When I first met K of westside foodie wannabes at a happy hour organized by cincinnati imports, it was brief. We exchanged hellos, blog names and email addresses. And we left off at let’s get together for dinner sometime. Stemming from that was a dinner planned at K’s place with couple of us. There was the other half of their blog, the silent (as she named herself) B, Liz of… well you know where, and myself. Husbands were invited and theirs came however The Husband was not in attendance.
With great company, we had delicious food too! Would it be anything less from food bloggers? K made an appetizer with sliced radishes, cream cheese and ginger on bread, and although I am describing it unappetizingly, it was delicious! She also made pork tenderloin marinated in teriyaki sauce and Greek salad. Liz made a Broccoli salad, I brought Spanish style Chickpea salad and B made peanut butter cookies.
For salad recipes, I’d seen lots of chickpea and spinach recipes but nothing with just chickpeas. So as I do with anything that I can’t find a recipe for, I created my own. The main ingredients I wanted to use were onions, garlic, paprika, saffron and cumin. As Liz says, I rarely cook without cumin and she’s right; it’s one of those spices that I’d eat on a toast if I could. Actually that’d be a foul combination.
But I digress. The chickpeas. I am attempting to bring beans back, maybe bringing them back isn’t it since they were never in, but incorporate them in the menu as much as possible. Since most, not all, Hindus are vegetarians, beans and lentils are consumed often for their nutritional value. They are low in fat, high in vitamins and protein. Hence integrating them more in the cooking. And Oprah announced them one of the Superfoods, so it must be cool to eat them. Chickpeas, navy beans, black beans, kidney beans and lentils like moong or mung (green bean, not the vegetable), masoor (red lentils), toor or tuvar (pigeon peas) all fall into the Superfood category.
Spanish Chickpea Salad
1 1/2 cups dried* or 2 16-ounce cans of chickpeas**
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil- Spanish is preferred
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sweet Spanish paprika
pinch of saffron soaked in 1/4 cup of water
1 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 roasted Roma tomatoes***, chopped with seeds and all
Liquid from cooked chickpeas, vegetable stock would work as well
*Soak dried beans in water overnight. Cook them in a pressure cooker, saucepan or slow cooker. In a pressure cooker, cook the beans with enough water to cover and for 5 whistles. Drain the beans but save the cooking liquid. Note: dried beans will double in size and quantity after soaking overnight therefore 1 1/2 cups dried will yield 3 cups of cooked beans.
**I’ve stopped buying canned chickpeas because they contain much more sodium than the ones I make myself. And I understand not everyone has the time to use dried so for convenience sake, feel free to use canned. Be sure to monitor the salt during cooking.
***Roast tomatoes in a 200F degree oven for 3- 4 hours. It can be prepared ahead of time.
In a 12 inch skillet or fry pan, heat Spanish olive oil on medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic, paprika, saffron, cumin and red wine vinegar and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in chopped roasted tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add drained chickpeas and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid or stock and stir to combine everything. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook until 80% of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and serve warm or room temperature. I believe it can be served cold but I am not sure because I haven’t tried it. Please share your thoughts if you have had cold chickpea salad.
The salad seemed to be a hit with everyone. The only change I would make is to soak the saffron in water (a step I added to this recipe) to concentrate its flavor. I did not do this initially. K's pork was amazing, tender and moist. I've eaten a lot of dried, overcooked pork recently so it was a good change from that. I hope we convinced Liz to stop tweaking the broccoli salad because the combination is now perfect. And B's cookies were damn good. And that's saying a lot. Seeing that I never write about peanut butter in my cooking proves that I am not a fan of it. (Something about not growing up with it.) But I happily accept and eat peanut butter cookies because nothing says good dessert better than butter, dough and peanut butter baked into one. Overall a great evening of tasty food, meeting new people on the westside, and socializing. Thanks for hosting K!
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Getting fancy for dinner- Food and Wine
When the holidays neared in 2008, the last thing on my mind was presents. I am not a gifts person, giving or receiving. Though sometimes a little surprise here and there is great! I have this one, special, friend that always gets me a gift for big holidays. So I had to keep my eyes and ears open for creative items. And instead I found myself buying a framed picture by Michelle Gatmaitan, a photographer friend of mine, for Liz. A gift for Liz? And I wasn't even looking for a gift for her. (sorry!) When I saw it, it reminded me of her because the picture is vibrant of colors and fits her personality perfectly. After buying it I told her I bought her a gift- I am not good with keeping surprises. But I beg to keep surprises for me a secret! So she told me she was planning to give me something too- she's not good either! When did this turn into a gift exchanging friendship? Not that I am complaining, now. Actually she got me a fantastic present, 1 year’s subscription to Food and Wine (F&W) magazine. I have been subscribing to Cooking Light for almost 2 years and I am glad to have something else to browse on food.
In addition to getting my own she said she was also getting F&W. After the first installment, I organized a dinner at our place around the first issue. The idea of the dinner was to cook couple dishes each. This would allow us to try new dishes and see if we like F&W’s recipes. After that dinner I can happily say, we do! We loved everything we made.
From February edition I cooked Chicken Sofrito for the main dish and Crisp Escarole Salad with Garlicky Anchovy Dressing while Liz made the Basic, and really tasty, Risotto and Stewed Okra and tomatoes.
Escarole Salad with Garlicky Anchovy Dressing from February 2009 F&W
Two 3/4-inch-thick slices of sourdough bread, cut into 3/4-inch dice (3 cups)
1 large head of escarole, light green and white leaves only, cut crosswise into 1-inch strips
6 radishes, thinly sliced
4 celery ribs with leaves, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and coarsely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°. On a baking sheet, toast the bread for 15 minutes, tossing once, until lightly golden; let cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the escarole strips with the radishes, celery, tomatoes and cucumber. In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, chopped anchovies and minced garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season generously with pepper. Add the croutons to the salad and toss. Pour the dressing over the salad, season lightly with salt and toss again. Serve at once.
The only change I would make is to use lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Celery, radishes and cucumber certainly make this a fancy salad but it doesn’t make it exceptional. As a matter of fact, any salad vegetables can be used to prepare this salad. It’s the garlicky, anchovy dressing that makes this an exceptional first or side course.
Chicken Sofrito, adapted from February 2009 of F&W
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 whole chicken legs, separated into drumsticks and thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, plus more for dusting*
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 large thyme sprigs
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds**
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth, homemade is perfect
1 cup short-grain white rice***
Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with chili powder. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over moderate heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
*I am not sure what F&W cooks were intending for us to use so I used the Indian chili powder. Chili powder from India is dried chilies in the ground form and much stronger in taste and spice than the ones found at the local supermarket. I highly recommend it for this sofrito because of its kick.
Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño and thyme sprigs to the skillet and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, fennel seeds, cayenne and the 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, raise the heat to high and cook until bubbling. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. Arrange the chicken pieces on the rice, skin side up. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through and the rice is tender and has absorbed the stock. Discard the thyme sprigs. Spoon the rice onto plates, add the chicken and serve.
**In my house, fennel is used more often than Anise so I used it to replace anise. Anise is one of those spices that rarely gets attention in anyone’s kitchen and therefore no one buys it. Or at least I don’t.
***I was out of the short grain rice and added long grain basmati rice instead. I believe it worked fine as a replacement.
My last change to the dish was to omit the lemon juice and almonds from the original recipe. And even with that this was fine. The fennel flavor stood out more than we wanted but the overall taste was great; I would definitely make it again, maybe without fennel.
And although I didn’t believe in gift giving and receiving, after a year’s worth of food magazine browsing of sorts, I might be a convert by the next holiday. Plus if I can’t find a gift for the special friend, there’s always a year’s subscription of F&W. Thanks again for this present.
(both pictures are courtesy of Liz)
In addition to getting my own she said she was also getting F&W. After the first installment, I organized a dinner at our place around the first issue. The idea of the dinner was to cook couple dishes each. This would allow us to try new dishes and see if we like F&W’s recipes. After that dinner I can happily say, we do! We loved everything we made.
From February edition I cooked Chicken Sofrito for the main dish and Crisp Escarole Salad with Garlicky Anchovy Dressing while Liz made the Basic, and really tasty, Risotto and Stewed Okra and tomatoes.
Escarole Salad with Garlicky Anchovy Dressing from February 2009 F&WTwo 3/4-inch-thick slices of sourdough bread, cut into 3/4-inch dice (3 cups)
1 large head of escarole, light green and white leaves only, cut crosswise into 1-inch strips
6 radishes, thinly sliced
4 celery ribs with leaves, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and coarsely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°. On a baking sheet, toast the bread for 15 minutes, tossing once, until lightly golden; let cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the escarole strips with the radishes, celery, tomatoes and cucumber. In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, chopped anchovies and minced garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season generously with pepper. Add the croutons to the salad and toss. Pour the dressing over the salad, season lightly with salt and toss again. Serve at once.
The only change I would make is to use lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Celery, radishes and cucumber certainly make this a fancy salad but it doesn’t make it exceptional. As a matter of fact, any salad vegetables can be used to prepare this salad. It’s the garlicky, anchovy dressing that makes this an exceptional first or side course.
Chicken Sofrito, adapted from February 2009 of F&W 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 whole chicken legs, separated into drumsticks and thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder, plus more for dusting*
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 large thyme sprigs
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds**
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth, homemade is perfect
1 cup short-grain white rice***
Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with chili powder. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over moderate heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
*I am not sure what F&W cooks were intending for us to use so I used the Indian chili powder. Chili powder from India is dried chilies in the ground form and much stronger in taste and spice than the ones found at the local supermarket. I highly recommend it for this sofrito because of its kick.
Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño and thyme sprigs to the skillet and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, fennel seeds, cayenne and the 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, raise the heat to high and cook until bubbling. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. Arrange the chicken pieces on the rice, skin side up. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through and the rice is tender and has absorbed the stock. Discard the thyme sprigs. Spoon the rice onto plates, add the chicken and serve.
**In my house, fennel is used more often than Anise so I used it to replace anise. Anise is one of those spices that rarely gets attention in anyone’s kitchen and therefore no one buys it. Or at least I don’t.
***I was out of the short grain rice and added long grain basmati rice instead. I believe it worked fine as a replacement.
My last change to the dish was to omit the lemon juice and almonds from the original recipe. And even with that this was fine. The fennel flavor stood out more than we wanted but the overall taste was great; I would definitely make it again, maybe without fennel.
And although I didn’t believe in gift giving and receiving, after a year’s worth of food magazine browsing of sorts, I might be a convert by the next holiday. Plus if I can’t find a gift for the special friend, there’s always a year’s subscription of F&W. Thanks again for this present.
(both pictures are courtesy of Liz)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Scrumptious Salmon, Watercress salad and Saffron risotto
With the crazy schedule I've created for myself, these days dinners that take the least amount of time to cook are high on my list. The other night I made a Salmon dinner with Watercress salad and Saffron risotto. It was scrumptious and one that's a sure addition to my repertoire.
Salmon’s one of those fishes that I know how to cook, and trust myself on cooking it well. Swordfish, marlin and other varieties that aren’t readily available, not so much. I am still learning techniques and fish personalities from Helen and other fish pros! Fortunately for me and others short on time and creative juices at 8pm, this Salmon recipe was very easy and simple. Sprinkling salt and pepper on the fish, and letting the oven do the work was all it took to cook this one!
Saffron risotto on the other hand required research however it was well worth it. Here’s a recipe you can use time and again. Thanks to Whole Foods, I followed their recipe for Saffron risotto with minor changes. The recipe and process are straightforward but require close attention, as is the case for risottos.
Enjoy these recipes as much as I did!
Salmon
2 Salmon filets with skin
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 300F degrees. While the oven heats up, gently rub meatier portion of fish with salt and pepper. Drizzle small or medium baking dish with olive oil, lay seasoned Salmon on the dish, skin side down. Drizzling the fish with olive oil is optional. Bake in the oven for 15- 20 minutes. Oven temperatures and cooking times vary based on individual ovens; keep an eye on the fish, through the oven window, after 12 minutes. Helen gives a great pointer on cooking Salmon, don’t overcook the fish by letting it get flaky; that makes the fish dry.
Saffron Risotto
4 cups shrimp stock, homemade- this is completely optional, I just happened to have shrimp stock from previous weekend
1 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup Arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
In a medium saucepan, bring shrimp stock to simmer on medium heat. When the stock starts to simmer, add cream and saffron threads to the pan. In another saucepan, heat butter and olive oil on medium low heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add Arborio rice and stir thoroughly to coat with onion and butter mixture. Add 1/4 cup simmered stock and stir with a wooden spoon; make sure rice is scraped from the sides and is cooking in liquid. Stir every 30 seconds or so to ensure the liquid hasn’t evaporated and rice isn’t sticking to the pan. Add another 1/4 cup stock and repeat process when the liquid is absorbed. Stirring often is crucial as this gives the rice opportunity to absorb the liquid and keeps from sticking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Repeat the ‘liquid addition’ method until most of the stock is used, approximately 20- 25 minutes. Taste, if the rice has a hard bite, continue to cook adding liquid when necessary. It is done when rice has a soft bite with creamy consistency. Add freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano before serving. Serve warm with salad and fish.
Watercress Salad
1 bunch watercress leaves
1/3 cup walnuts, halved and toasted
Salt & Pepper to taste
Vinaigrette
1/4 red onion, small diced
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Tear watercress leaves from stems, add to a serving bowl along with toasted walnuts and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice with diced red onion, salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil to the lemon juice mix while whisking, to make vinaigrette. Drizzle over watercress and walnuts and serve.
Salmon’s one of those fishes that I know how to cook, and trust myself on cooking it well. Swordfish, marlin and other varieties that aren’t readily available, not so much. I am still learning techniques and fish personalities from Helen and other fish pros! Fortunately for me and others short on time and creative juices at 8pm, this Salmon recipe was very easy and simple. Sprinkling salt and pepper on the fish, and letting the oven do the work was all it took to cook this one!
Saffron risotto on the other hand required research however it was well worth it. Here’s a recipe you can use time and again. Thanks to Whole Foods, I followed their recipe for Saffron risotto with minor changes. The recipe and process are straightforward but require close attention, as is the case for risottos.
Enjoy these recipes as much as I did!
Salmon
2 Salmon filets with skin
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 300F degrees. While the oven heats up, gently rub meatier portion of fish with salt and pepper. Drizzle small or medium baking dish with olive oil, lay seasoned Salmon on the dish, skin side down. Drizzling the fish with olive oil is optional. Bake in the oven for 15- 20 minutes. Oven temperatures and cooking times vary based on individual ovens; keep an eye on the fish, through the oven window, after 12 minutes. Helen gives a great pointer on cooking Salmon, don’t overcook the fish by letting it get flaky; that makes the fish dry.
Saffron Risotto
4 cups shrimp stock, homemade- this is completely optional, I just happened to have shrimp stock from previous weekend
1 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup Arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
In a medium saucepan, bring shrimp stock to simmer on medium heat. When the stock starts to simmer, add cream and saffron threads to the pan. In another saucepan, heat butter and olive oil on medium low heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add Arborio rice and stir thoroughly to coat with onion and butter mixture. Add 1/4 cup simmered stock and stir with a wooden spoon; make sure rice is scraped from the sides and is cooking in liquid. Stir every 30 seconds or so to ensure the liquid hasn’t evaporated and rice isn’t sticking to the pan. Add another 1/4 cup stock and repeat process when the liquid is absorbed. Stirring often is crucial as this gives the rice opportunity to absorb the liquid and keeps from sticking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Repeat the ‘liquid addition’ method until most of the stock is used, approximately 20- 25 minutes. Taste, if the rice has a hard bite, continue to cook adding liquid when necessary. It is done when rice has a soft bite with creamy consistency. Add freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano before serving. Serve warm with salad and fish.
Watercress Salad
1 bunch watercress leaves
1/3 cup walnuts, halved and toasted
Salt & Pepper to taste
Vinaigrette
1/4 red onion, small diced
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
Tear watercress leaves from stems, add to a serving bowl along with toasted walnuts and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice with diced red onion, salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil to the lemon juice mix while whisking, to make vinaigrette. Drizzle over watercress and walnuts and serve.
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