December 2011 Recipe Roundup

1: Cracked crab, salad, sourdough bread
2: Out
3: DALS spicy shrimp* w roasted sweet potatoes, couscous, peas, green salad w pomegranate -- that shrimp is a keeper!
4: Out: King of Thai
5: Maya Kaimal tikka masala w mixed vegetable, chapati - a great back-pocket weeknight meal
6: Mana & Papa: The Frug's black bean steamed cod w brown rice and green beans
7: Pasta Shop Goat Cheese Ravioli w pancetta, sweet potatoes and spinach
8: Bubbe/Cortland Holiday Stroll
9: Cabbage and Kielbasa* over egg noodles (recipe below), Moroccan carrot salad
10: A&R out/Bubbe & MZ
11: Mana's chicken minestrone, Broke Ass Gourmet buttermilk biscuits*
12: The Dinner Files/about Quick Ragu Sauce over spaghetti*, sautéed spinach
13: Mana & Papa: teriyaki cod, brown rice, string beans
14: More pasta w ragu
15: RDA/blinkcrowd Holiday Parties
16: Lasagne
17: Out: Kirin and Tilden Holiday Event
18: Out for Mana's birthday: Dosa
19: Out: Bernal Supper Club (MZ in WC)
20: Out: 1st Night of Chanukah Old World Foodtruck Pop-up (MZ in WC)
21: Family Chanukah Party: latkes, Veggie latkes, Rotisserie chicken from GFC
22: Out: Bernal Hill Chanukah Happening
23: Bear V.: J's spaghetti
24: Bear V.: Breakfast for dinner
25: Bear V.: DALS yogurt-marinated grilled chix, mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli
26: Bear V.: Cook's Country beef stew
27: Bear V.: Leftovers
28: Chicken Soup
29: Brisket empanadas w root vegetable slaw
30: Ravioli w meat sauce
31: NYE!

Successes

• DALS spicy shrimp
• Mark Bittman's buttermilk waffles
• 101 Cookbooks cottage cheese muffins w broccoli, string beans and mustard
• Cabbage and Kielbasa over egg noodles
• BAG buttermilk biscuits
• The Dinner Files/about Quick Ragu Sauce
• Smitten Kitchen lemon yogurt cake

Cabbage and Kielbasa

This dish was so comforting, and ridiculously easy. Our Eastern European roots sighed in happiness.
Chose your favorite sausages (I used TJ's turkey kielbasa), cut into 1/2" dice and brown in pan. Remove and add chopped onions and cabbage sliced into ribbons. Sauté until cabbage is wilted, return sausage to pan, sprinkle liberally with S&P and serve over bowtie pasta or egg noodles or with pan roasted potatoes.

Nov 2011 Recipe Roundup

A bit behind but here's November...

1: Mana & Papa: ahi tuna, roasted potatoes, broccolini
2: Out: El Farolito and Dia de Los Muertos parade
3: Bubbe: chicken stew w couscous, steamed string beans (love her chicken stew!)
4: Bean, faro and cabbage soup, a delicious riff on this
5: Out: Shaun's bday party
6: The Dinner Files spaghetti w tuna + roasted tomatoes, spinach and capers (delicious!)
7: A Little Yumminess seafood curry in a hurry** w/ coconut rice
8: Mana & Papa: chicken cacciatore w egg noodles
9: A&R out: Contigo
10: A&R out: Southpaw**/MZ at Bubbe's
11: Shabbat Dinner at friends'
12: Preschool Potluck Reunion
13: Bittman's Soy-poached chicken thighs*, fried rice, America's Test Kitchen roast sweet potatoes*, Cook's Illustrated chard w Asian flavorings*
14: Mana & Papa: lamb riblets (quite possibly my favorite thing my mom makes), noodles, broccolini
15: Chicken, wild rice and escarole soup -- a delicious riff on a leftover turkey soup in the Chronicle Cookbook 2*
16: BHDS book fair
17: Old school baked veggie enchiladas*, Epicurious citrus collards
18: Ravioli w meat sauce, roasted cauliflower, salad
19: Turkey chili (from the freezer, recipe below)
20: Holiday Kick-off Party at our House
21: Mana & Papa
22: R's bday: steak, scallops w Cook's Illustrated chimichurri*, ahi poke, sauteed green beans, roasted sunchokes*
23: Out: Southpaw BBQ
24: Thanksgiving!
25: Shabbat/Leftovers: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes w turkey gravy, roast sunchokes, diced cucumbers
26: Clam chowder, green salad w pears, blue cheese
27: Out: Gott's Roadside at Ferry Plaza
28: Orangette leftover veggies soup w Brussels sprouts*
29: Mana & Papa: turkey pot pie
30: Out: Gialina

To make again:

• Becky Bakes veggie bread: this is crazy delicious! A keeper and bakes up nicely as muffins.
  

Weeknight Turkey Chili

1 lg yellow or white onion, small dice

1/2 t salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T good quality salt-free chile powder

1 t crumbled Mexican oregano

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. beans, cooked*

1 jar TJs salsa verde (12 oz jar, in sauce section, not refrigerator, see photo at link below)

1.5 salsa jars-full (18 oz) of low sodium chicken broth

Saute the onion in the oil of your choice, salting lightly at the start of cooking. When the onion is transluscent, add the garlic and spices, stir and saute 1 minute. Add the turkey, turning heat to med-high to brown. Break up the turkey as it browns. Add the beans and salsa, stir. Rinse the jar out with the chicken broth and add to the chili. Add more broth as necessary to reach desired consistency. Simmer for 15 minutes to let the flavors develop. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Serve topped with minced white onion, cilantro, lime wedges, hot sauce, sour cream and/or any other favorite chili toppings.

*I made the beans in the slow cooker on Thursday, just plain Rancho Gordo beans with this recipe . You could also use a few cans of pink or white beans, rinsed.

Dinners Week of 03/22

o Sunday: Chicken Vesuvio + Sauteed Greens
A Weight Watchers recipe, this one needs work: the potatoes need to be cut smaller in order to cook in time, and cut down on the rosemary. But R. enjoyed it and it's super-healthy and I love artichokes, so I'll probably try this again.

o Monday: Mustard-Maple Pork Tenderloin + w/w couscous + String Beans
Another easy, delicious Eating Well recipe! Pork and couscous, oh the irony!

o Tuesday: Ground Lamb Kebabs with Basque White Beans + Roasted Brussels Sprouts
A Basque dish that Mana and Papa made together, the kebabs were too spicy for MZ but the beans were delicious!

o Wednesday: Miso Soup with Rock Cod, Bok Choy and Soba Noodles
A super-easy recipe from New Food Fast, R and MZ had this made before I made it home!

o Thursday: Peruvian Grilled Chicken + Grilled Asparagus + Brown Rice
One of Bubbe's specialties, this chicken is great.

o Friday: GFC at SOMAnu-el

o Saturday: Mixed Grill with Friends at Home

Dinners Week of 03/08

o Sunday: Pumpkin-Tomato-Lentil-Merguez Soup + W/w Toast + Green Salad
Lots of house projects, dinner from the freezer

o Monday: Turkey Burgers with BBQ Seasoning on W/w Buns + Roasted Cauliflower + Green Salad

o Tuesday: Mana's Tortilla Casserole + Steamed Asparagus

o Wednesday: Lemongrass Marinated Grilled Pork Bun
Marinated the meat in the a.m., came home and shredded lettuce, carrots, cukes and green onions, cooked some rice noodles and made a dressing from some nuoc cham. A speedy, delicious dinner

o Thursday: Hangar Steak + Mashed Potatoes + Steamed Artichokes
Bubbe made a delicious dinner!

o Friday: Out at Friends' House

o Saturday: Out at Restaurant

Dinners Week of 02/22

o Sunday: Lamb steaks with Penzey's Greek Seasoning + Steamed Broccoli + Boiled Red Potatoes
These may be MZ's three favorite foods

o Monday: Butternut Squash and Turkey Sausage with Whole Wheat Fusilli + Green Salad
I was going to make this baked pasta recipe with cubed roasted butternut squash, but it seemed several steps too many. So I browned the bulk sausage, removed it from the pan, sauteed the onions, added the chard, squash, sausage and olives and some chicken broth and pasta water. Finished it with olive oil and lemon zest. It was delicious!

o Tuesday: Out for Papa's Birthday

o Wednesday: Chile Verde tacos with sour cream, salsa and cabbage slaw
Just one container of chile verde left in the freezer for another quickie dinner. This is the recipe from The Gourmet Slow Cooker Cookbook, made in a big batch and frozen.

o Thursday: Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives + Whole Wheat Couscous + Salad
This is the easiest recipe, I made it on Monday when I worked at home and it was delicious a few nights later. The chicken doesn't need browning yet the flavors are so rich. My only adjustment to the recipe is browning the onions first.

o Friday: Out

o Saturday: Bistro Salmon + Steamed Asparagus + Roasted Potatoes
This simply seared-then-baked salmon recipe in Bistro Cooking is amazing, it completely transforms the texture of the the salmon into something amazing.

Dinners Week of 02/08

This week was dominated by Mexican and Southwestern flavors given food on hand. We broke it up with Asian food and no one seems to mind.


o Sunday: Korean Fish Cakes, Bok Choy and Soba Noodles with Ponzu Sauce, Gomasio & Green Onions (fish from leftover miso-marinated tilapia, based on a recipe in Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen)

o Monday: Leftovers: Chicken Enchiladas from the freezer, Chicken Mole Tamales from All Star Tamales, served with Carribbean Beans & Rice, Green Salad with Pomegranate and Pepitos
The pomegranate seeds in the salad were not a hit.

o Tuesday: Out

o Wednesday: Turkey and Pumpkin Soup
What a grerat recipe! I used sliced turkey cutlets and butternut squash. Easy and delicious.

o Thursday: "Pulled Pork Tenderloin" with Mexican Coleslaw on Whole-Wheat Buns
This is a family favorite, one of the few recipes I don't adjust at all, and that everyone loves. The coleslaw is from The Chronicle Cookbook 2, another Jaquelyn Higuera McMahan recipe.

o Friday: Out at Friends' House

o Saturday: Date Night out

Organizing Ourselves: Dinners Week of 02/01

Anticipating a return to work and trying to be budget conscious, I'm finally settling down into a week of menu planning. I sit down with lists on Sunday evening: what's in the freezer, the produce bin and the pantry; and I come up with the week of menus.


We're in week two and it's working out well. R. and the grandparents know not to touch something if it's on the menu list, everything else is fair game. There's less waste and I'm clearing items out of the freezer with a quickness.

Dinners Week of 02/01

o Monday: Chicken Soup, Salad and Bread
With everyone fighting colds, it's time for cheater's chicken soup: saute some diced onions, then simmer a chix breast in low sodium broth, add diced vegetables (celery, carrots and baby turnips in this case) and pastina or other small pasta. Instant comfort.

o Székelygulyás (Hungarian Pork and Sauerkraut Goulash): Mom's homemade, delicious

o Chicken Enchiladas + Sauteed Greens: The best enchiladas I've ever made, with leftover chicken from a Martha Stewart recipe (left over from the Super Bowl) and the quick sauce option and fillings from Jaquelyn Higuera McMahon's California Rancho Cooking. The carmelized onions made them!

o Kaddo Bowrani

o Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup
I think I've finally perfected this! It's a mish mash of recipes from The Mensch Chef, Loaves & Knishes and Jewish Cooking in America (1st ed.)

3 lbs. flanken shortribs
2 yellow onions, large dice
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes
1.5 T tomato paste
2 qts. water
1 t salt
1 small cabbage, coarsely sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 t sour salt
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring the first 6 ingredients to a boil, simmer together for 1 hour. Meanwhile place cabbage in a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and allow to drain 1 hour. Rinse with hot water, add to pot with remaining ingredients. Simmer 1 hour, adjust seasonings (especially the sugar and sour salt) as desired.

Gung hay fat choy!

This Lunar New Year I finally learned to be okay with making a dish or two rather than a banquet. Enjoyed dinner a great deal more. Also enjoyed these recipes from Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking:

White Radish Salad, made with watermelon daikon from the CSA box. Gorgeous! A little salty, cut the recipe by 1/2 T next time. I sliced the green onions thinly rather than julienned them, for the sake of time. Delicious with the noodles, but also would be great on a banh mi!

Stir-Fried Hokkien Noodles with Prawns, Chilli and Bean Sprouts: I added a red bell pepper, thinly sliced, with the onions. Didn't use the chile but put sambal olek on the table to add as we pleased. I also minced the ginger and garlic, and added them a minute after the onions and peppers, then proceeded with the recipe 30 seconds later.

Crab Season: Crab & Corn Chowder

It's Dungeness season! We always buy one crab per person, and when they're running 2 lbs each and MZ decides she doesn't want crab, we have enough to make one of our favorite soups. I don't get to make this so often that I always remember how, so here's what I did last night, and it worked really well.

We had about 2 cups of cracked and pulled crab meat, so I used the following proportions:

1 thick slice pancetta, fine dice

1 white onion, fine dice

1 rib celery, fine dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T EVOO

1 T butter

3 T flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

2.5 cups fish stock

3.5 cups milk

1 c Yukon gold potatoes, small dice

1 c frozen white corn

2 cups crab meat

1 t minced fresh thyme

Sautee the pancetta on med-low heat till crisp, remove from pan. Turn up heat to med-high. If drippings are minimal, add EVOO. Saute the onions, celery till onion is transparent. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Make well in the center of the pot and add butter, when melted add flour. Stir till a thick paste forms and color turns that of like peanut butter, about 3 minutes. Whisk in cream. When bubbling, add fish stock and milk. Bring to simmer and add potatoes, thyme. Cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Add corn, bring to simmer. Stir in crab meat, return to simmer and serve or chill if serving later.

Steamed Tilapia with Cabbage and Shiitakes

After our Ono Mix Plate fest, something light was needed, and something that would use the odds and ends in our fridge. We always have udon noodles on hand, I buy three-packs of the individual fresh udon without the sauce base whenever I do a Nijiya shop. I also had shiitakes that had dried in the fridge, a few teaspoon-fulls of tobiko left over from Robert's birthday poke, and a quarter cabbage. We picked up a handful of snow peas and some tilapia and I threw this together. It came together quickly, and was satisfying, tasty and healthful.

It was gorgeous topped with the tobiko, pretty enough for a dinner party. We used the shimchimi pepper mixture to give some heat to ours, but just garnished Miriam's with gomasio and gave her some "tiny orange balls" on the side. I would also serve this on soba, top with cilantro if I had it on hand, or replace the cabbage with Napa cabbage. Julienned carrots would be pretty, too, but at that point it stops being a quick/easy recipe.

1 lb. tilapia

6-10 dried shiitakes

2 c. coarsely shredded cabbage

1 handful snow peas, sliced on the diagonal to 1" pieces

2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 t. minced ginger

1/4 c mirin

1/4 c soy sauce

2 T ponzu

1 t sesame oil

Gomasio (store-bought or home-made)

Shichimi Togarishi

Tobiko (optional)

Soak the shiitakes in hot tap water till soft, about 15 minutes. Lay the tilapia filets out on a plate. Bring a medium pot of water to boil.

Slice the veggies: cabbage, snow peas, green onions, garlic and ginger. Combine the garlic, ginger, mirin, soy and ponzu in a small bowl.

Drain the mushrooms (save the mushroom water for another use if so inclined), rinse any grit off, squeeze out moisture. Remove stems and slice caps thinly.

Set up a steamer, bringing water to boil. In a pie plate, place cabbage, then snow peas, then mushrooms and 1/2 green onions. Pour 1-2 T sauce over, and steam five minutes.

Meanwhile, blot any moisture from fish, with a paper towel, then liberally salt and pepper; prepare udon noodles. Place fish over veggie mixture, sprinkling remaining sauce and green onions on top. Steam 10 minutes.

Drain udon noodles and distribute in ramen or pasta bowls. Check fish for doneness. When just cooked, distribute veggies, then fish fillets on noodles, ladle sauce over fish and sprinkle with gomasio and shichimi togarishi, adding a dollop of tobiko if available.

Serves three adults or two adults, one kid with leftovers for one lunch. Delicious with a glass of chilled Gewurtztraminer.