Chicken Thighs Braised in Marinara (gf)

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Hello! I haven’t posted in a while- we’ve been moving into and getting settled in our new home! It’s been a very exciting month, but moving always means meals out and cereal for dinner for a while. Instead of posting bowls of Kashi and soy milk, here’s the first meal I cooked in our new kitchen:

CHICKEN THIGHS BRAISED IN MARINARA

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

Curried Barley “Risotto” With Shrimp

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I like to make this barley risotto fake-out when I want to make a one pot, complete meal that tastes indulgent but isn’t. Usually, I make the dish with shrimp and asparagus and no curry powder, but this time I had broccoli on hand and a Eureka! curry powder moment, which turned into the dish I’m posting. Curry powder is most definitely a polarizing spice, so by all means, omit it if you’re not a fan.

the rirruto

It was quite delish, and is very easy to make. Once you know the proportions of water and barley and the cooking times (all of which will remain the same, regardless of fillings), you can substitute other veggies and protein for the shrimp and broccoli (see bottom of post for tried-and-true combos).

CURRIED BARLEY “RISOTTO” WITH SHRIMP

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 Steamfresh bag of broccoli cuts
  • 2 small or 1 large onion(s), cut into large dice
  • 1 1/4 cups Quaker medium pearled barley
  • 3 tbsp canola or olive oil, divided
  •  3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 5 1/2 cups stock, or water + 5 tsps cooking base or bouillon
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp curry powder, optional
  • a few generous grinds black pepper

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Oscar Night Vegetarian Steamed Dumplings and Egg Drop Soup

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Growing up, Oscar night was always very exciting. My Mom would let my sisters and me stay up to watch the show, and we’d ooh and ahh over the actresses’ dresses, and root for our favorite movies and directors to win. Know this: I am no less excited now by the big show than I was back then. I don’t think I’ve missed a broadcast since those days. It’s my Superbowl.

For the past three or four years, I’ve had a lot of fun trying to see as many of the best picture nominees on the big screen as possible. This is, of course, more difficult now that there are NINE, but trying to keep up with what’s still out in theaters (often movies are re-released before the Academy Awards) is a blast- I see a lot of movies I may not have chosen to otherwise (ahem, Moneyball).

Since the Oscar night tradish starts with watching the red carpet broadcasts and snarkily panning sub-par dresses, I uncorked a bottle of wine, ogled Gwyneth’s Tom Ford-designed dress and CAPE (cape!!), and made these:

VEGETARIAN STEAMED DUMPLINGS

adapted, to the T, from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound firm tofu (I used Nasoya sprouted tofu)
  • 1/2 c grated carrot (about half a large carrot)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cabbage (I used bagged angel hair cole slaw cabbage) 
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1 large scallion, finely chopped (2 tbsp)
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbsp reduced- sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman is delicious)
  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 lightly beaten egg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • wonton wrappers (package of 35-40)
  • bowl of water and pastry brush
  • non-stick canola oil spray Read More

Quickie: Mexican Chicken & Quinoa Protein Bowl (gf)

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Whipped this up the other night when I was craving taco-style flavors but needed to enjoy them in a healthy way. It’s quite simple, and you could substitute other veggies or a different grain to fit what you have available in your pantry. This made quite a bit of food, so remember that the recipe can be halved easily. Enjoy!!

nutritious and delicious

MEXICAN CHICKEN & QUINOA PROTEIN BOWL

Ingredients:

  • 1- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 3 tbsp homemade or store-bought taco seasoning 
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 can pinto beans, drained
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 cups quinoa, cooked according to package directions (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
  • Salsas, cilantro, sour cream or greek yogurt to top Read More

Simple Pork Tenderloin Roast (gf)

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First off, a nod to a classic cookbook, and one of my favorites, Joy of Cooking. We had two pork tenderloins to  roasted and I needed a simple, classic recipe. Times like those almost always lead me to Joy of Cooking. It’s a fail-safe and fabulous reference for recipes for over 4,500 of the most beloved American dishes (at least, the 2006 edition contains that many. 4,500). Need to make a pan sauce? Joy of Cooking. Need to roast a chicken? Joy of Cooking. Making dumplings? A yellow cake? Green beans almondine? Biscuits? A standing rib roast? Joy of Cooking.

It’s been named by the NY Public Library as one of the 150 most influential books of the 20th century (dude…). If you don’t have a copy, or are looking for just one cookbook to guide you through common kitchen adventures, I suggest picking one up. And, you’ll have it forever- these books make great heirlooms.

ta-da!

ROAST PORK TENDERLOIN 

Lovingly adapted from Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp thyme, rosemary, oregano, or other spice you’d like to use
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • pork tenderloin(s), 2-3 lbs in total Read More

New Orleans-Style Red Beans & Rice (gf)

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Well, I hope y’all laissez-ed les bon temps roulez this week!! With the second largest Mardi Gras parade in the country going on right here in St. Louis, we couldn’t let the weekend pass by without cooking something festive. I guess the cooler option would have been to actually go to the Mardi Gras parade, but we have grown too old and boring for that. Saturday mornings are for workouts, not binge drinking with strangers in the cold! Funny how quickly the partying tables turn from FUN to EXHAUSTING as you get older… oh, and if you’re reading this and can still stay up past 11 p.m., and Mardi Gras sounds fun to you, I am equally jealous of and annoyed by your fun-loving attitude.

a preview, so that mouths may water

We probably would have been too lame to cook up a Mardi Gras meal ourselves, but we lucked out when our endlessly hospitable friends the Donnellys- Brice and Jenny, hosts-with-the-mosts- invited us over for a Cajun/Creole-themed Mardi Gras dinner. Brice is chef extraordinaire and cocktail expert and Jenny reigns as baker supreme, so we knew the dinner would be delicious, well planned, and FUN. The Donnellys create the cherished and dying atmosphere of warm conversation in their home. When we come over for dinner, there is no TV blaring to greet us, but laughter in the kitchen and an old record spinning next an antique glass bookcase in the living room. My kind of welcome.

Brice writes an incredibly informative (and hilariously titled) blog: Amuse Douche, a cocktail, cooking, eating, and etc. page. He’s incredibly informed on all subjects- here’s a photo depicting some of the reasons he and his wife are folks to trust on wine and cocktails (forgive my iphone camera for being an iphone camera):

Brice and Jenny were making crab cakes on creamed corn and king cake, so I offered to bring the red beans as a side. I hope you enjoy making and eating this dish as much as we did!

NEW ORLEANS-STYLE RED BEANS AND RICE

adapted from Emeril Lagasse (BAM!)

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 tbsp canola oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  •  1 tsp salt, possibly more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 12 oz smoked sausage, cut into discs and then half-discs
  • 2 smoked ham hocks (about a pound)
  • 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed, sorted, and soaked overnight
  • 3 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 10 cups water, may need more
  • cooked white rice

Directions:

Important: sort through your red beans for any bits to discard, rinse, and soak overnight!! If you don’t have time to do so, soak for at least four hours and increase cooking time by an hour and a half.

soak me, Seymour

Dice your onion, celery, and bell pepper. Trivia question for you: what is that trio called in Creole cooking? The holy trinity! Dice your holy trinity, genuflect, heat vegetable oil over medium heat and add veggies. Cook for 5 minutes, until soft and opaque.

they will smell delicious, from chopping to cooking

After the trinity has cooked for those 5, add bay leaves, ham hocks, sausage, and spices (but not the garlic). A note on ham hocks: they look creepy and sound hard to find, but you can get them at any grocery store with a meat department. Look for smoked instead of fresh- the object here is to add deep flavor, and fresh hocks wouldn’t do that. Cook this mixture 5 minutes more. It will look like this:

At this point, add water, beans, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a medium-low simmer. The original recipe said to cook at this step on medium, but that was too hot. Cooking slightly longer, at a lower temperature will do the dish big favors here. Cook at this step for 2 hours, or 2 hours 45 minutes if you did a four-hour bean soak. Watch this pot and stir it if needed! With that long of a cooking time, you’ll be tempted to set it and forget it, but these beans will burn.

After your slow-cooking time has passed and your house smells like NOLA, mash half of the beans against the side of your pot with a slotted spoon. Cook for an additional hour to hour and a half; you may need to add more water here. Emeril’s version advised that the beans should be “soupy, but not watery,” which is a good benchmark. Cook your white rice during the last 30 minutes of your beans’ cooking time. I used a Dominican-style recipe that never disappoints. I am a white rice FIEND, and this method will always yield tender and delicious results.

When time is up, remove the ham hocks and bay leaves. The ham hocks will look like something from a horror movie:

skeksis from The Dark Crystal?

But your smooth and velvety red beans and rice will look like this!!

At Brice and Jenny’s, Dave and I watched as they whipped up huge, fresh crab cakes, improvised a tasty creamed corn, and baked not one, but TWO versions of king cake. Two more friends joined us, wine was poured, and a great evening was had by all. It wasn’t as debaucherous as it would have been five years ago (shoot, three years ago), but was loose and happy nonetheless. Here’s Brice douchily amusing the crowd as he prepped the main course, and the main course floating by:

cookin and talkin

such lucky folks are we

Again, check his blog for recipes and tips. He posted an entry about the same dinner, so read here for another perspective. Red beans a rice are a classic and simple dish every cook should have up the sleeve- let me know how you like my spin, or what spins you make! Bon apetit!

Chicken and Rice (gf)

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Okay, so this is my more nutritious and virtually fat-free version of a home style favorite, chicken and rice (I’m always after comforting, rich-tasting dishes that won’t burst our belts). This has everything you need in one bowl- lean meat, healthy carbs, lots of veggies, and a TON of flavor. And as with traditional homey dishes, it just tastes better and better when served left over.
For times when you need to make a healthy, complete meal that can be stretched for days, this is a great bet!

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CHICKEN AND RICE
Ingredients:

  •  1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat (1-1 1/2 lbs)
  •  1 leek, well-cleaned and white/light green parts chopped into rings
  • 3 cups carrots, small dice
  • 3 cups onion, small dice
  • 3 cups celery, small dice
    OR two large containers produce department pre-chopped mirepoix or soup starter, equalling 5-6 cups of veggies
  • 1 tbsp reduced sodium chicken base (or 1-2 tsp bouillon if you don’t have base)
  • 3 c water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Cracked black pepper
  • 2 cups milk, divided
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 bags Steamfresh fully-cooked frozen brown rice…. MAN, I love those things

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Camarofongo and Dominican Food

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ca-ma-ro-fon-go

Last November, Dave and I made our first joint trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, my Dad’s hometown. We had an unforgettable time with my family, and every meal was special. I’m thrilled to have a family who is as equally food and cooking obsessed as I am, and chock-full of skilled home chefs.

A standout on this trip was lunch on an overcast day, watching the clouds roll in over the ocean. My cousin Michelle took us to Adrian Tropical, a famed mofongo spot on Avenida George Washington in S.D. for, you guessed it, mofongo (and fresh-squeezed tropical fruit juices).

Mofongo is a traditional Dominican dish of stuffed, mashed plaintains. The plaintains are fried and mashed with garlic, herbs and spices, and pork rinds, and served heaped onto a traditional wooden mortar. The dish is an incredibly flavorful indulgence, in an umami way; its sum is much greater than its parts.

On this visit, I tried a garlicky, brothy new spin on mofongo: camarofongo- mofongo with shrimp! Even though that meal is approaching, you know, 4 months in the past, I crave it daily- ha!! I thought the next best thing to having it flown in or drooling over the picture on my phone any more would be writing about mofongo, and my beloved camarofongo.

Note on La Comida Dominicana: contrary to popular belief, Dominican food is not spicy, nor does it involve tortillas (that’s Mexico, folks). Picture a lot of rice, beans, poultry, seafood, platano (plaintains), and bright, savory flavors, served family-style.* If you’re interested in Dominican food and cooking, Aunt Clara’s Dominican Cooking is a great site to visit. Clara is great at not only creating very easy-to-follow recipes, but explaining the significance of each dish and adding cooking tips. She mentions this very camarofongo dish on her website, too- the girl has great taste!!

Buen provecho!!!! 

*my mouth is watering right now……