Foodmomiac

Successful New Dish: Lentil Potato Salad

On Saturday night, we decided to stay in and cook dinner. Dylan was at a sleepover, so it was just me and the two guys. We had some prime ribeye steaks from Costco, so we knew that would be the focus, but it was up to me to come up with a side dish. My first instinct was some sort of potato dish. Unfortunately, when I checked our potato supplies, I realized that we only had one pound of potatoes which wouldn't be enough. It was time to get creative.

When Michael and I went to Paris last month, I spent an hour in G. Detou, one of the world's most amazing grocery stores. One of the treats I came home with was a tin of French de Puy lentils: 

 

Lentil de Puy are a great treat if you've never tried them (and you don't need to buy them in Paris - they are available at many specialty grocery stores in the U.S. - I have even purchased them at Whole Foods). They keep their shape and texture when cooked. Typical lentils get soft and mushy, which is great when you are making a soup and stew, but not ideal when you want the lentils for a salad. 

So, back to my story. I had one pound of potatoes and I had the lovely tin of lentils. I decided to combine a couple of recipes from The New York Times Cookbook; a Mediterranean lentil salad and a French potato salad. French potato salads are served slightly warm or at room temperature and are made with olive oil instead of mayonnaise. They are much more suited to cold weather than the standard mayo-based varieties.

The salad was easy to prepare and delicious. I hope you love it as much as we did!

Lentil Potato Salad

1/2 cup de Puy lentils
1 pound new (red) potatoes, scrubbed and cut into a 1/4 inch dice
1 Tb onion, finely minced
Vinaigrette of your choice (I used this one) 
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
salt and pepper to taste 

Combine lentils with three cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 - 20 minutes (you want them tender but not mushy). Drain and set aside.

Cover potatoes with cold water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Toss with the minced onion and a few splashes of vinaigrette. Allow the vinaigrette to soak in a bit. Taste. If there is no flavor, add some more (the potatoes soak up quite a bit - by dressing them while they are warm, you insure great flavor). 

Add the carrots and celery and lentils. Toss with more vinaigrette and the salt and pepper, tasting as you go. This is a very flexible recipe - you will want to play around with it until it is seasoned to your tastes.

Enjoy!

Our Favorite Crockpot Meal: Red Beans with Smoked Turkey

We didn't have a good morning. It's day four of the Chicago teachers' strike, so the routine we were so happy to return to last week is shot. Additionally, Michael is oversees on a business trip, Dylan insisted that she had no pants available to wear, Max wouldn't eat breakfast, no one could tell me what they wanted for lunch, and I'm having one of those weeks where I'm just super stressed about having a start-up and all of the uncertainties that entails.

By 8:30am, all three of us were crying hysterically. Not my proudest moment.

I finally got the kids out to their "strike camp" and headed off to my annual dermatology appointment. Now, I pride myself on having crazy low blood pressure. It's so low that when I went in to get Lasik surgery eight years ago, I wasn't allowed to take a valium as it would have made me too loopy. So, anyway, there I am at the doctor, and they pulled out the blood pressure cuff. I was soon informed that my blood pressure was a bit high.

Yeah. A morning like we had can do that to a person.

Once I got back home, I decided I needed to so something to calm myself down a bit prior to jumping into my work day. I needed to do some chopping. That's when I pulled out the crockpot and the smoked turkey legs. I love this dish because it is hearty, and delicious and easy and makes the house smell fabulous. I also love that it uses (cheap) dried beans but doesn't require overnight soaking. I made things a bit more complicated this morning because I added vegetables. As I said, I needed some time with my chefs knife. The food is now happily cooking away and I'm quite sure my blood pressure is back to its freakishly low self.

Red Beans with Smoked Turkey Legs

One large or two smallish smoked turkey legs (the ones I used today were purchased at Whole Foods, but they often have these at our grocery store as well)
One bag red kidney beans, rinsed and picked through
Veggies, chopped (optional) - today I used one onion, three stalks of celery and a few peppers including one jalapeno

Put the turkey legs into your crockpot. Top with the beans and veggies. Cover everything with water and cook on low for 6-8 hours. About an hour before it's done, pull out the turkey legs, remove the meat from them and put them back into the crockpot. (Be careful with the bones -the legs have these really weird spindly needle bones throughout.)

Serve with rice.

Note: we also like to top ours with a healthy sprinkling of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning. 

 

Baba Rice (a weeknight lifesaver)

This is my dear friend Lisa. Our husbands have known each other since Kindergarten (!!) and when we lived in Toledo, Lisa was a constant in my life. I remember calling Lisa and Todd just a couple of days after they brought their oldest son home from the hospital to tell them that we, too were going to have a baby! Now Ty is almost 11, and Dylan is 10, and I feel like an elderly woman, but that's a story for another day.

Lisa is the friend who introduced me to Bunco (which I greatly miss - why don't people play Bunco in Chicago??), and the person who brought over food after Dylie and Max were born. And the one dish that was ALWAYS included with this delivery was Baba Rice. Baba was Todd's grandma, and she was from Bulgaria. I love Baba Rice, but I could never make it properly no matter how many times Lisa walked me through it over the phone.

This has always been a source of frustration for me, so when we visited Todd and Lisa Thanksgiving weekend, I watched her make it and took very detailed notes. I am happy to report that I have now made Baba Rice twice and was successful both times. Woot!

And now I am sharing with you. Enjoy.

Baba Rice
2-1/2 cups Uncle Ben's rice (the brand is important here, so don't try to get all fancy. You need the original Uncle Ben's converted rice)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
5 cups chicken broth
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tb. dill
1 Tb Spike seasoning or summer savory (Chubritza is the Bulgarian word for this)
1 tsp chicken bouillion paste (I use that Better than Bouillion stuff from the supermarket)
1/4 cup canola oil 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put the rice in a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Add the celery, onion, broth and spices. Break the bouillion paste up into smaller pieces and distribute throughout the dish. Pour in the oil and mix everything well. Cover the pan with foil and place into the oven for an hour. Remove from the oven and mix up a bit with a fork. Enjoy!

FoodKIDiac: Guest post by Dylan - Baked Acorn Squash

My favorite dish lately has been baked Acorn Squash it is SO delicious! It is fun and easy to make! I was able to make it all by myself, actually. Today we had it with chicken and a nice little salad! It is such a great comfort food and it adds a little sweetness to your dinner! I guarantee that you will LOVE this dish! Acorn squash is probably the best fall dish you can ask for! Today my Dad built a fire in the fireplace so it was really nice and cozy in our house.

I could eat acorn squash forever! You HAVE to try this dish!

Here is the link to the recipe I used:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_baked_acorn_squash/

 

 

The Monday Night Dinner that Garnered a Standing Ovation (Lamb Meatballs and Mujadara)

The title of this post is no exaggeration. Shortly after declaring it, "the best meal you have cooked in five years," Michael told the kids they should give me a round of applause. And then Dylan stood up on the bench in the kitchen to turn that round of applause into a full out standing o. This is NOT the norm in my household, but damn, it was definitely satisfying.

Dinner was an old favorite that I hadn't made for years (mujadarah) along with a new dish that I tried for the very first time (lamb meatballs). The lamb recipe has a gajillion steps, so I am just going to link to it rather than adapt it and repost here. Click here for amazing lamb meatballs.

I will, however, share with you the recipe for Mujadara. This recipe comes from David Rosengarten, a chef who was a very big deal on the Food Network back in 1996 when I worked there. (He also wore a ridiculous amount of makeup when recording his shows, so when he'd swing by the cubicles to talk to the "little folk," we always ended up laughing over his oompa loompa face as soon as he left.) 

Mujadara

1 cup green or brown lentils
1 quart cold water
3 large white onions, sliced into thin half moons
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup basmati or jasmine rice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice

Bring the lentils to a boil in the cold water and then turn the heat down to simmer. Let them cook for about 25 minutes or until they are just about tender. Reserve 1.5 cups of cooking liquid (you likely won't be able to reserve this much, but you can just make up the difference with fresh water), and drain the lentils.

While the lentils are cooking, cook the onions in olive oil until they get nice and soft (the original recipe calls for five minutes, but this took me at least 10). Pull out 1.5 cups of the onions and set them aside. Cook the rest of the onions until they are caramelized and verging on crispy (again, they say five minutes, but it was more like 10 or 15). Drain these on a paper towel and set them aside.

In that same saucepan, add the cooked lentils, the reserved liquid, the softened onions (not the caramelized ones), the rice, salt and allspice. Cook this over low heat, covered, until the rice is tender, which should happen in about 20 minutes. Serve topped with caramelized onions. Sit back while your family applauds your efforts.

Outrageously Good Dinner (with very little effort): Osso Bucco

Yesterday, we took a little family trip to our new grocery store, Mariano's Fresh Market. I am a little bit embarrassed by how excited I was to have this new store open up in our neighborhood, but there you go. I was VERY EXCITED! It's a supermarket, so you can get all of your household supplies, but they also have a terrific bakery, deli counter (they sell Creminelli salami - my former client and maker of the best salami ever), and they feature a nice amount of local produce, with the farm called out clearly on the signage. 

Anyway, I'm also a fan of the meat counter. They have some really great looking stuff, including the insane hunk of meat pictured above. Michael grabbed this while I waited for my number to be called at the deli counter. It is called a volcano veal shank (linked here is a great primer on veal shank cuts) and he asked me to make Osso Bucco. Normally, as you'll see if you click that link, you make Osso Bucco with small slices of the shank, but I figured the recipe would work just as well with the mongo one he bought. I was right - SO good.

The recipe came from Epicurious, and was adapted from Tony Bourdain (link here to naughty picture of Mr. Bourdain for those who appreciate that sort of thing). Osso Bucco is a great meal if you are entertaining, because it can all be made ahead, it tastes amazing, and it is really impressive. We served it with some little roasted potatoes, but I would actually recommend serving it over polenta - I think that would be a much better receptacle for the yummy sauce you'll have.

Osso Bucco

One enormous veal shank or cut up, osso bucco style shanks (one per person if you do the small guys)
flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups dry red wine (we used a pinot noir)
2 cups veal demiglace or chicken stock (i used one cup of each - I found the veal demiglace at the supermarket in the freezer department)
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, smushed up a bit (i used a quart jar of homemade canned tomatoes from my father-in-law)
1 bay leaf

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Lightly dust the shank(s) with flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven (I used my trusty Le Creuset), and brown the shank(s) on all sides over medium/high heat. This should take about 10 minutes total. Remove the browned shank and place on a plate. Add the butter. As soon as it melts, add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute for about 8-10 minutes until the onion softens up. Add the red wine, stirring up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Then, add the stock, tomatoes, and bay leaf and place the shank(s) back in the pot. Bring up to a boil, then cover, and place into the oven for 2.5 hours. 

Remove from the oven when done and take the shank out, placing it on a platter to rest (cover it with foil). Place the pot with all of the sauce in it on the stove over low/medium heat and let it reduce for about 15 minutes. If there is a ton of fat, you can skim some off at this time.

Serve the meat with sauce spooned over top. Enjoy!

My Favorite Kale Salad

I just loved this salad. I feel like it is a LITTLE bit of a cheat because the kale isn't raw (it is lightly steamed), but it is just delicious, and I prefer the steamed texture, especially with the crunchy sunflower seeds on top. Once again, I got this recipe from my amazing Harvest Moons Farm CSA.

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic
1 Tb. extra virgin olive oil
 salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup crumbled feta (ricotta salata would work here too)
1/8 cup sunflower seeds 

Mince the garlic finely, and let it sit for five minutes (apparently this enhances its health-promoting properties - who knew??). Fill a steam with about three inches of water and let it come to a boil over medium high heat. While that's happening, chop your (cleaned and stemmed) kale into 1/2 inch wide slices, and then cut it again crosswise, so you have some nice bite-sized pieces. Once the water is boiling, add the kale to the steamer and cover it, steaming for a total of five minutes.

Transfer the kale (while still hot) to a salad bowl and toss it with the garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Let come to room temperature and serve topped with the feta and sunflower seeds. 

Note: I ate an entire bowl of this myself one day for lunch, so if you are preparing this for a crowd, you might want to multiply the recipe accordingly.

 

The Foodmomiac Summer Salad Dressing

I adapted this recipe from one that was shared in the Harvest Moon Farms CSA newsletter. They send me the newsletter every week, and for every item that is going to be in my CSA box, they provide a recipe. This one seemed too simple to be a stand-out, but I am in love. It is the perfect light vinaigrette for a hot summer day.

The agave syrup was my addition, as the originally recipe called for sugar. If you don't have agave syrup (available at health food stores like Whole Foods), feel free to go back to sugar or try maple syrup.

Simple Vinaigrette

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tb plus 2 tsp. sherry wine vinegar (you can also use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. agave syrup
2 tsp. sea salt

Combine all of the above ingredients in a salad cruet or a jar with a lid, and shake very well to combine. Store in your refrigerator for up to a month. Remove about 30 minutes before use to give the oil enough time to warm up (the dressing will separate in the fridge since it is homemade and doesn't have any stabilizers). 

Strawberry and Rhubarb SORBET!

Last year, Max had only one thing on his list for Santa Claus; A Real Ice Cream Maker. He didn't want toys, he didn't want candy. He just wanted the ability to make ice cream. An ice cream maker is exactly what Max woke up to on December 25, and now the whole family is reaping the benefits.

One of the best features of the model that Santa brought is the fact that it requires zero forethought. Most ice cream makers have a canister that needs to be frozen for 24 hours prior to making the ice cream. The model that Max received has a condenser, so it is always ready to go.

I am actually a much bigger fan of sorbet than of ice cream, so that is the latest obsession around these parts. Last weekend, we made rhubarb sorbet with the fresh rhubarb that we bought at the Green City Farmers Market. This weekend, we made strawberry sorbet. We had to use the strawberries we bought at Costco, as local berries are not yet abundant, but it was amazing, regardless. And when I put one scoop of each in a bowl? PERFECTION!

Rhubarb Sorbet (adapted from a recipe in the June 2005 issue of Gourmet)

2 pounds rhubarb stalks, cleaned and cut into one-inch pieces
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Combine all of the ingredients in a very large pot and let sit for 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally. After the 30 minutes, turn the heat on to low, and cook the mixture for about 10 to 15 minutes.  You want the rhubarb to release about two cups of liquid, and will need to stir it frequently. Once the liquid is released, turn up the heat to medium and cook an additional 15 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Puree the mixture in two batches in a blender (be super careful, as hot liquid in a blender can be dangerous!). Put the puree in a medium bowl, and then place that bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir this mixture occasionally for about 15 minutes until it is cold. (If you don't have tons of bowls laying around, I think you can probably just refrigerate the mixture for an hour.)

Once the mixture is cold, freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers' directions!

Strawberry Sorbet

Just go here and use this recipe - amazing.

Buddy's Meatballs

So... my daughter is obsessed with Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss, the baking show on TLC. Lest you think I'm overstating things, she actually thinks that New Jersey is the greatest state in the country because it is home to Hoboken, and Hoboken is home to Buddy.

Now, I also enjoy the show, but not to her level of obsession (she even follows Buddy on Twitter, reading his tweets with the same enthusiasm as those from her beloved Justin Bieber). Anyway, we were both pretty psyched when we learned that Buddy had a new show, Kitchen Boss. And last night we tried his meatballs. They were AMAZING. Super easy, super delicious. The recipe is here.

We didn't do the full on Sunday gravy thing that he does. I just sauteed them and then put them in a pan with a jar of crushed tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, some water, and a finely minced onion that I sauteed in the meatball grease. This is a new family favorite for sure.