Foodmomiac

Featured ingredient: Quick bacon crumbles

It's well over 60 degrees today in Chicago, and in honor of that, we are grilling steaks outside. I decided to make some twice-baked potatoes to accompany the steaks, and since we have lots of bacon in the fridge, bacon crumbles will be a key ingredient.

That said, I didn't want to fry up the bacon on my stovetop or bake it in the oven (my usual go-to method). Grilling should decrease the number of pots and pans in my sink, and the thought of bacon grease stinking up the house wasn't appealing. My answer? The microwave.

I lined a plate with a paper towel, topped it with four slices of bacon and put another paper towel on top. This was microwaved for four minutes on high (one minute per slice). The bacon came out crisp as can be, and all of the grease was absorbed into the towel. I quickly crumbled up the bacon, and it is now sitting on my counter ready to be put into my potato dish. Easy, easy, with no bacon smell at all.

Public Service Announcement: Tomatoes in the fridge

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I grew up hating tomatoes. My dad requested their presence in our salad every night, and every night I'd pick them out. GAH. I just couldn't understand how ANYONE could like a tomato. Tomatoes were so mealy. So flavorless. What was the point of the stupid tomato??

Turns out, tomatoes (in season) are awesome. I LOVE tomatoes. I can eat tomatoes plain right off the vine and be happy with them. Sprinkle 'em with salt and maybe a touch of olive oil, and I'm officially in heaven.

What I DON'T like, though, are tomatoes that have been stored in the fridge.

Everyone. Please. Repeat after me.

TOMATOES SHOULD NEVER BE STORED IN THE FRIDGE. TOMATOES BELONG ON THE COUNTER.

Now that tomato season is inching closer (and you southerners and Californians can just hush it over there with your fresh produce all year long), this is very important to know.

Tomatoes in the fridge turn mealy. They lose flavor. They become sad, pink orbs of doom.

So... .don't do it.

(You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.)

Featured Ingredient: Leftover Corn

I always get so excited when corn is finally in season. Excitement translates to more ears of corn than my family can possibly eat, so it's nice to have some leftover corn recipes in my pocket to avoid being wasteful.

My all-time favorite leftover corn recipe is Ubiquitous Corn Salad. You really can't go wrong with this, and everyone always loves it. In fact, I would have probably made it tonight, but the reason I had leftover corn in the first place was because I made the salad yesterday. It was requested that I bring a bowl of it over to our friend Dave's birthday party. (We had a great time, and loved getting the chance to spend time with our old buddy Howard.)

So, yeah, you can't make corn salad with corn that's leftover from corn salad. But, I made too much corn, and I needed to do something with it. Michael went to a Cubs game tonight, so it was just me and the kids. I wanted something simple, summery and healthy, but I didn't want it to seem so healthy that they'd refuse to eat it.

I am happy to report that this dish was a hit. Proof:

Pasta with Corn, Chickpeas and Cheese

1/2 pound small pasta (I used gemelli, but I think small shells or elbows would be even better)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced thinly
2 ears of leftover cooked corn, scraped off the cob
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons butter
1 scallion (white and light green parts), sliced
salt and pepper
3/4 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
small handful of fresh basil, julienned (cut into thin slices)

Cook pasta according to the package directions.

In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds (don't let it get too brown). Add the corn and chickpeas and saute for two minutes. Add the butter and scallion and continue to cook for another minute or two. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and add to the pan. Stir to combine and then add the Parmigiano. Stir again. Top with the julienned basil. Enjoy!

Featured Ingredient: Comice Pears

  Comice Pear 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

Wow, I haven't done a Featured Ingredient post in ages. Sorry 'bout that!

ANYWAY, behold this pretty comice pear. We can not get enough of these in our house lately. Have you ever had one? They are so soft that you can eat them with a spoon. I always peel them because the skin is kind of tough, but OH, that flesh. So sweet and juicy. A comice pear is really great baby food, because it is so soft that you don't need to cook it. Max only has half molars, and he eats them all of the time. Dylan calls them "school pears" because they are as soft and sweet as the canned pears they serve at her school.

I like these plain. I also like them in a salad. My favorite way, though? Sliced comice pear with stinky bleu cheese. You can't get much better than that.

I'm off to prepare a plate right now. Now THAT'S a midnight snack.

Ingredient of the Week - Tellicherry Black Pepper

I am a food snob. I rarely skimp when it comes to ingredients. Does a recipe call for Parmesan? I use freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. In fact, the "cheese" in the green canisters makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth. I think it is criminal. I feel equally antagonistic towards most* bottled salad dressings, garlic in a jar, and taco mix. If I had to pick a culinary arch-enemy, however, it would have to be pre-ground black pepper. This stuff is uterly, and completely useless. It bears as much resemblance to freshly ground black pepper as I do to Pamela Anderson Lee.

Freshly ground black pepper can make your tastebuds dance. It adds heat, flavor and brightness to a dish. It is sensuous, it is distinctive. And Tellicherry black pepper is all that and more. Its fruity fragrance will enliven everything you eat, from a lowly bowl of cottage cheese (with noodles, perhaps?) to something as exotic as Moroccan squash with couscous.

*Most, not all - that T. Marzetti's Ranch has nice ingredients and has been giving me much happiness lately.

Technorati Tags: Tellicherry black pepper, Ingredients

Ingredient of the Week - Purple Artichoke

  Purple Artichoke 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

More artichokes!

This gorgeous speciman is a purple artichoke. Not only are they gorgeous, but apparently they have a higher nutritional value than the standard green artichoke. Love that!

I found these at Rhodes, my favorite local produce joint. It's a small, family owned store, but they always have the very best local fruits and vegetables. They also carry some more unique items including tamarind, fiddlehead ferns, sugarcane and... purple artichokes!

I am a huge proponent of roasting vegetables. Give me a head of cauliflower, a bunch of asparagus or some juicy turnips, and into the roasting pan they go. But, for some reason, I had never considered roasting artichokes! I always steamed them, an annoying proposition that never seemed worth the effort. This past month, though, I began seeing a lot a bunch of recipes that called for roasted artichokes. How novel!!

As soon as I saw these gorgeous purple thistles at Rhode's, I knew that they were bound for my oven. I trimmed the stems, cut them in half, scooped out the hairy choke and rubbed both sides with extra virgin olive oil. I then seasoned them generously with salt and freshly ground pepper and popped them into the oven at 400 degrees. After about 20 minutes, I lowered the temperature to 350 degrees and cooked them for 15 minutes more.

These were a revelation. The flavor was nutty and rich. The texture was perfect. I cut out the hearts and used half of them in a Spinach Artichoke Dip. (The other half was eaten standing up at my kitchen counter.) My father-in-law and I devoured the leaves at the dinner table. They would have been lovely dipped in a tangy aioli, but, honestly, they didn't need it. The flavor of the roasted leaves was good enough on its own.

I will be back at Rhode's this coming weekend. I hope these are still around!

Ingredient of the Week - Emeril's Kicked Up Tomato Sauce

Idon't know that I ever would have picked this up at the market without a recommendation. But, my dad read about it in the NY Times, tried it, and told me it was awesome, so we gave it a shot. It has become our go-to tomato sauce for nights when we need something FAST. And I mean REALLY FAST, because making sauce myself with some fresh garlic and a can of crushed tomatoes is not terribly time-consuming.

Why do I like this sauce? It tastes fresh, not processed. It has a really nice kick to it - spicy enough to please me, but not too spicy for Dylie or Max. What DON'T I like? It has high fructose corn syrup, which sucks. That said, this is a pantry staple in our household, and I highly recommend it.

Ingredient of the Week - Fage Total 0% Yogurt

Now that decent berries are once again showing up at my local markets, I've gotten back into the swing of healthy breakfasts. In spring and summer, I love eating cereal or yogurt topped with lots of fresh berries. This week, I'm eating my blueberries over a bowl of thick Fage Total yogurt.

If you have never tried this stuff, you are going to be blown away. Unless you live in Europe or the Middle East, or are a descendant of one of those areas, you are probably not familiar with a strained yogurt. The first thing you'll notice is the thickness. This stuff is nearly as thick as cream cheese. And the flavor is so pure, so delicious. Dylan eats it plain, with a spoon.

When I eat Fage with berries, I like to drizzle it with some honey. However, this stuff is also amazing mixed into savory dishes, including curries, butternut squash soup, and Moroccan rice dishes. Because the whey is strained out, you can heat up Fage yogurt and it won't separate like other yogurts are wont to do.

I  also like to use it in place of sour cream, on baked potatoes or on my chili. It's certainly thick enough! And though Fage sells a full fat and a low fat version of their yogurt, I try to buy the 0%. I can't taste much of a difference, and the texture is still great. I'd rather save up my fat calories for cake, or cookies, or cheese.

So, the million dollar question: where can you buy this stuff? Well, I'm not sure what to tell you. It's certainly available at Trader Joe's. I've also seen it at some of my smaller local groceries, though the availability there is more erratic. In the Toledo area, I've seen it at Churchill's and Kazmeier's. Please feel free to post in my comments any local stores (or big chains) that carry this stuff.

Ingredient of the Week - Panko Bread Crumbs

  Chicken Milanese 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

Yes, it's a bit ridiculous to still call this Ingredient of the Week, given the infrequency of this feature, but what the hell.

Anyway, I'd like to tell you a bit about Panko bread crumbs. These Japanese bread crumbs have rocked my world. They were brought to my attention by Cooks Illustrated magazine, in an article on the perfect Chicken Parmesan. If you have only cooked with standard bread crumbs, you will be blown away by the results you get with Panko. The coarser texture of these crumbs yield a very crispy crust. I use these all the time. They used to be available only in Asian markets, but you can now get Panko at most supermarkets.

Tonight I wanted to make a version of Chicken Milanese, basically a thin chicken cutlet, breaded (with Panko, of course), fried, and topped with a chopped salad. My lettuce had turned, so the salad was just a tomato and some sweet onion tossed with sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. It was a great, not too heavy dinner.

Ingredient of the Week - Salt-Packed Capers

I love salt-packed capers. These are heads and tails above the usual brine-packed variety. They are bigger, plumper and tastier. Also, it is easier to control the salt on these - if you soak them before using, the saltiness is greatly diminished, leaving just a wonderful caper-y flavor.

Tonight I used these to make braised broccoli. I sauteed broccoli in olive oil with some freshly ground black pepper until it got slightly browned and tender. Then, I added a healthy splash of chicken broth, minced garlic, and chopped capers. I covered it and turned down the heat until it was done - maybe 10-15 minutes.

We had the broccoli tossed with some angel hair pasta and sauteed scallops and then topped with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Dylan said, "This is GOOD!" She had three bowls and wants the rest for lunch tomorrow in her thermos.

On the parenting front, Dylan was super jiggy tonight. She would not stop wiggling and scootching and making messes and opening drawers and climbing furniture, etc. etc. I finally gave her a long hot bath and she calmed down a BIT. She asked me to put in one of Max's Baby Einstein DVDs, so I complied. As the movie begins, there is voice-over. Here was Dylan's response to the voice-over:

"They said enjoy the show, but I'm not enjoying it."

Technorati Tags: Food, Parenting