Roasted bok choy

The best bok choy to use for roasting is the little tiny baby size.  But we can almost never find it, so I've adapted the roasting directions for a piece that's a bit bigger!

Roasted Bok Choy

Baby or small heads of bok choy
Olive oil
Garlic salt (optional)

3 parts lemon juice
2 parts miso paste
1 part rice vinegar

Preheat oven to 425.  Wash the bok choy and slice it lengthwise if it isn't baby-sized.  Pat dry and arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt.  Add a couple T of water to the bottom of the pan and cover with foil.  Bake for about 5 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more until leaves are crisp.

Whisk together the lemon juice, miso, and vinegar, and spoon sauce over bok choy once plated.  

Cranberry chutney

Although I originally made Cranberry Chutney to go with a warm brie appetizer, we've found that we like it a lot as an accompaniment to poultry dishes instead of the milder Cranberry Sauce I usually make.  It's nice to have options!

Cornbread dressing with dried fruit

We do not stuff our turkey, so instead of calling it stuffing, I usually end up calling it dressing.  But then it's harder to find in an index, because it gets lumped in with salad dressings.  Oh well.  Here it is anyway.  You can start with homemade cornbread, but this is an extra step that I usually just don't have time for.  I love to make (and eat) cornbread, and it just seems like a crime to crumble it all up!

Cornbread Dressing with Dried Fruit

Onion, chopped
Stalk of celery, chopped
Olive oil
A package of cornbread stuffing
Dried apricots, apples, and cranberries, chopped
Fresh sage leaves, chopped
Turkey stock, enough to moisten

Saute the onions and celery in oil.  Mix all ingredients together and moisten with hot stock just before serving.

Cranberry and pomegranate sauce

I came across a recipe for Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce in the November issue of Hannaford's Fresh magazine, and decided to swap out our usual this year.  Well, one of the usuals, since we alternate between a very good traditional Cranberry sauce, a slightly sweeter Cranberry apple sauce, and a piquant Cranberry chutney.  Well, now we've got another to throw into the mix!  I did vary the recipe somewhat, and if you'd like to check out the original, it can be found at the top link.


Cranberry and  Pomegranate Sauce

12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
1/2 c 100% pure pomegranate juice
1/3 c orange juice
1/2 c light brown sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 c pomegranate seeds

In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries through the zest and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer low until most of the cranberries have popped, stirring from time to time.  Remove from heat and mash some of the berries if desired.  Let cool completely, and then stir in the pomegranate seeds.
 

Middle Eastern burgers

Köfte is a Persian word which means "mashed".  Kofte are meatballs or kebabs, served commonly in Turkey, Greece, and throughout the Middle East, and they are a delicious change from regular grilled burgers.  I think they taste best if you mix them up the day before grilling.  Soak some wooden skewers in water for at least 15 minutes, and form the kebabs around them.  Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge overnight.  Traditionally, the kebabs are formed as long ovals so you can wrap them in pita along with a garlicky yogurt sauce.  You can also make them into meatballs, or even into burgers as I did above.

Here's my favorite spice mix, no matter which way I'm going to fix them:

Kofte

For each pound of meat (ground lamb or beef):
1/3 c pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1 t hot smoked paprika
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t coriander
1/4 t cloves
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cinnamon
1/3 c grated onion
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
1/4 c minced fresh mint
1 t unflavored gelatin

Process the pine nuts and garlic with all the spices until it forms a coarse paste.  Scrape into a large bowl along with the rest of the ingredients and knead well.  Form into burgers, meatballs, or cylinders around soaked wooden skewers.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  Serve kebabs wrapped in pita bread.

Garlicky Yogurt Sauce

6 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 12 T tahini
1 garlic clove, minced fine
Dash of salt

Chopped Salad

This Chopped Salad is similar to a Cobb Salad, other than the substitution of green beans instead of avocado.  Still, there are so many variations on Cobb Salads recently, that's probably what I'll end up calling it in my own recipe notebook!

I made it almost the same as the Hannaford recipe, except that I used regular sour cream, more hot sauce, added an extra egg, and cooked the bacon on the stove top instead of in the oven.

Peanut butter hummus?

I know it sounds a bit bizarre, but think about it.  Peanut butter isn't really that different from tahini when you think about just the flavor profile.  And basically what this version does is to sub one for the other, plus add some cumin and yogurt.  It's quite good...don't knock it till you try it...and thanks to Trevor, whose obsession with Nigella led to him adapting her recipe :-)

The best quick Italian meat sauce

Seems almost like sacrilege, doesn't it?  How can Italian meat sauce (or gravy, if you prefer) be quick?  Well, the folks at Cook's Illustrated have figured it out.  Use only the highest quality canned tomatoes to make this, and don't use anything but 85% lean ground beef. 

You know that you can't see their recipes online without an online subscription, but if you google Simple Italian-Style Meat Sauce, you'll find a few folks who don't mind ignoring their copyright. 

Muhammara - roasted red pepper dip

There are so many variants of muhammara that you are free to experiment with the balance of ingredients to suit yourself.  Here's what suits me:

Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper Dip)


2 red peppers, roasted
1 c walnuts, toasted
Dash of ground cayenne pepper
1/4 c cracked wheat cracker crumbs
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 T molasses (authentic recipes call for Pomegranate Molasses)
1 t honey
1/2 t cumin seeds
1 t salt
2 T olive oil

Slice the peppers into slabs and place on foil under broiler until completely charred.  Set aside to cool.  Strip off blackened skin.

While peppers cook, toast the walnuts on the stove top until fragrant.  Let cool.  Process the walnuts in food processor until well ground.  Add all the rest of the ingredients and process in bursts until mixture has the texture you want.  Cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Serve with pita or other chips, or whole wheat crackers.   

Lemon-kale pesto on pasta with...fish of some sort!

The recipe that I found for this delicious Lemon-Kale Pesto dinner used linguine and scallops.  I used penne and salmon.  But all the rest was the same...more or less!  It was really good.  Don't let the poisonous green color fool you.  I used baby kale instead of adult that needed de-stemming, and I think that upped the color-quotient!

Tomato dressing for salad

Next time I will choose more deeply colored tomatoes for this dressing and make sure I get the lighting right for the shot!  It was delicious, but the photo makes it look a bit too much like French dressing, which it most definitely is not.

Tomato Dressing

1 large or two smaller tomatoes, cut in half
Olive oil
Red-wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt

Put the tomatoes under the broiler, skin-side up until skin is blackening.  Remove and let cool.  Peel off skin, chop and core, and place in large glass measuring cup.  Add 3 - 4 T olive oil, a few t of vinegar, and the minced garlic.  Use an immersion blender and whirl together, leaving it as chunky as you wish.  Add salt to taste.

Mediterranean Cobb Salad

I love Cobb Salad, but sometimes they're a bit too heavy on the egg and bacon to be as healthy as I'd like.  Hannaford's Fresh magazine printed a version that I really liked.  The dressing was delicious, and subbing prosciutto for bacon was inspired.  Yes, I love bacon, but I liked this combo even better, especially because we got to serve it layered in a big bowl and everyone could add what they wanted.  The only thing missing from the picture above is the chicken, which was being kept warm nearby! The only thing I changed from the Hannaford recipe is feta cheese subbed in for regular goat cheese.

Cranberry and apple dressing

We like to try different types of dressing with our turkey each year.  Mostly we've settled on either Traditional Dressing or Hazelnut Dressing.  Some of the others we've tried have been sort of disappointing, but this year I made Cranberry and Apple Dressing from Baking Bites, and it was far from disappointing!  In fact, I think it's going to join the other two and become part of the regular rotation.

Grilled chicken with Thai seasonings

Is this authentic Thai?  No.  Is it good.  You betcha!

Thai Marinade and Grilling Sauce

Chicken thighs

1 T coconut milk
1 T peanut butter, smooth
1 T soy sauce
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic, smashed
2 t turmeric
1 t curry paste
1 t sugar
1 t fish sauce

In a zip-loc baggie, marinate the chicken thighs in most of the sauce, reserving a little for grilling time.

Avocado salad dressing

Don't you just hate it when the avocado that was rock hard yesterday (or so it seems) is now too soft to slice up for your salad?  Never fear...just turn it into Avocado Salad Dressing with a flick of your trusty immersion blender.

Avocado Salad Dressing

1 ripe avocado
1 t hot sauce (we like Sriracha)
1 T lime juice
1/3 c buttermilk
1/4 c Greek yogurt
1 T red onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and sugar to taste

Place all ingredients into a glass measuring cup.  Use an immersion blender to process until smooth.  If you need to store leftovers, place plastic wrap on the surface to prevent oxidation. 

Garlic-lovers delicious salad dressing

Not just for salads, though!  We used this dressing on cooked (and still hot) broccoli rabe, as shown above, and it was robust enough to take the heat and not break down.  I really recommend using the Greek style of yogurt, since that is the yogurt best able to stand up to non-perfect conditions.  Add more or less garlic as you desire  ;-)

Creamy Garlic-Lovers Salad Dressing

2/3 c Greek yogurt
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 or more garlic cloves, chopped
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Salt to taste

Puree the yogurt through the garlic together well.  Stir in the cheese and salt.  Add more olive oil if needed to reach desired consistency. 

Chicken with balsamic sauce

In a hurry?  Got a package of chicken thighs and two people?  In the time that one of you grills the thighs, the other can whip up this tasty sauce, fix a couple of ears of corn, and toss a quick salad!

Balsamic Sauce for Chicken

2 parts balsamic vinegar
1 part honey

Mix together in a small sauce pan and simmer gently until thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Spoon over grilled chicken.

Corn salsa

I love corn salsa, especially when it's made from the abundance of the late summer harvest.  But occasionally the skins of the corn kernels get a bit tough, especially towards the end of the season.  I learned a fabulous trick to combat this from Cook's Illustrated: bring your water to a boil (2 cups of water is plenty for about 2 cups of corn), stir in 1/4 t baking soda and 1/4 t salt along with the corn kernels that have been cut from the cobs.  Remove from the heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.  Drain and cool.

Works like a charm!  I used to always do my corn on the cob this way --  boiling the water, throwing in the ears, and shutting off the heat -- but I never thought about using baking soda as an alkali to soften the hulls.  More recently, I've been using the microwave method to cook the cobs, but I'm thinking that perhaps a mixture of the methods would be in order towards the end of the season.  How about using the microwave for a few minutes to loosen the husks and then finishing them off in the pot?

Kale and sunflower seed pesto

I told you a few weeks ago that we had been experimenting with various pesto recipes that are alternatives to basil.  Not that we don't also LOVE basil.  I found this Kale and Sunflower Seed Pesto mixture at Cook's Illustrated along with some of the others that we tried.  I passed it by at first because I thought it looked kind of weird.  I should someday learn not to eat quite so much with my eyes!  It was delicious.



Image: Stock.echng, J Wilsher

Pesto doesn't have to be basil

Red Pepper Pesto

Basil pesto is amazing, and I love it to death.  But sometimes you just want a change, so when an issue of Cook's Illustrated shared some ideas for super-tasty pestos that used different ingredients, I was on board.  So far we've tried two of them, and they are both keepers: Roasted Red Pepper and Pistachio Pesto and Green Olive, Almond, and Orange Pesto.  There is also a recipe for Sage, Walnut, and Browned Butter Pesto that we haven't tried yet.

Green Olive Pesto

Here are the other pesto recipes that I love from my own blog:

Basic Basil Pesto
Citrus Pesto
Artichoke Pesto
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto