in the top of the lid.

Some tips I found helpful:

*You bake this bread in 1 lb. loaves. It is helpful to have a scale to know you’re at about 1 lb.

*If you do not have a pizza stone or pizza peel, simply put your cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat it as you would the pizza stone according to the directions. Put your dough ball on a small piece of parchment to rest and when it’s time to bake, transfer the parchment with dough to the skillet.

*Drill a small hole in the top of your dough-rising bucket and then you can snap the lid shut when storing it in the refrigerator.

*Don’t be afraid to let this sucker get nice and brown on the outside. The dough is intentionally a bit wetter than normal bread dough and can stand the prolonged baking without getting dry in the middle. For me this takes about 30-35 minutes.

*There is no proofing and no kneading with this bread. Do you honestly need another reason to try this bread?

*Do not, I repeat, do not buy this book and put it on your bookshelf. Give it a shot and be amazed. I can’t wait to take a loaf home to my parents and knock their socks off.

Feb 20 3 comments

Pasta Entree, Recipes, Vegetarian

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

When there’s gnocchi on the menu, Marc is sure to order it. He loves those potato dumplings something fierce. I was in high school the first time I ordered gnocchi and they were dryish, flavorless and a bit tough. For a long time Marc and I were on opposite sides of team gnocchi. I’ve tried a bite when Marc orders them and one bite was always more than plenty…until last summer. We were starving and made an impromptu visit to an established Italian restaurant. Our waitress was a middle-aged, speedy and matter-of-fact gal that you could tell had been doing this a while. The owner was a friendly, older gentlemen that was greeting guests at the door and walking around to say hi. I ordered the Grand Marnier chicken that was very tasty and Marc ordered, you guessed it, gnocchi. Things were different, though, this time around because it happened to be the tastiest gnocchi in the world. The gnocchi was tender and dressed in the most addicting Gorgonzola cream sauce. It was ultra creamy and had the perfect bite from the Gorgonzola. I seriously took at least 3 bites from poor Marc’s plate and for the first time in our relationship I wanted to switch dishes immediately. Sadly, Marc is not a fan of chicken and I never order pasta in a cream sauce for my poor waistline’s sake, so my 3 bites had to be enough.

This Valentine’s Day, I finally decided to take the plunge and try my hand at gnocchi because I knew Marc would love it and I was interested in the technique. I did some research online and found a great recipe from Bon Appétit via Epicurious that looked very simple and tasty. I saw in the reviews that some people had trouble with their gnocchi dough and I knew exactly who to turn to, Lidia Bastianich. She is (in my opinion) the queen of Italian cooking. Her regional, yet simple preparations of great quality food finds me tuning into PBS every weekend. Her gnocchi recipe has more lengthy directions, but it’s not more difficult, just more clear. Lidia’s recipe produced the most tender gnocchi I’ve ever tried and the cream sauce was a rich and creamy accompaniment. The sauce was not as addicting as the one in that Italian restaurant, but I think I’m making a spot for gnocchi in my life. This recipe is gnocchi-lover approved and was a fun meal to share.

Potato Dough for Gnocchi

Recipe from Lidia Bastianich

Makes enough for 6 first course or 4 main dish servings

1 1/2 lbs. baking potatoes (all the same size)

3/4 t. salt

2 large eggs, beaten well

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour, plus more for working with the dough

1. Put the potatoes, whole and skin-on in a large pot with cold water covering them by at least 2 inches. Bring to a steady boil and cook just until they are easily pierced with a fork or sharp knife blade-don’t let them overcook or let skins burst.

2. Lift potatoes from the water and drain. Peel and press through a potato ricer or food mill (or alternately mash well with a potato masher) while they are still as hot as you can handle, so their moisture will evaporate. Spread the potatoes in a thin layer onto a baking sheet, sprinkle salt all over them and let them cool and dry for preferably 2 to 3 hours. *This is where Lidia’s recipe differs, the drying and cooling of the potatoes helps make the dough easier to work with.

3. To mix the dough, pile the dried potatoes in a large loose mound on a work surface. Pour the beaten eggs over them and sprinkle 1 C. of the flour on top. Set aside the additional 1/2 C. of flour and then using your hands, work in the eggs, mixing and moistening the flour and potatoes. Gather into a single mass and knead for several minutes, scraping in sticky bits from your work surface and hands. Incorporate the additional flour in small amounts, only as needed, until the dough is smooth, soft and only slightly sticky. Too much flour will make the gnocchi heavy and dry. Form the gnocchi as quickly as possible so it does not dry out. *This is another important tip from Lidia, make sure you are ready to form your gnocchi as soon as you combine the dough or they will dry out.

4. Cut the finished dough into 4 pieces. Dust the work surface and your hands with flour. Roll one piece under your hands into a thick cylinder and gradually stretch it into a long rope, about 1/2 inch thick. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, slice the rope crosswise into 1/4-1/2 inch lengths; sprinkle pieces with flour. *I adjusted the measurements here because I liked the gnocchi a bit smaller, for Lidia’s original recipe click the link above.

5. To prepare a spot for your finished gnocchi, put a clean kitchen towel onto a rimmed baking sheet and flour the towel. To shape traditional gnocchi, hold a dinner fork, tines downward at an angle to your work surface. Place one of the cut sides of a piece of dough against the tines. With your lightly floured thumb, press into the dough on the other cut side and push it off the end of the fork onto the work surface. It will be hollow and curved where you pressed it and ridged on the side that rolled off of the fork. Press and roll the other cut pieces into gnocchi, dust them with flour and set in a single layer on your prepared sheet, not touching. *The shaping was tricky. It’s best to work quickly and not fuss about the shape because the more you try, the less of a ridge you will have. My gnocchi turned out pretty “rustic” but I have hope that I can get the hang of it someday. Lidia’s small grandchildren can do this expertly, surely I might be able to?

6. Cook gnocchi in large pot of boiling salted (*properly salting the water is important for flavor) water until gnocchi are tender and rise to the surface, about 5 minutes.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Adapted from Bon Appétit via Epicurious

Makes enough for 6 first course servings

1 C. whipping cream

7 oz. Gorgonzola cheese

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

chopped fresh chives

1. Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. *You can heat the cream at the same time as you heat the water for the gnocchi to have them both ready at the same time.

2. Add Gorgonzola and pinch of nutmeg, whisk until melted.

3. Spoon sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with chives and Parmesan, if desired; serve.

Jan 23 6 comments

Breakfast, Recipes, Vegetarian

Best Waffles, Ever?

I’m on the hunt for the perfect waffles to serve at a bridal breakfast I’m throwing for my sister-in-law. I now have tried 4 different waffle recipes in the past couple of months and I think I’ve found a winner. Obsessed much? Yes. If you can believe it, the winning batter is entitled “The Best Waffles Ever” from King Arthur Flour. These waffles are crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and barely sweet. They are the perfect waffles to drizzle with my all-time favorite Blueberry Maple Syrup. What? I never shared that recipe with you? Well, that changes today. It’s sweet from the real maple syrup and brown sugar, bright and fresh from the addition of lemon juice and the touch of nutmeg really sends it over the top. And for Joy the Baker fans out there, I’m adding brown sugar bacon to the batter. She is the queen of breakfast, so I had a feeling some of my research would take me there.

Best Waffles Ever

Recipe from King Arthur Flour adapted with KAF reader tips

Makes 2 waffles (each waffle has 4 sections)

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 C. buttermilk

2 T. water

2 T. unsalted butter, melted or oil (ATK Twitter tip: use oil for extra crispiness)

1 C. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T. yellow cornmeal

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. sugar (you can add more if like your waffles sweeter)

1. In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks, buttermilk, water and oil or butter until well combined.

2. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients and then gently stir them into the wet ingredients.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff and then gently fold them into the batter (fold in your bacon bits at this time, too, if using. Recipe below).

4. Cook waffles according to the directions on your waffle maker. KAF commenter tip: If you don’t have a fancy waffle iron that flips, he suggests flipping your waffle iron upside down for the first 2 minutes and then flip back for the rest of the cooking time. Make sure to use your oven mitts, it gets steamy!

Note: The recipe from KAF says that it makes 3 waffles and I’m not sure if it’s because their waffle iron was different than mine. I have a pretty standard Krups waffle iron, but I’d love to hear if you have different results.

Brown Sugar Bacon

Recipe from Joy the Baker

10 slice of high quality bacon

1/4 C. brown sugar

fresh cracked black pepper (if you’re feeling adventurous)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. Arrange bacon in single layer on foil. Sprinkle with brown sugar (and cracked black pepper, if you want).

3. Place in upper third of your oven and bake until sugar is caramelized and bacon is brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

4. Immediately remove the bacon slices using a pair of tongs. Place them on a cutting board (not on paper towels, they will stick!) to cool before chopping.

5. Once cool, chop into bite size bits. Add to the batter along with stiff egg whites and fold gently. Do not overmix or you’ll have tough waffles on your hands.

Note: Joy also has a waffle recipe if you follow her link. Her waffles are great, but the KAF recipe is my new favorite. This amount of bacon is enough for a double batch of the above recipe.

May I be so bold as to call this next recipe…

Best Maple-Blueberry Sauce Ever!

Recipe from Krups recipe booklet

Serves 4 (depending on how much you like syrup)

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. real maple syrup (sorry Aunt Jemima)

2 C. fresh or frozen blueberries (frozen works great)

1 T. cornstarch

1/2 C. water

1 T. lemon juice

1/8 t. nutmeg

1. In a saucepan, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Gradually blend in maple syrup and water.

2. Cook, stirring until thick and bubbly, about 1 minute. Stir in blueberries, lemon juice and nutmeg. Cool slightly. Pour over waffles. Bask in breakfast euphoria.

Jan 10 NO comments

Main Dish, Recipes, Seafood, Soup, Vegetarian

2010 and Mushroom Tarragon Soup

Happy New Year! I am hoping 2010 will be an exciting year of more exercise (what a terrible cliche!) and my first full year of liking mushrooms. Mushrooms and I have had a hard relationship in the past, but I’ve decided we can make things work. Since our Michigan weather is now really cold and that white stuff is all over the ground, all I seem to want these days is soup. Maybe I want to be in one of the Campbell’s soup commercials. Remember the one with the boy that is a snowman and the soup defrosts him? While at my parents’ for the holidays, Marc and I went to one of our favorite new restaurants, “The Biscuit” and had a delicious Mushroom Tarragon soup. It was a bit creamy, but it wasn’t super thick. For me, it was perfection. It was silky and just really good. To combine my dreams of being in a soup commercial and my new found love of the mushroom, I sought to recreate the delicious soup. After some internet research, I think I found the perfect one. It’s full of flavor and gets its creamy texture from some low-fat milk and blending half of the soup. I know I said in a previous post that I don’t like getting out my food processor or blender for soups, but after working hard to chop the ingredients, I did not want to taste the soup and feel like it might have been better. The chopping is pretty labor intensive, but it’s worth it. I promise.

Mushroom Tarragon Soup

Adapted from Epicurious

Serves 4-6

1 T. butter (or olive oil)

4 shallots, minced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups cremini mushrooms, minced

1 1/4 C. vegetable stock

1 1/4 C. 1% milk (you could use 2%, whole or half and half if you would like it extra creamy)

2 T. fresh tarragon, chopped

2 T. dry sherry

1 t. salt (more to taste)

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper (more to taste)

1. Melt butter (or add olive oil) in a large pot. Add the shallots and garlic and cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the mushrooms and cook gently for 4 minutes, stirring.

3. Add the stock and milk and bring to a boil (watch carefully as the milk can make this boil over quickly). Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until mushrooms are soft.

4. Stir in the chopped tarragon, salt and pepper. Taste and check if you need more seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Ladle half of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return the pureed portion back to the pot and reheat slowly on medium low heat.

6. Stir in sherry. Serve immediately.

You know what else I’m resolving to do in 2010? I want to use up ingredients in my fridge before they go bad or before I’m sick of looking at them. I get very sad when I have to throw food in the garbage. Since this is my first time ever purchasing tarragon, I was trying to think of a way to use up the rest of my package. When I opened the package, there was a dandy marinade recipe inside and I quickly thought of a beautiful piece of halibut I had in the fridge. Oh yes, I used all of my tarragon and made two delicious and healthy dinners from it. Score.

Tarragon Chili Marinade

Recipe from The Herbal Garden package of tarragon

I made half of the recipe and it made enough for a marinade for 1 lb. of halibut and enough left over to dress a spinach salad and spoon over the top of the finished dish. Below are the measurements I used, but you can double it if you’d like more.

1/2 pkg. of tarragon (or approximately 6 T. of tarragon)

1/8 C. chili powder (I used good quality ancho chili powder)

4 cloves garlic

1/4 C. lemon juice (I juiced 1 lemon)

1/8 honey (I had agave nectar on hand)

1/8 C. sweet molasses

1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste (I used about 1/2-1 t.)

Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor, except for extra virgin olive oil and blend well. With blender or food processor running, stream in olive oil (this was tricky with my blender, because it wanted to spit out of the top. I ended up adding a bit at a time and covering the blender completely after each addition and it worked just fine). Adjust with salt or chili powder to your taste.

Halibut with Tarragon Chili Marinade

my recipe, if you want to call it a recipe

3/4-1 lb. halibut filet (or your favorite firm, white fish)

1 batch of Tarragon Chili Marinade (recipe above)

4-6 C. baby spinach leaves

1 orange, supremed

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and add halibut filet. Cover the fish generously with about half of the marinade recipe. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wipe off all of the marinade from the halibut and discard so the sugars in the marinade do not burn in the oven. Bake halibut for 15-25 minutes or until it flakes easily.

3. Toss a few tablespoons of the marinade with spinach and add orange slices.

4. Add generous helping of salad to plate and serve halibut over the salad. Spoon extra marinade over, if desired.

We love, love, loved the soup. So flavorful and interesting from the combination of flavorful mushrooms and tarragon. We were really happy with how the halibut turned out, too. The marinade is sweet from the molasses and has a kick from the chili powder and garlic. I thought the orange in the salad really made the flavors come to life. This marinade would be really good with shrimp, pork, chicken, veggies, anything really. I like how 2010 is going already.

Dec 14 2 comments

Interests, Main Dish, Recipes, Soup, Vegetarian

Easy Red Lentil Soup

The good weather in Michigan lasted longer than any of us expected. We had warm, yes warm, days in November and on the east side of Michigan, we didn’t even get our first bit of snow until last week. Crazy talk. Now that it’s mid-December, though, the blowing wind plus low temperatures are what we’re used to around here. When the weather gets chilly Marc turns into a pyromaniac and tries to build a fire every night and I start dreaming of delicious soup recipes. There are so many good soup recipes out there, but alas, I do not want to blend anything in my blender to get the creaminess I crave. I want to throw yummy things in a big pot and come out with something that doesn’t need to be fussed with. Is that too much to ask? I know, I’m lazy. I think I’ve found a keeper, though. Healthy, delicious, easy and inexpensive Red Lentil Soup from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks. Seriously, it’s all of those things. I’ve made it twice now and I know the recipe by heart, that’s how easy we’re talking. The only ingredients I don’t normally have on hand are the garnishes Heidi recommends and they are a wonderful addition to this soup. Heidi is way cooler than me and just happened to have these items lying around and that’s how she came to garnish the soup in this way. Me, I make a quick trip to the fancy olive bar to get a few olives and make sure to pick up some good feta and then I’m good to go. If you have a Whole Foods by you, go to the bulk section for red lentils and brown rice, pick up their 365 brand broth and we’re talking super cheap.

Red Lentil Soup

Slightly adapted from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks

I added extra red pepper flake because I like spicy things, but you can kick that back to 1/2 t. like Heidi did. I also have tried this using 2 onions and 1 shallot because that’s what I had on hand and I did not notice a difference. It’s not fussy. You can garnish any way you like, but the creaminess and tang of the feta melting on top with the brininess of the olives and the crunch of the almonds is heaven.

Serves 4

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

1 t. red pepper flakes

6 C. low-sodium chicken broth, vegetable broth or water (I like 365 low-sodium chicken broth)

1 1/3 C. red lentils, picked over and rinsed

1/2 C. brown rice, picked over and rinsed

1-2 t. kosher salt (this will vary depending on broth you use, I used 2 t. with the low-sodium chicken broth)

almonds, chopped and toasted

your favorite olives, chopped (I used green olives from the olive bar)

feta cheese, crumbled

1. In a big soup pot over medium heat, add 2 T. olive oil and then the onion, shallots and red pepper flake. Let them brown and caramelize, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in broth or water and bring to a boil. Stir in lentils and rice and simmer for 30 minutes until rice is very tender and not at all toothsome. During this time, I chopped up whole almonds and put them in a small pan to toast until golden brown. Chop olives, crumble feta and set the toppings aside. The lentils really absorb the liquid and will make the soup very thick. You can thin it out with broth or water until it is the consistency you prefer, but I enjoyed it as is.

3. Taste and check for seasoning. Add salt if needed. Serve topped with almonds, olives and feta.

I realize this blog has a definite lack of holiday cheer. I want to bake something sweet and seasonal more than anything, but I’m still fussing with baseboard molding at home. I have some ambitious baking plans next week, though, so here’s hoping that Santa drops off his elves and they are good with a caulk gun.

On the left we have recently caulked molding from our office that is awaiting its final coat of paint. On the right we have what our bedroom has become, a storage unit for our monstrous office bookshelf with the contents of our closet lining the walls. I despise the mess, but it’s motivation to finish.

Nov 21 0 comments

Recipes, Vegetarian

The Broccoli Secret

Maybe I’m just the slow one on this secret, but one morning while watching “Simply Ming” on PBS, Ming talked about the tender interior of the broccoli stalk. His family insists that it is the best part, even. I was mesmerized as he prepared the stalk and increased the amount of broccoli he had for the dish he was preparing. The miser in me was elated to use a portion of something I normally toss into our yard waste. I hadn’t been that excited since learning that celery stalk leaves are pretty tasty when thrown into tuna salad. Below is the best way I’ve found to tap into the delicious center of a broccoli stalk.

1. Cut away the broccoli florets

2. Trim the tough leaves and hard bits that stick out

3. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer

4. Cut into pieces that will cook at the same rate as your florets

5. Now make Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Cheddar

Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Cheddar

Adapted from a Serious Eats recipe

4 russet potatoes

Your favorite oil

1 bunch broccoli florets (and the tasty inside!)

2 T. unsalted butter

2 T. flour

1 t. dry mustard powder

1 C. milk (I had skim and whipping cream on hand, so I did half and half)

1 1/2 C. sharp cheddar, grated

pinch of cayenne

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat potatoes in a little bit of oil and sprinkle with salt. Put on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and bake for about an hour, until tender.

2. Get your broccoli cheddar sauce ingredients ready, because the sauce comes together fast. Put 2 T. of flour in small bowl and add the dry mustard powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Have the broccoli ready, cheese grated and 1 C. of milk handy.

3. When the potatoes are about 10 minutes from being done, fill a pot with about 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Place steamer basket over boiling water and put broccoli in the pot. Cover the pot and steam for about 4 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green and slightly tender. If you don’t have a steamer basket, cook broccoli in 1 inch of boiling water without the steamer basket.

4. Put cooked broccoli in a bowl and set aside. Using the same pot, now over medium-low heat, toss in the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the seasoned flour and whisk for a couple of minutes until there are no lumps and the raw flour cooks a bit. Slowly pour in milk, whisking until it thickens up. Add the cheese, and stir until it has melted. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add cooked broccoli and toss until well coated with cheese mixture.

5. Remove baked potatoes from the oven and slice in half. Add as much broccoli and cheese as you like.

*We added Frank’s Red Hot to the top of our potatoes and we loved the extra zing.

*The potatoes I found at the grocery store happened to be humongous. The sauce above seemed more appropriate for 2 potatoes, than 4. I cooked 4 potatoes, but I cooled and refrigerated the extra 2 and heated them up until crispy (about 45 minutes) for an easy meal a couple of days later. I made a new batch of the broccoli cheddar sauce for the second meal. I could only eat half of my potato, so I cut up the second half, spooned more broccoli cheddar sauce on top, added a few dashes of Franks’s and I had a fantastic lunch the next day.

*Cutting into the broccoli stalk is a bit of work, but it is worth it. The inside is tender and yummy. I found myself searching out these pieces in my cheddar sauce.

Sep 10 2 comments

Appetizer, Beef, Recipes, Salad, Side Dish, Vegetarian

The Tastiest Labor Day Weekend

I love how Labor Day just kind of sneaks up on me every year. I try not to think about it too much and then all of a sudden, it’s a welcomed surprise. I do this kind of mental psych-out with my Netflix queue, too. I’ll put movies I’d like to see on my list and I do not revisit the synopsis of the movies so that it is almost a complete surprise. Hmm..not sure what that says about me.

Friday and Sunday evening we got together with good friends and really enjoyed the food and company. Friday evening we went to a restaurant with friends that are expecting a baby in about 4 weeks! The husbands took up half our table with their fajitas and giant beers, Lynn had a pasty (the Northern Michigan favorite) and I had grilled buffalo shrimp over rice. Everything was tasty and we were able to enjoy our meals outside because of the beautiful weather. Sunday evening we took a drive to another good friends’ house and had a tasty Labor Day barbecue with a pretty fruit and cheese tray to start. We also enjoyed rum and cokes and white wine on their deck and even got in a couple games of Ladder Ball. The mosquitoes also had quite the feast, compliments of everyone but Marc and we had to take the party inside. Is that weird that Marc never, ever, ever gets bug bites while I’ve had at least 40 bites this summer? At least.

Saturday evening we were on our own and I had a sirloin steak for 2-3 defrosting, 1/2 C. of bleu cheese left over and I had purchase baby portabello mushrooms a few days earlier that needed attention. Ree of the Pioneer Woman made the most delicious looking ribeye steaks with onion-bleu cheese sauce that I knew my husband would love. I thought it would be the perfect way to use the rest of my bleu cheese and if Ree was swooning over it, well then it must be made, right? I just had to pick up some heavy cream and I had the rest of the ingredients. LOVE that. Since my mushrooms were looking at me so sadly from the fridge, I decided to cook those up, too. So, if you can imagine…Marc grilled a 1 1/2 lb. sirloin to medium rare perfection and then this delicious steak was sliced and perched on the silky onion-bleu cheese sauce and then I topped it with portobello mushrooms. Oh yeah, that’s right. And I did steam some fresh green beans, too, as some sort of “hey, there are still greens on the plate” moment. I told Marc that this dish is easy and impressive enough that it would be perfect for entertaining a few people. Oh so yummy. I also told Marc that I can’t believe I shut mushrooms out of my life for so long and that this meal made me very sad about that. Until, oh, 6 months ago, I would not let mushrooms near my plate. I’m still not a big fan of the plain white mushroom, but these baby portobellos sauteed up? Whole ‘nother story.

Grilled Sirloin with Onion-Bleu Cheese Sauce

Very slightly adapted from the incomparable Pioneer Woman

Serves 2-3

1 1/2 lb. sirloin steak

salt and pepper to taste

4 T. unsalted butter

1 very large sweet onion (or yellow), sliced

3/4 C. heavy cream

1/2 C. bleu cheese

1. Grill steaks to medium rare. We used our charcoal grill and it was about 4 minutes per side (depends on the thickness of your meat). You can also do this on the gas grill, in a cast iron skillet or in a grill pan (like Ree). Start making the sauce while the meat is grilling and let it rest for 10 minutes when it is done.

2. Saute onions in 4 T. butter over high heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the onion are dark and caramelized.

3. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in the cream. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until reduced by half.

4. Stir in bleu cheese until melted and transfer any accumulated juices from your rested meat to the pan.

5. Slice steak and serve over generous portions of the sauce.

Sauteed Baby Portabellos with Thyme

www.dulanotes.com (my recipe)

If you want to top your steak and onion-bleu cheese sauce with these, start cooking at the same time as you prepare the onion-bleu sauce.

16 oz. baby portabellos, washed, sliced and stems removed (I know many people say to just wipe with a damp cloth, but Jacques Pepin says that I can wash my mushrooms, so I do)

2 T. butter

1- 1 1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 t. dried thyme

1. Melt 2 T. butter in 12″ cast iron skillet or other large skillet. When butter just melts, add your mushrooms to the pan.

2. When mushrooms just begin to wilt, add salt (start with 1 t. and add more, if desired), pepper and thyme (before you add thyme, rub it between your finger to release extra flavor). Stir. Check for seasoning, make sure it is to your taste.

3. Cook mushrooms until they have become brown and aromatic, about 10 minutes.

Now, you may be wondering what we had on Labor Day, itself. Well, I was in a motivated mood, so while I had Marc organizing his pile of papers in the office, I painted our large front window and a soffet that I’ve been itching to paint for about 2 years. Marc told me he needed to patch around the recessed lighting at least one more time, but I finally asked if I could just paint it and success! In anticipation of getting some things done around the house, I made most of our feast ahead of time, but sadly, I have no pictures. By the time we got around to dinner it was late, it was raining and we were starving. Not a good situation for photo taking. I will attach links to the recipes I used and when I make these again, I’ll make sure to post the pics!

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri (via Rox at Tasty Kitchen)

This was very tasty, but I thought that the 2 T. salt in the marinade made the steak a bit too salty and I love salt! I commented on her post to see if there was a misunderstanding, but other than that, it was very good. The steak was so tender and the chimichurri was a fun new experiment. I made a 1 1/2 lb. skirt steak and there was plenty of chimichurri left over. I’m going to try to pour the rest over pasta and see how that goes. The steak was medium rare after grilling it for 4 minutes per side and a 10 minute rest.

Jalapeno Poppers (aka Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies via Pioneer Woman)

Holy good! This was a lovely start to the meal considering we were starving. Well, we felt like we were. These are head and shoulders above any frozen jalapeno popper you’ve ever had and they are so easy. Not much harder than spending way to0 much for one of those party boxes. The jalapenos have a bit of heat, but they are not too spicy with the seeds removed. Instead of following PW’s oven directions, we put these babies on the grill for about 10 minutes and they were perfection!

Grilled Corn Salad (via recipegirl.com)

Over-the-top yummy and so easy. When Marc grilled our sirloin, I had him throw on 6 ears of corn (I used 6 and not 5 because the cute, older man that sells me his tasty produce sells them in bunches of 6 and I didn’t know what I’d do with the extra). I also subbed in sweet vidalia onion for the red onion because I had it on hand. When the corn cooled, I assembled the salad and let it sit overnight, as suggested, and my husband was very happy with this dish. Not only do bugs not bite him, he does not like eating corn on the cob. What?!? I know. Since he cuts the corn off the cobb every time I make it, I think he loved not having to do any extra work. A beautiful summer dish. Thanks Recipe Girl!

Aug 25 3 comments

Bread, Recipes, Vegetarian

Grilled Pita Three Ways

Recently, my buddy Steve Raichlin was grilling up some great stuff on PBS. When he started grilling these cheese and vegetable skewers and nestled the toppings in a homemade pita, that’s when I really took notice. He made Indian Vegetable Cheese Kebabs using paneer cheese. I had never heard of paneer cheese before, but Steve described it as an Indian cheese that doesn’t melt as fast as other cheese varieties. It’s very similar to queso blanco, but does not have salt added. It sounded like just about the tastiest way to make grilled cheese I’d ever heard of.

I made a trip to the grocery store and saw a tasty hunk of queso blanco and realized it was my lucky day. I did not go on an extensive search for paneer, because I had the queso blanco in hand, but I’d like to try it sometime. Steve’s recipe has an Indian inspired marinade with tumeric, cilantro and ginger, but since I wasn’t necessarily in the mood for that type of flavor, I stuck to a simple butter and garlic marinade and sprinkled the kebabs with sesame seeds. Steve did not demonstrate the making of the pita on his show, but said he had a simple recipe posted on the website for it. It did end up being pretty easy. The folding technique described to create the pita sounds more complicated than it is, so do not be frightened like I was. The dough holds up very well to the hot grill, but you have to watch them like a hawk because they are done in a minute. The recipe yielded enough dough for me to make 6 small pitas for our Vegetable Cheese Kebabs on Saturday, 2 grilled pizzas on Sunday and 5 more small pitas for Pita Burgers on Tuesday. I’ll share my three days of pita recipes.

Vegetable Cheese Kebabs

Adapted from Steve Raichlin, Serves 2

2 poblano chilies or bell peppers

2-3 red ripe tomatoes

1 large vidalia onion

1 lb. queso blanco (paneer or mozzarella will also work)

For basting mixture:

8 T. (1 stick) unslated butter

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2-1 t. red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like things)

kosher salt to taste

sesame seeds for sprinkling over basted kebabs

lemon wedges for serving

*If using a charcoal grill, get coals ready at this point. Create a 2-zone fire. Brush and oil the grill grates.

1. Cut the pepper into 2 inch square pieces, discarding the core and seeds. Cut each tomato into 4 wedges and cut the seeds and pulp out of each wedge (save for stock or other use). The remaining pieces of tomato should be about 1/4 inch thick. You can cut the tomatoes in half again, but I liked the larger pieces. Cut the onion in half widthwise and cut each half into quarters. Cut the cheese into 2 inch squares.

2. To assemble the kebabs, carefully skewer a piece of pepper, tomato, onion and then cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used up.

3. Make the basting mixture. Melt butter in small saucepan. After butter is melted add garlic and red pepper flakes and heat until fragrant, but not brown. Remove from heat and add salt to taste.

4. Brush kebabs on all sides with basting mixture. Sprinkle on all sides with sesame seeds. Place the kebabs on the hot side and grill until nicely brown, a minute or two per side, turning as the cheese starts to melt and continue basting with butter mixture.

5. Serve at once with lemon wedges for squeezing and freshly grilled pita.

Lachcha Paratha (Indian Puff Pastry)

Slightly adapted from Steve Raichlin, Makes 12-14 small pitas (or 11 small pitas and 2 pizzas!)

I did not use any butter with this recipe. I think I will try it next time, but if you want to cut some of the calories, it is delicious without the butter.

1 envelope active dry yeast

3 T. sugar

1 1/2 C. warm water (not too hot or you’ll kill the yeast)

4 1/2-5 C. AP flour, plus additional for dusting and rolling

2 t. salt

2 T. plain yogurt

1 T. vegetable oil, plus more for bowl

4 T. melted unsalted butter for brushing the bread (I skipped this step, but I’m sure it is yummy)

1. Combine yeast, sugar and 1/4 C. water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Place 4 1/2 C. flour and salt in a mixer with a dough hook (you can also use a food processor or mix by hand with a wooden spoon). With the mixer running, add the yeast mixture, yogurt and oil. Slowly add 1/2-1 C. of warm water until the dough starts to come together and sticks to the sides. You’re looking for a dough that is soft, but not too sticky. Add additional flour if necessary (mine came together after adding about 1/2 C. water to the dry ingredients and I did not have to add more flour). Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes by mixer, 2-3 minutes by processor, or 8 minutes by hand.

3. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat dough with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and put in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 hours.

4. Prepare a lightly floured rimmed baking sheet. Punch down the dough and then grab 2 inch pieces. Roll the dough between your palms into smooth balls. If you are making the whole batch, you will have 12-14 balls. Transfer to a floured baking sheet. If you are not using all of the dough, wrap the remaining dough in plastic and place in the refrigerator. Cover the dough balls with a clean and slightly dampened kitchen towel. Let rise again until puffy, about 30 minutes.

5. Set your grill up for direct grilling with a medium-high heat.

6. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough balls into 6 inch flat disks on a lightly floured surface. Here is where you can use a pastry brush to remove excess flour and brush with melted butter or oil. Starting at the end closest to you, fold accordion style (like you were making a paper fan, back and forth) with each pleat measuring about 1 inch. This will give you a long flat rectangle of dough. Now, starting at the end of the dough, roll the rectangle into a roll (from the top it will look spiraled, like a sticky bun). Finally, using your rolling pin, roll out the dough into another flat disk about 6 inches across. Lightly brush with butter or oil, if desired. Continue rolling and folding breads until done. (I put each disk back onto the floured cookie sheet from earlier and brought the sheet out to the grill).

7. Brush and oil grill grate. Arrange the bread, butter or oil side down on the grate. Only do a few at a time so you don’t crowd the grate. Quickly brush with more butter or oil if desired and check the progress on the other side. It burns very quickly, so check often. Turn when you have light brown grill marks and the top is bubbly. Grill the other side until lightly brown. You can, again, lightly brush with butter as the hot bread comes off the grill. Continue cooking in batches until all of the bread is cooked.

Variation: Naan

You can also use the same dough to make traditional naan. Make recipe though step 5 and instead of rolling and pleating the dough, roll out into 6 inch disks, gently slap dough from one hand to the other to stretch into an elongated 7 to 8 inch oblong disk with a narrow end like a teardrop. Lightly brush both sides with butter or oil and grill as a minute or so per side. Brush with more butter or oil when it comes off the grill and serve immediately.

Pita Pizza

my recipe www.dulanotes.com, Serves 2-3

Since I used the above dough for 3 recipes, I used a third of it for the Vegetable Cheese Kebabs and put the rest of the dough in the refrigerator. When I was ready to make the pizzas, I used a bit more than half to create 2 personal-sized pizzas. I put the dough in a bowl and covered with a kitchen towel in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours until it was room temperature.

Roughly 1/3 of pita recipe above, brought up to room temperature

3/4 C. tomato sauce

1 C. mozzarella cheese

4 oz. bleu cheese

1 large tomato

3/4 C. mild yellow pepper rings

12 slices pepperoni

1. Create a two zone fire with oiled grates or use your gas grill. Get your toppings ready so that they are close to room temperature when the pizza is ready to cook. This will help the toppings to cook more quickly since the dough cannot be on the grill long.

2. Punch down the room temperature dough and kneed into a smooth ball. Split ball in half with a bench scraper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a round personal sized pizza with a uniform thickness. Brush both sides with olive oil and transfer to a lightly floured rimmed baking sheet.

3. Grill first side of pizza until lightly brown. Watch closely so it does not burn. After one side is done, transfer the dough cooked side up to the rimmed baking sheet. Top the grilled side of the pizza with sauce and desired toppings. Put back on baking sheet.

4. Carefully put the pizza back on the grill (on the cool side), with the uncooked dough facing down and put the lid down for a minute and keep checking the bottom of the pizza while waiting for the cheese to melt and toppings to cook. Remove when bottom of crust is golden brown.

5. Cut into wedges and serve.

Pita Burgers

my recipe www.dulanotes.com, Serves 2-3

Roughly 1/3 of pita recipe above, brought up to room temperature

1 lb. 80% ground beef or bison or turkey

1 t. garlic salt

1 t. onion powder

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

pinch of kosher salt

Fresh toppings of your choice: tomato, lettuce, onion, cheese, etc.

1. Get your grill ready with oiled grates.

2. Follow steps 4-7 from the pita recipe above.

3. Combine the ground beef with the seasonings just until combined. Do not overwork the meat or you’ll have tough burgers. Using a flat hand, create a line down the middle of the ball of meat and separate into 2 even halves. Divide the two halves in half so that you have four mounds of meat, each roughly 1/4 lb. Create four patties from the mounds.

4. Depending on the type of meat you use and how hot your grill is, cook for about 4 minutes per side or done to your taste. Top with cheese just before ready to take off, if desired. Transfer burger to a plate and tent with foil while you cook your pita.

5. Bring your floured rimmed baking sheet with disks of pita to the grill. Cook for about 1 minute per side, checking often so that they do not burn.

6. Put a burger on each pita and top with desired toppings.

Recipes and Living the Good Life