Storing Your Fresh Fruit « Chef Marcus Samuelsson.
Since it is getting to the time of year where more of us invest time and money into fresh fruit and vegetables, this posting from Marcus Samuelsson seems to be a good one to pass on today. It gives you some great tips on the best way for you to treat and store your fresh fruit that you bring home this time of year so it lasts longer, stays fresher and tastes better. Check it out.
I thought I would just post a few simple recipes that I’ve made in the past week for today. The first is one that I came across in The New York Times and it is a recipe that I’ve seen in other places on the Internet. I am sure many people are familiar with Katherine Hepburn’s brownie recipe and may have seen it in other places. I thought it would be a nice simple dessert to make for one evening so we gave it a try.
Katherine Hepburn’s Brownies
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 325°. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the cocoa and stir until smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add the sugar, flour, nuts (if using), vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture into a greased 8 x 8 square pan. Bake for forty minutes. Do not overbake as the brownies should be gooey on the inside. Let the brownies cool completely and cut into bars.
It was a very simple recipe that took no time at all to prepare. This makes it great as an option to make for a quick dessert as you may have the items around the house had any time. I am not a big brownie fan myself, but I have to admit that they came out quite nice. They were nice and crisp on the top and soft and chewy on the inside. You could serve them with a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side or just some simple homemade whipped cream and you have a complete dessert in no time at all.
The second recipe I have for today is one I am made when I had made Sloppy Joes was earlier in the week. I wanted to make a side dish to go along with them and I felt like having some coleslaw, but I wanted to try a little bit of a different recipe. I found this one through Williams – Sonoma on their website and it sounded pretty good to me. I try not to make a lot of coleslaw recipes that use mayonnaise, only because it seems to me that they tend to use a lot of it and it waters down the side dish. This one doesn’t used to much, and I actually cut down the amount in the recipe itself anyway.
Williams – Sonoma Coleslaw
1 head green cabbage, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more, to taste
half cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
Place the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt and toss well. Transfer the cabbage to a colander and let drain for thirty minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, granulated sugar, lemon juice, celery seed and vinegar, and season with the salt and black pepper. Add the drained cabbage and carrots and toss to coat them evenly with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.
As I said, I have made a few adjustments to this recipe. First, I used a bag of coleslaw mix that included the green cabbage, red cabbage and julienned carrots already done so I did not have to deal with the slicing. However, I did salt the cabbage ahead of time to help draw out some of the moisture. Instead of using the half cup of mayonnaise, I only used a quarter cup and I think the recipe turned out just fine. I liked it a lot better without all the mayonnaise and it does cut down on some of the fat involved in the recipe itself. It makes great side dish for nearly anything, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecued spare ribs, chicken, pulled pork or any type of sandwich that you may be making.
That’s all there is to the recipes I have for today. I do plan to go shopping this weekend to get some things in for some new recipes I would like to try this week. I have picked up some recipes from The New York Times, Williams – Sonoma, Cook’s Illustrated, America’s Test Kitchen, The Food Network and some others sources, so I have a lot to draw from right now of meals that we can choose. I do hope to get some new things up but more blog within the coming days. Check back and see what’s going on and see if there’s anything that you like. As always, if there is anything you would like to see, or have any requests of recipes, just drop me a note in the comments section or you can send me an email and I’ll be happy to get back to you. Until then, enjoy the rest of your spring weekend and enjoy your meal!
Whole Chicken Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts – NYTimes.com.
I came across this article on the New York Times website about using and cutting up a whole chicken. I do this myself quite often and it not only provides us with several great meals, but then you have excellent parts to make your own chicken stock, which I highly encourage and is a thousand times better than anything you can buy in the stores. The article also provides a video on how to cut up the chicken if you have never done it before. Trust me, it’s not that hard to do and is certainly worth the effort. Check it out!
So last night for dinner I made something I typically do not make during the week. We had got a leg of lamb before Easter when the prices were quite reasonable and I decided to make it last night for dinner. I wanted to try something a little different with it as I have made it a couple of different ways before and we felt like trying something new. I found this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and it sounded like something that was pretty easy to do and like it would be worth giving a try. The only part of it I was a little reluctant with was actually butterflying the leg of lamb, which I had never really done before. I think it turned out pretty well though all things considered.
Roast Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Coriander, Cumin, and Mustard Seeds
1 (6 to 8 pound) butterflied leg of lamb
Kosher salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 shallots, sliced thin
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1(1 inch) piece ginger, sliced into half-inch thick rounds and smashed
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
3 bay leaves
2 (2 inch) strips lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the lamb, place the lamb on a cutting board with the fat Facing down. Using a sharp knife, trim any pockets of fat and connective tissue from the underside of the lamb. Flip the lamb over, and trim the fat cap so it is between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Pound the roast to an even 1 inch thickness. Cut slits, spaced a half-inch apart, in the fat In a crosshatch pattern, being careful to cut down but not into the meat. Rub 2 tablespoons of salt over the entire roast and into the slits. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for one hour.
Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks 4 to 5 inches from the broiler element and to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 250°. Stir together the oil, shallots, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, bay leaves, and lemon zest on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the lower middle rack until the spices are softened and fragrant and the shallots and garlic turn golden, about one hour. Remove the sheet from the oven and discard the bay leaves.
Thoroughly pat the lamb dry with paper towels and transfer, fat side up, to the sheet directly on top of the spices. Roast on the lower middle rack until the lamb registers 120°, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and heat the broiler. Broil the lamb on the upper rack until the surface is well browned and charred in spots and the lamb registers 125°, approximately 3 to 8 minutes for medium rare. Remove the sheet from the oven and, using two pairs of tongs, transfer the lamb to a carving board. Some spices will cling to the bottom of the roast. Tent loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, carefully pour pan juices through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. Stir in the mint, cilantro, shallot and lemon juice. Add any other accumulated lamb juices to the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
With the long side facing you, sliced lamb with the grain into three equal pieces. Turn each piece and slice across the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices. Serve with the sauce.
Admittedly, I looked at a couple of videos online to see what the best way would be to butterflied leg of lamb. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be and the bones actually remove quite easily. You can then trim up the roast by eliminating any excess fat that you find. If you like to meet more well done, you could roast the lamb at a higher temperature does start with and then simply broil for the last couple of minutes to get the nice crust on the outside. I thought that the lamb itself came out quite nicely and you get a very good flavor from all the spices that have bloomed in the oven before you added the lamb.
To go along with the lamb, I wanted to make some potatoes but I didn’t want to just serve the basic roast potatoes were boiled potatoes. Luckily, my new issue of Cook’s Illustrated happened to arrive yesterday morning, and they even had a new recipe in there for braised potatoes.
Braised Red Potatoes with Lemon and Chives
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved
2 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Arrange the potatoes in a single layer, cut side down, in a large nonstick skillet. Add the water, butter, garlic, thyme and salt and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about fifteen minutes.
Remove the lid and use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to a cutting board; discard the thyme sprigs. Increase the heat to medium-high and vigorously simmer, swirling the pan occasionally, until the water evaporates and the butter starts to sizzle, about 15 to 20 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, mince the garlic to a paste. Transferred the paste to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and the pepper.
Continue to cook the potatoes, swirling the pan frequently, until the butter browns and the cut sides of the potatoes turn spotty brown, about 4 to 6 minutes longer. Off they heat add the garlic mixture and that chives and tossed to thoroughly coat.
I thought the potatoes turned out great. You do have to keep a close eye on them once the water evaporates to make sure that they do not burn or stick to the pan. Using a nonstick pan for this is really a pretty good idea. They also have a variation where you can substitute 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard for the lemon juice and used tarragon instead of chives if you want a little bit of a different flavor. I think in banks a pretty good side – and a nice variation for potatoes, giving you that roasted feel without having to roast them.
That’s all I have for today as far as recipe ideas. Tonight I think we are having Sloppy Joe’s for dinner tonight. I have posted a recipe for this before if they want to check it out and see what it’s like. I did add something new to it this time with a new recipe for coleslaw that I tried. I may post that recipe tomorrow along with one Michelle used for brownies that she made this weekend which everyone seemed to love. Check back tomorrow and see what we have. Until then, enjoy this beautiful spring day and enjoy your meal!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a post on this blog, and my other blog as well. I apologize for the lapse in time but life has a way of getting in the way more often than I would like some times and had just haven’t had the time and energy to keep up with the blogs is much as I would like to. Anyway, I am going to make a concerted effort to try to do better as far as posting recipes on here and other posts on by personal blog if you follow that one as well. For now I’ll try to go back and cover some recipes that I’ve done in the past few weeks that I haven’t had a chance to write about on here. We’ll start off with a nice easy recipe that I tried not that long ago that I picked up from Cooks Country. It’s a recipe for fish sticks with tartar sauce.
Fish Sticks with Tartar Sauce
4 slices of white bread, torn into large pieces
16 Saltine crackers
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
2 pounds skinless cod or other thick white fish, cut into 1 inch thick strips
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles, plus 1 tablespoon pickle juice
1 tablespoon capers, minced
1 cup vegetable oil
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200°. Pulse the bread and the saltines in a food processor until they are fine crumbs; transfer the mixture to a shallow dish Place the flour in a second shallow dish. Beat the eggs with 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise in a third shallow dish.
Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper. Taking one piece at a time, coat the fish strips lightly with the flour, then into the egg mixture, and then dredge in the crumbs, pressing on both sides to make sure the crumbs adhere properly. Transfer the breaded fish to a clean plate. Combine the remaining mayonnaise, pickles, pickle juice, and capers in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Fry half of the fish strips until a deep golden brown and crisp, about two minutes per side. Drain the fish on a paper towel lined plate and transfer them to the oven to keep them warm. Discard the oil, wipe out the skillet, and repeat the process with the remaining oil and fish. Serve with that tartar sauce on the side.
I have to admit I was a little skeptical whether or not Sean and Michelle would like this particular recipe. Fish sticks are not always the most popular thing in any home. I think too many of us are used to growing up with what would come out of the box in the freezer and the taste that went along with these particular fish sticks. I can remember most of the time that they weren’t that great, but this recipe using the fresh fish and the saltines in the breadcrumbs really seem to come out nice crunchy and have great flavor. If you are not a big fan of tartar sauce, you can always eliminate that or make a simple cocktail sauce with some ketchup and with horseradish if that is something you prefer.
The next recipe is also quite a simple one. I got this one from the March issue of Bon Appétit magazine. They have a bunch of recipes in there that are great for family dinners, including the one I posted a while back for a shrimp fried rice. This one in particular is for sweet potato wedges with lime mayonnaise, although I did not make the lime mayonnaise as it didn’t seem like something the rest of the family would go for.
Sweet Potato Wedges with Lime Mayo
3 sweet potatoes, peeled, each cut lengthwise into eight wedges
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Chopped fresh cilantro (for serving)
Preheat the oven to 450°. Toss the sweet potatoes and oil on a foil lined large rimmed baking sheet; season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Roast the potatoes, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the mayonnaise, lime zest, and juice in a small bowl. Season the fries with salt, top with those cilantro, and serve with the lime Mayo for dipping.
I think the fries tasted just fine without the lime mayo, and we used ketchup as a replacement without any problem at all. All you need to round out this meal is a fresh vegetable to complete the meal, such as broccoli, asparagus, or some roasted carrots. You could even just go with a nice side salad and I think everything would be fine.
That’s the recipe for today. I am planning on making a lamb tonight. I should be able to get the recipe up for that either tonight or tomorrow. I have posted lamb recipes before, but I think I’m going to try something new as I have gotten a couple of new recipes lately for a few different things. I also have some other recipes that we have done in the last few weeks that I think would be good to post. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of a lot of the things I have made lately, but I hope to get back into that tonight with the lamb and keep going from there. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog and sticking with it. I hope you enjoy the recipes and get to try out some things on your own. If you ever have any recipes you would like to share, please feel free to leave a note in the comments section below with your email address and I would be happy to get back to you about posting the recipe or even doing a guest blog post on your own if you would like to do that. Thanks again, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!
Fun, unusual and forgotten designations on our calendar.
Happily Ever After Lives Here
a little bit naughty a little bit nice
Letting Life Lead
Simple and delicious dinner inspiration
onedadskitchen 