04.04.12_Stove-Top Pineapple Enchiladas

My friend McKinsey told me she made dinner for her roommates last week and she had made Chicken and Pineapple enchiladas. I had never really though about pineapple in enchiladas before so I thought it would be a good veggie dish if I just left out the chicken. After deciding to make the enchiladas and buying all the ingredients, I realized that our oven is still not working. While our toaster oven has allowed us to make a quiche and roast asparagus the other night, I do not have a small enough casserole dish to fit. I had to get creative and found a few recipes online for stove-top enchiladas. I ended up combining so many different recipes, using ingredients for some, but techniques form others, that in the end I inadvertently created my own recipe. Here is my newly created recipe!

Stove-Top Pineapple Enchiladas
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
1 fresh pineapple (or 2 cans)
1/2 a chopped onion
7oz can green chile peppers
1 taco seasoning package
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups (1 lb container) cottage cheese
8 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
14 oz red enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and green chile peppers and saute until soft, then add taco seasoning packet. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Prepare pineapple by removing the skin and removing the core. Dice pineapple into small pieces.  If you use canned pineapple, I would recommend running your knife through the cubes to make them smaller.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine pineapple, 2 cups of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 2 cups of Monterey Jack cheese, salt and pepper.
4. Stir 1 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and the pepper and onions into the cheese/pineapple mixture.
5. Spray a large skillet (with a lid) or a sauce pan with nonstick cooking spray and begin to assemble your enchiladas. Place one flour tortilla at the bottom of the pan, put a generous amount (about a cup) of the filling onto the tortilla, then repeat until you have 3 layers of filling and topped the stack with a fourth flour tortilla.
6. Pour 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce over the top then cover and cook over low heat for 10-12 minutes (until the enchilada is warm all the way threw). 
7. Repeat the steps 5 and 6 to make a second enchilada or use another pan/pot to cook them at the same time. 
8. Let the enchilada rest for a few minutes before cutting and serving!

If you wanted to get fancy you could separate out the layers by doing cheese on one layer, then the onions and sauce on another level, but I just figured it was all going to get eaten at the same time and decided to mix it all together. The enchiladas may not have been the prettiest things I've ever cooked but definitely the most resourceful and they sure were tasty. I really liked the sweet pineapple with the spicy chiles. I would definitely recommend doing this in a deep sided skillet rather than a pot. I made the second round in a sauce pot to save time, and while it was definitely entertaining to watch me stack up enchiladas in a pot, getting them out was....tricky. But, it's good to know that even without an oven, you can make delicious enchiladas!  

03.26.12_Asparagus, Leek, and Gruyere Quiche

For my sister's birthday we went to a restaurant that changed their menu to feature seasonal items. The vegetable of spring was asparagus. Asparagus was all I could think about the entire following day. I was browsing our blog when I saw the picture of our Spinach and Goat Cheese Quiche Phillip had made and it made me want another quiche. The obvious solution was to find a quiche that had asparagus. Luckily Martha Stewart had a recipe for a Asparagus, Leek, and Gruyere quiche. Perfect.

I had never cooked with leeks before so I was excited to try something new. As all quiches seem to be, this was insanely easy. While Phillip beat together 4 eggs, 1 1/4 cups half and half, a teaspoon salt, a teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg, I prepped the asparagus and leeks. I cut off the tough ends of the asparagus and then sliced the stalks diagonally to create nice long strips. I saved 5 of the tops separately for decoration. For the leeks, I took one leek, cut off the dark green parts, then cut the remaining stalk in half before thinly slicing into half moons. I rinsed the leeks thoroughly to remove any grit and dirt. Next, I melted a TBSP of butter in a pan over medium heat, added the asparagus and leeks, then seasoned with S&P. I sauteed the asparagus and leeks for about 7 minutes then set aside to cool.

While I was sauteing, Phillip grated a cup of Gruyere cheese and filled the bottom of our store-bought pie crust with it. Once the asparagus and leeks were cool, we put them on top of the cheese, and then finally added the egg mixture. The quiche bakes for about an hour in a 350° oven. Our oven stopped working yesterday (unfortunate timing) so I ended up baking the quiche in our toaster oven. It fit perfectly and still worked (we just baked it for a little bit longer). When there was about 15 minutes left, I added the 5 reserved asparagus tips.

The quiche rested for 15 minutes before we served it. I made a side salad of mixed greens, slivered almonds, shavings of leftover Gruyere, and made a quick lemon vinaigrette with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, good olive oil, and S&P. This meal was so good. Sometimes the easiest meals taste the best. It was a very light but very satisfying dinner. I was worried that it would taste too oniony for Phillip but it wasn't at all and it certainly satisfied my asparagus craving. I definitely plan on making more quiches in the future. They are just too easy and too versatile to pass up.

03.22.12_Buffalo Fried Goat Cheese

I think the name alone explains why I was uncontrollably excited about making these. I love buffalo sauce and goat cheese is by far my favorite cheese. Anytime I see goat cheese on a menu I have a really hard time not ordering it. I thought these would be a great appetizer for our monthly dinner party this month.

I was a little reluctant to make these only because the blog I found the recipe on said "Don’t let them sit on one side for too long or the cheese will start to escape." I have never been good at frying things without having to worry about cheese "escaping!" But my fear could not stop me from making these.

To make them, all I did was buy a 12oz log of goat cheese and cut into 12 equal discs. The recipe called for a 4oz log but my goat cheese obsession told me that making 12 balls out of 4oz would simply not be enough to satisfy me. Next Phillip and I rolled the discs into balls. I then put the cheese balls into an egg wash (I used 2 eggs beaten together), dropped them into panko bread crumbs, and then repeated so that each goat cheese ball had been dredged twice in the panko and egg.

Finally it was time to fry. I put about 2-3 cups of vegetable oil in a pan, put the heat to medium-high, and then when the oil was starting to ripple put in 6 of the balls. I used a metal pasta strainer (I don't have a metal slotted spoon) to toss the cheese balls int he oil and tried to keep them constantly moving. I was really surprised how quickly they browned up. I took them out of the oil and dropped them directly into a bowl with 1/2 cup of Frank's Red Hot. I repeated the process with the 6 remaining cheese balls. I screwed up and put them all on a paper towel lined plate after dropping them in the sauce rather than directly after frying, but it probably didn't make much of a difference. After they sat for a few minutes to dry, we dug in. They were everything I had dreamed of. The creamy goat cheese cut the spice of the hot sauce. I couldn't stop eating them.

The only thing I probably could have done differently was to leave the cheese balls in the oil a little longer to get them crispier and warmer but I was really nervous about melting the cheese. Definitely try these. They are so heavy that everyone will only eat a few anyway, unless you are like me and cannot stop eating them and immediately regret the fact that you just ate half a log of goat cheese in 5 minutes. Totally worth it though.

03.21.12_Mealtess Meatloaf

A couple of months ago I tried a Meatless Meatloaf while out to dinner with Caitlin at Cafe Green in DC. I was surprised how amazing it was so when a recipe for Meatless Meatloaf came up on my daily Food Network Recipe calendar I was excited to try it. The recipe called for:

• 1 pound Japanese eggplants (about 3)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 pound firm tofu
• 8 ounces shiitake or button mushrooms, stemmed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
• 1 large egg, plus 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes

The only substitute we had to make was for the Japanese Eggplants. Whole Foods did not have them, of course, so we subbed the 3 smaller eggplants for one large regular eggplant.

To start, turn the broiler on, moved up the rack in the oven so it will be right underneath of the coils, then put the eggplant directly on the rack. Every couple of minutes check to see if the skin is bubbling up, then after it is slightly charred, use tongs to flip over the eggplant to do the same thing to the other side. Once the eggplant is ready, take it out of the oven and wrapped in foil then set aside to steam for 20 minutes. Leave the oven on but put it down to 350°. After the 20 minutes, remove the skin from the eggplant. This process would be much easier to directly in the flame of a gas stove, but since we have all electric appliances, this worked just as well.

While the eggplant steams, prep the rest of the ingredients. Mince two cloves of garlic, a TBSP of thyme, a TSBP of sage, and 1/4 cup of parsley. Then in the food processor, chop up 1/2 cup of walnuts and put aside in a large mixing bowl. Next, the recipe called for pulsing the mushrooms, tofu, and steamed eggplant into a food processor, and pulse into small pieces. I would recommend doing the eggplant and mushrooms separately. The tofu quickly formed a paste that made it hard to pulse the mushrooms.

Concrete or meatloaf?

Add the mushroom, tofu, and eggplant mixture into the large mixing bowl, then add the remaining loaf ingredients (all the fresh herbs, garlic, oats, wheat germ, red pepper flakes, an egg and one egg white, and S&P). Mix it all together. Once it is all combined put it into a 1.5 qt loaf pan (it fits PERFECTLY into this size pan, like no wiggle room, whatsoever). At this point, the mixture looks like wet aggregate concrete (aka not very appetizing, not gonna lie). Put the loaf into the 350° oven and bake for 50-60mins until the loaf is golden brown on top. Finally, unmold the loaf and slice. We served our meatless loaf with mashed potatoes, peas, and mushroom gravy.

We were both pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. The flavors were good and it did not taste super tofu-y like we feared. Some of my loaf got stuck to the loaf pan so if I made this again I would probably spray the pain with nonstick spray first. We really liked the top edge because it had a nice crust to it. We thought that next time we would consider spreading the mixture out into a baking dish so that it is thin, and would get crusty all over the top, or form the loaf on a baking sheet like some people cook meatloaf, so that there are more exposed edges to brown up. This recipe could also be easily made vegan by using egg substitute instead of the eggs.

03.18.12_Sweet Chili Lime Tofu

Having been out of town the past several weekends, Phillip and I planned on doing nothing all day Sunday. We decided we wanted something light and healthy for dinner after a weekend of drinking for St. Patrick's Day. Phillip had found this recipe for Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Quinoa and Collard Greens that looked good and fit the bill. We decided to sub that with kale because I have never been a big fan of collards.

I left Phillip in charge of mixing up the sauce. He combined

• 3 Tbs Sugar
• 3 Tbs Reduced Sodium Tamari
• 1 3/4 Tbs Fresh Lime Juice
• 1/2 Zest of the Lime
• 1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
• 1 Clove Garlic, pressed, optional
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 4 Mint Leaves, chiffonaded  (we used a few more since the mint leaves we had were tiny)

While Phillip mixed up the sauce, I prepared the tofu and the quinoa. For the quinoa, I combined 3/4 cup quinoa, 1 1/3 cup water, 1/4 tsp of salt, and the zest of half a lime in a pot, brought to a boil, then reduced the heat to low and simmered for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I removed the quinoa from the heat and let it steam for 10 minutes while I finished off the rest of the meal.

Earlier in the day I pressed the tofu like I learned to do the first time I used tofu. I cut the tofu across into 8 slices, then took each slice and made 4 triangles, making a total of 32 pieces of tofu. Next, I brought a nonstick skillet up to medium. This recipe called for "dry frying" the tofu which I had never done. I was excited to try a different technique because every time we have made tofu in the past I never got it as browned as I would like.  I placed all the tofu into the heated pan, and then used my spatula to lightly press the tofu and get out any remaining liquid. I cooked the tofu on each side until they were as brown as I liked. I took the tofu off the heat so that I could make the kale.

For the kale, I quickly heated a little EVOO in a pan, then added the kale. I squeezed a lime over the kale, then seasoned with red pepper flakes and salt. I used tongs to constantly toss the kale until it was cooked and tender. After the kale was cooked, I put the tofu back over high heat, then added the sauce Phillip made. The sauce bubbled and reduced, coating the tofu in a glaze. I flipped the tofu over once to make sure both sides got coated in the sauce. This only took a couple of minutes at most.

We served the dish all piled on top of each other: quinoa, then kale, then tofu. I was super happy with how the tofu came out. It was a great texture and didn't taste tofu-y at all. I think in the future I will use the dry-frying technique to cook my tofu as this was the closest I had gotten to the texture of tofu you order in a restaurant (without deep frying it).

03.16.12_Sweet Potato Tahini Burgers

I came across a picture of these Sweet Potato burgers with a mound of sliced avocado on top and immediately knew that I had to try them. After reading over the recipe I realized I had a majority of the ingredients in the apartment already which is always an added bonus. The recipe said it made 7-8 patties so we invited our friend Amanda over for dinner since we had more than enough.

To make the burgers I first cooked one sweet potato. I just did it in the microwave to speed along the process. After it was fully cooked, I combined the sweet potato and 2 cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans. I mashed them all together with a fork until most of the beans were smashed. Next, I added 2 Tbsp tahini, 2 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, 1/4 cup wheat flour, a dash of cayenne and then S&P. After everything was combined, they were ready to go. I actually formed the patties in advance and then put them in the fridge for a bit to let them set up while we were waiting for Amanda to arrive.

When I was ready to start cooking, I quickly dredged the patties in panko. Then, I heated a TBSP of oil in a nonstick pan and put in the first batch of the patties. I'm not sure why this did not work for me but the panko started to burn extremely quick and my patties were not browning up. I think if I had used more oil and "shallow fried" the patties it would have worked better. I decided instead of just burning the patties I would bake them. I put all the patties on a lined baking sheet, and popped them into a 350° oven. I let them bake for about 20 minutes or so to get warm all the way through. I then took the patties out, gave them a quick spray with cooking spray and turned on the broiler to get them to brown up a bit. 

I actually liked baking the patties. It was a lot easier than trying to flip mushy patties and the outside got nice and crunchy. I served the burgers with sliced avocado and drizzled nice EVOO on top before cracking fresh black pepper on the burgers. Amanda and I both agreed that they tasted better with the addition of mustard. I think from now on whenever I am making a "burger" that is made up of some mushed up bean or pea or whatever, I will be baking them. Way less stressful! 

03.15.12_Mom's Matzo Ball Soup

Phillip hasn't been feeling well the past couple of days. My mom commented on his Facebook status telling him I should make him Matzo Ball soup (aka the Jewish Penicillin). I realized I had never actually made it before which kind of surprised me. Phillip really liked the idea, so I decided it would be a good time to try it. I looked up some recipes online and then decided I would just ask my Mom how she typically makes it. Her email response was as follows:

• chicken pieces (any that are on sale...Grandma insists that Kosher chickens make the best soup, but I have never had that as an option)
• celery (with leafy part)
• carrots
• onion
• water
• lots 'o salt

Bring to boil and let simmer for ~an hour. Take out the celery and onion...leave the carrot.

Pull chicken meat off bones. I use the Manischewitz matzo ball mix.  Do NOT make the matzo balls in the soup. Make them in a separate pot of water...then add to soup. And, I use the really, really skinny egg noodles.

The email even included two pictures she found online of the Manischewitz matzo ball mix she uses and the type of egg noodles. Seemed easy enough. I only made a few modifications because I wanted it to taste just like home, but I also wanted it to be vegetarian. We obviously omitted the chicken and instead of using water I subbed vegetable stock to make up for the flavor I may have been losing for leaving out the chicken.

I added three 32oz boxes of veggie stock, two stalks of celery roughly chopped, an onion quartered, and two carrots thinly sliced into my big stock pot. I brought to a boil, added some salt and pepper, then lowered the temp to low and simmered for an hour. I decided to follow my Mom's recommendation and use the help from the store on the matzo balls. I used the same box mix she uses rather than make them from scratch, which quite honestly, they taste so good out of the box I didn't care. You have to refrigerate the matzo ball mix for 20 minutes before you form the balls.  While the mix was in the fridge, I scooped out the onion and celery from the stock with a slotted spoon.

Next, I divided the matzo ball mix into twelve 1" diameter balls. They looked so small but my mom ensured me they would puff up. I followed her instructions and cooked them in a separate pot of water.  After you drop the matzo balls into the boiling water, you cover, reduce heat, and simmer for twenty minutes. Last thing to do was drop the egg noodles into the soup, let them boil for about six minutes and dinner was ready. It was just like the soup my Mom always makes. Nothing beats a recipe from your childhood. I honestly did not miss the chicken at all and of course, Phillip felt instantly better from my magical Matzo Ball soup.

03.08.11_Sweet Potato Kale Pizza

Caitlin and I have decided we are going to start trying to have a vegan "date night" every month where we can cook together or go out and try a new (or not so new) vegan-friendly restaurant. This month we decided to try and make this Sweet Potato Kale pizza that I had found a recipe for a while back and had sent to Caitlin as a must try. I love all of these things. I love sweet potatoes. I love kale. I love pizza. And I love onions. There was no way this could be bad.

While I sat in traffic attempting to get to Caitlin's apartment during rush hour on a Thursday, she ran to the store and got all the ingredients. The recipe called for:

• 4 small sweet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• ½ tablespoon butter
• 2 shallots, sliced
• ½ bunch of kale, ripped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 ½ freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Whole wheat pizza dough

We made a few modifications to make it vegan such as using EVOO instead of butter, using soy instead of regular milk, and for the cheese, we only sprinkled Parmesan vegan substitute on top. We also cheated to save time and instead of making our own dough, used store bought dough from Whole Foods.

Once I finally made it to Caitlin's, she had already cooked the sweet potatoes in the microwave and the ingredients were all prepped. I spread out the dough on a oiled pizza pan. We quickly discovered that if the dough is cold, it will not stay stretched out. We then baked the crust by itself for a several minutes until it was slightly browned. While that was baking, I sauteed the kale and shallots in some EVOO while Caitlin mixed the sweet potatoes, soy milk, and sage. Once the crust was ready, we spread out the sweet potato mixture, top with the sauteed kale and shallots, then sprinkled Caitlin's mystery Parmesan vegan substitute on top for a little extra flavor. The pizza went back into the oven for about 10 minutes and it was time to eat.

This pizza was amazing. I scarfed down my half in record time. The recipe made enough toppings and sauce to cover two crusts so we ended up baking the second so Caitlin would have leftovers for lunch. I highly recommend trying this and will definitely be making it again. So good.

02.22.12_Mole Baked Tofu

When I was first flipping through the Moosewood cookbook, I saw several recipes for baked tofu. I had never thought of baking tofu. One that stood out the most was a Mole Baked Tofu. I looked at their recipe and it seemed very authentic. We went to the store with high hopes of finding all the different peppers and dried chilies we would need, but of course to no luck. I quickly used my iPhone to look up a different Mole recipe that was made up of all basic ingredients and decided it would have to do. One major difference was that the mole sauce recipe I found online had chocolate in it while the one in Moosewood did not.

When I got home from work I drained the tofu and pressed it while I made the mole sauce. Making the sauce was not nearly as intimidating as expected. Add one cup of diced onion and 3 tablespoons of minced garlic to a large sauce pot with 3 TBSP olive oil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp cumin, and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion is tender. Then add in 3 TBSP flour and 2.5 TBSP chili powder. Slowly whisk in stock (we used veggie instead of chicken) and increase the heat to medium-high. Let the sauce boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until it reduces. Remove from the heat and whisk in 2oz of chocolate.

Once the sauce was ready, I sliced each block of tofu into 12 triangles, and put them into a baking dish. I then poured the mole sauce over top of the tofu and put into a 375° oven for an hour. I occasionally pulled out the dish and gave the mole sauce a little stir. After an hour we served the baked tofu with a side of Mexican rice and homemade guacamole.

The mole sauce was SUPER chocolaty and sweet. I do not think I would use the Special Dark next time because it added sweetness that you don't normally find in a mole sauce. It was also missing spice. I definitely want to try a different recipe for mole and see if we can get a more authentic taste. I also want to try baking the tofu again, maybe marinate the tofu for a bit first to absorb flavor before baking. Not a terrible first attempt at mole though!

02.17.12_Chickpea Gnocchi Peperonata

I had had this recipe for Chickpea Gnocchi Peperonata on our recipe list since we started the blog back in August. For some reason we kept pushing it off until I finally decided it was time. After having a somewhat successful first attempt at gnocchi when I made Gnocchi with Thyme Butter I thought I would give this a shot. Unfortunately, the blog that had the original recipe was in French, so I had to do the best I could with Google Translate. I had to convert from metric and some of the translation just made no sense so this was a bit of a struggle.

Basically for this recipe all I had to do was mix a cup of chickpeas with 2 eggs and salt in the food processor. After it was smooth, I added the wet ingredients to the flour. I kneaded the dough, then let it sit for an hour in the fridge, covered. While the gnocchi dough was resting, I did all the prep work. I diced a red, green, and yellow bell pepper, a red onion, and a tomato. The recipe called for friarelli peppers, which I believe in America are banana peppers, so I left them out because I do not like their flavor and subbed the green bell pepper instead. I sauteed the peppers and onions then added a 1/4 TBSP of water to the mix and simmered for about 20 minutes. Next, I added the tomato, raisins, and leftover chickpeas. I cooked the mixture for another 10-15 minutes and then set aside when it was done.

Once the dough had sit for an hour, I cut it into four equal parts and rolled them out into long ropes. I marked the dough with a fork to create ridges then cut the ropes into inch long pieces. I dropped the gnocchi into boiling water and after the rose to the top of the water, let it cook for another 2-3 minutes before taking it out. I then tossed the hot gnocchi with the peperonata and it was ready to eat!

The gnocchi came out really tough for this recipe. I'm not sure if I didn't follow the recipe exactly or if parts of the steps were just lost in translation but it was not light and pillowy like my last gnocchi. I compared recipes and there was a lot more flour in this recipe so I'm not sure if that was it. I was worried about the flavor of the peperonata but it was actually delicious. The raisins seemed like an odd addition when reading the recipe but they gave a nice sweetness to the dish. 

02.12.12_Soft Pretzel Bites and Kale Chips

Several weeks ago a picture of soft pretzel bites appeared on my Google Reader and I died. As a kid one of my all time favorite snacks were these soft pretzel bites that had cheese in the middle. They always remind me of summer and I would eat an entire box in one sitting. When I saw the post for Soft Pretzel Bites and Cheese Dipping sauce I knew I would have to make this. I originally thought that the Super Bowl would be a good venue but our friend Amanda had already planned on making them (what are the chances?!) so I decided to hold off. After another week of waiting I decided I could not wait anymore. I decided that the Grammys would be a perfect excuse to stuff my face with them. Phillip also wanted to make something for our exclusive viewing party and smartly decided to use the leftover kale from our ginormous bag we had bought for the Mac and Cheese Style Cauliflower and Sauteed Kale to make kale chips.

The pretzel dough recipe called for:

* 1 1/2 cups warm
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 2 tsp kosher salt
* 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
* 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
* 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
* Vegetable oil

I do not have a fancy Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough attachment so I had to tackle this by hand. After combining all the ingredients, I kneaded the dough for a few minutes before placing the dough in an oiled bowl and covering to let rise for a little under an hour. As the hour came to a close, I preheated the oven to 425° and put 10 cups of water and 2/3 cup of baking soda into a large pot. As I waited for the water to boil I prepared the pretzel bites. I had to divide the dough into eight equal parts, then roll them onto into long ropes (it looked identical to when I made the Homemade Gnocchi). Then I cut the ropes into inch long pieces and covered them with a wet paper towel to prevent them from drying.

Once the water was boiling, I dropped a spoonful of the pretzel bites into the pot. I was worried they would all stick together as I piled them up onto the spoon but with a quick stir they all separated. I stirred constantly, helping the bites flip over within the water, and after 30 seconds, removed with a slotted spoon, drained, and put onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I repeated this until they were all boiled. While I finished boiling the bites, Phillip melted 2 Tbsp of butter and brushed each bite with the butter before sprinkling with salt. We then baked them for about 12 minutes and then were nice and brown.

As the bites were baking I made the cheese sauce. It was just your classic sauce like if you were to make homemade mac and cheese. Melt 2 tbsp butter, whisk in 2 tbsp of flour and cook for about 30 seconds. Then slowly whisk in a cup of milk. After the sauce has thickened, add 2 cups of shredded cheddar, then season with some S&P. These pretzels were AMAZING. The recipe made two full baking sheets of bites and Phillip and I ate an entire baking sheet in one sitting. So. Good. It took a lot of self control not to keep eating them. We were so excited to eat them we forgot to take a picture of them in the bowl with the cheese sauce. Whoops.

For the kale chips, Phillip put the oven to 275°, then lined the baking sheets with foil. We took out any of the stems and then spread out the kale on the baking sheets. He drizzled the kale with some EVOO then we salted and decided to add some red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick. They baked for 20 minutes and Phillip flipped them about half way through. I was a little skeptical about these but they were delicious and could not have been easier, even though they did not photograph well.

02.12.12_Asparagus and Lemon Pasta

Our friend Laura bought us the Moosewood Restaurant: New Classics cookbook as housewarming gift when we moved into our new apartment. I finally sat down and flipped through it this weekend and found a ton of recipes that I can't wait to try. Phillip and I were originally going to grab carryout for dinner but as it got colder and colder outside, I decided I would much rather stay inside and whip up something easy than endure the (finally) winter weather for food. One of the recipes I had earmarked in the book was Pasta with Asparagus and Lemon. Without really reading the recipe I knew that this could not be difficult and that I would love it.

As I brought a large pot of water to a boil, I cut off the tough ends of a bunch of asparagus then trimmed off the asparagus tops by cutting the top inch or so off. Then I chopped the stalks of asparagus into small pieces. After the water was boiling, I dropped in just the tops and blanched them for 3-4 minutes. After removing the tops with a slotted spoon, I added the chopped stalks. I let these cook for 6-7 minutes before removing them.

Next, I added a lb of penne pasta to the boiling water and let that cook while I prepared the sauce. I got to use my mini Cuisinart again which I hadn't used in a while now that I have the full-sized one. I added 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 fresh lemon juice, the cooked asparagus stalks, a TBSP or so of the hot cooking water and S&P into the Cuisinart and gave it a whirl. Once all the pieces were mixed and the sauce was smooth it was ready.

I drained the pasta, tossed it with the asparagus lemon sauce, and added in 1/4 of Pecorino Romano cheese. I also topped the pasta with some fresh parsley for some added color and little extra flavor. The pasta was super delicious and as expected ridiculous easy and quick to prepare. I think I'll be making this again when I'm feeling lazy. Thanks Laura for the great cookbook!

02.09.12_Cauliflower Mac and Cheese and Sauteed Kale

I realize that regular Mac and Cheese is vegetarian but what fun is that. I saw this post for Mac and Cheese Style cauliflower that was served as a side and thought it would be great to take this recipe and adapt it to be a main course. Who can say no to a baked casserole dish of cheddar cheese?! I did not increase the size of the dish since it already called for an entire head of cauliflower but did make some adjustments to make it feel like more of an entree.  My modified recipe used:

1 large head cauliflower cut into medium floret
1 cup broccoli (we had some in the freezer so I decided to add it in)
2 Tbsp butter (I used Country Crock)
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups low fat milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp of nutmeg
2 egg yolks
1/2 panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
Parsley (for garnish)

First, I cooked the cauliflower in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. At the very end I dropped the cup of frozen broccoli into the pot just to defrost it. After reserving a cup of the water, I drained the cauliflower and broccoli and set aside. Then in the same pot, I melted the butter and whisked in the flour. I was a little worried because it was clumpy but after adding the cooking water, milk, and garlic, the clumps went away as I whisked for the next 10 minutes. Once the sauce thickened, I added the cheese. Before adding the eggs, I tempered them with some of the sauce to make sure I didn't end up with scrambled eggs in the cheese sauce. Finally, I grated some fresh nutmeg into the sauce and added the pinch of cayenne. I folded the cauliflower and broccoli into the cheese sauce, poured in a baking dish I had sprayed with cooking spray, and put the dish into a 350° oven.

While the cauliflower cooked I moved onto making our side dish, sauteed kale. I've never cooked with kale because the amount of fresh kale you need to get several servings is insane. I felt pretty ridiculous walking out of the grocery store with a 2lb bag of kale that was literally the size of my chest. I followed Bobby Flay's recipe for this. I quickly sauteed 2 cloves of garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until soft before adding 1/2 cup of veggie stock. Then it was time for the kale. This was a sight to see. My largest sauce pot was apparently not big enough so I had to add the kale in small batches, tossing the kale with tongs constantly until it had wilted enough to add more. We used 1.5lbs like the recipe called for and by the time it was all cooked down it made about 4-5 servings. We finished the kale with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Back to the cauliflower! After 30 minutes, I it out of the oven and was discouraged by the amount of liquid in the dish. I ended up draining a couple of ladles full of the sauce so it wouldn't be so runny. I think the head of cauliflower I bought must have been to small. Luckily, I was adding panko to the top so it worked out great. I sprinkled the panko bread crumbs and Pecorino Romano cheese across the entire dish then stuck the baking dish under the broiler for a few minutes until it was golden brown. I topped the dish with some fresh parsley and voila! It came out great. The panko made it a lot less runny and made it feel like a main course. The kale was super delicious and went great on the side. I would definitely make this again. So good! I'm excited for leftovers tomorrow! 

02.03.12_Thai Quinoa Chili

Ever since Phillip and I made the Butternut Coconut Stew, I have been on the look out for another recipe that we could use quinoa in since we barely used half the bag last time. I came across a similar dish, Thai Quinoa Chili and thought it would be another easy, tasty dish that would be good for the winter months. The recipe called for:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 4 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Sliced green onions, for serving (I omitted these for Phillip)
• Plain Greek yogurt, for serving (omit to make the dish vegan)

After reading through the list I thought 3 cans of beans was a lot, as was a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, but we rationalized that all the beans would take the place of the meat that was typically in chili.

As always, this recipe could not have been easier. I whisked together the chili powder, curry paste, cumin and a few tablespoons of stock in my largest soup pot. I then added a little olive oil before dropping in the sweet potato, onion, green pepper and garlic. I also added one Thai chili to give a little kick. Make sure you wash your hands good and several times after using these bad boys. They are hot! After sauteing for a few minutes, I dumped in the drained kidney beans, the quinoa, and the can of tomatoes. Finally, I added the coconut milk and remainder of the veggie stock, praying it would all fit. It was literally filled to the brim. Needless to say this recipe made an ABSURD amount of chili. We ended up freezing half of it and the other half was more than enough for both of our dinners and lunches for another day so I'd definitely recommend halving this recipe if its just for two people.

The chili was delicious but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste the coconut milk. It was very subtle, maybe because it called for light? I definitely was hoping for more of a Thai flavor. I topped my bowl with a dollop of Greek yogurt which added a nice tang to the chili that I really liked. Obviously you can omit this and the dish would be vegan.

On the side we decided we would make cornbread, but I wanted to change it up a bit to go with the Thai flavors I was expecting with the chili. I used the box mix, but added 1/4cup of frozen corn kernels, a Thai chili, and instead of 1/4cup of milk, I did half milk half coconut milk. Again, I didn't get as much coconut as I wanted so if I were to make these again I would use all coconut milk to get more of the flavor. The Thai chili gave a nice kick though and the corn added texture to the muffins. Cornbread mixes are not vegan, FYI, so if you did want to make this a vegan meal you would have to make these without the box.