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.

A 3-Kid Hit! Udon Soup with Turkey Meatballs

You would think that we wouldn't want anymore turkey this weekend, but here it is Saturday and we're having turkey already. But turkey in a very different form, one that was a huge hit with all three kids at the table, and with the adults as well. This recipe is a riff on one from Sarah Marx Feldner's A Cook's Journey to Japan, which appeared on the fabulous blog The Kitchn last week, combined with a standbye originally riffed from a Donna Hay recipe.

This is slightly more complicated than my typical weeknight fare, what with the mixing and shaping of the meatballs, but it is definitely going into the regular rotation for nights when we have a but more time, but want something warm and soothing.

For the meatballs:
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 scallions, sliced thin
1 t minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon shichimi togarashi, or to taste
1 lb ground turkey
2 T matzo meal

For the soup
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
4 coins ginger
2 T white or dashi-style miso
3 cups sliced Napa cabbage, white stems separate from the leaves
3 scallions, thinly sliced
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup hot water till softened, de-stemmed and sliced into thin strips
2 T soy sauce

4 packets udon noodles (fresh or frozen) without seasoning packet*

Make the meatballs: Combine the egg and seasonings ingredients in a small bowl. Add the turkey, mix to combine, add the matzo meal and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Cook the noodles: Bring a pot of water to boil and cook one minute less than package instructions suggest, about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Set aside.

Make the soup: Combine the broth, water and ginger coins and bring to a simmer. Add the miso, stirring until it dissipates into the liquid.

Meanwhile, form the turkey mixture into small 1 teaspoon balls, placing on waxed paper or a plate after forming.

Reduce the broth mixture to medium and add the meatballs. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook 4 minutes. Add the cabbage stems and cook 1 minutes, then add the cabbage leaves, scallions and udon. Cook 1 minute more to heat through.

Serve garnished with gomasio or shichimi togarishi.

* I buy udon in 3-packs from the refrigerator section at Nijiya Market.

Chickpea and Chard Soup

This soup is what happened when I couldn't decide between two different soups, Heidi Swanson's Chickpea Hot Pot and Eating Well's Aromatic Middle Eastern Soup.

My only complaint about the recipes on 101 Cokbooks is that they are often too sweet for us, and we all love the warmth of Middle Eastern spices. I had just this amount of bulgur to use, as well as a bunch of chard from our farm box so it was convenient, came together quickly and was absolutely delicious.

I had a number of lingering allium in the fridge, so I made this with a shallot, 1.5 leeks sliced into thin quarter-rounds, two spring onions sliced thinly and 2 stems of green garlic, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced. But that would be a high-maintenance recipe, and I think it will be equally delicious with the yellow onion and a shallot.

I made it the night before for a quick weekday dinner with salad and a loaf of crusty whole grain bread.

1.5 T EVOO

1 medium yellow onion, small dice

1 shallot, small dice

1 t each ground cumin, coriander

1/4 t each turmeric, salt, black pepper, ground ginger

1 pinch each cinnamon and aleppo pepper or chile pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup bulgur

5 cups veg bouillon* or low sodium chicken broth

1 can chickpeas, drained

3 c chard, stemmed and cut into thin ribbons

1 T lemon juice

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, add onion and shallot and saute till just softened. Add spices and garlic, stir and saute 1 minute.

Add 1 T water, saute, stirring, until water evaporates, and add bulgur. Stir until bulgur is well coated with spices and oil, and add the broth, bring to a simmer, and add the chickpeas. Bring to a simmer.

Simmer about 10 minutes, until the bulgur softens. Add the chard, stir and simmer till chard is tender. Add lemon juice and serve. If you are waiting a day to serve, add lemon juice when you reheat the soup to prevent the chard from turning gray.

* This is an easy recipe that makes TONS of bouillon that keeps well and stays very spoonable in the freezer. It's completely revolutionized my veg cooking. Use 1 t for every cup of water.

Carrot Lentil Soup

1.5 T EVOO
1 bunch carrots (or more), cut into pieces
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 rib celery, coarse dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 t ea toasted and ground cumin and coriander
1 t ea smoked paprika, ground ginger and salt
1/2 t black pepper, finely ground
1/4 t ea turmeric, cloves and cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
4-6 cups Chix or vegetable broth
Sherry vinegar or lemon juice
Creme fraiche (optional)

1/2 cup French, black or green lentils
1/2 onion, big dice

Heat EVOO in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven, add carrots, onions and celery, medium heat. Stir to combine. Cover and sweat vegetables ~5 minutes, until just softened. Add spices and garlic, stir to combine. Add 1-2 T water, stir to form a paste with the spices, saute until liquid reduces. Add 4-6 cups of broth, depending on amount of vegetables, and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, place lid askew, and simmer till vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile cook 1/2 cup of rinsed black or green lentils with the remaining 1/2 onion till just firm.

Puree the carrot mixture, add the lentils and season to taste with salt and sherry vinegar. Serve drizzled with creme fraiche if desired.

This is also good with browned, crumbled merguez, but then what isn't?

Speedy Deliciousness: Miso Udon Halibut Soup

This is so easy and so good we have it every few weeks. R and MZ put it together while I make my commute home, it takes all of 15 minutes. We buy organic fresh udon noodles without the soup base, I usually get them at Nijiya but I recently saw them at the SF CostCo in the refrigerator section. There are three servings to a package, which easily makes enough noodles for four. The noodles and miso have a long shelf life, so we always have them on hand. It would also be good with tofu or thinly sliced chicken breast, the recipe remains just as speedy (add the chicken a minute or two before you add the sliced greens). Great with shiitakes or other vegetables if you have the extra time, but the idea is to keep it quick so we try not to add too many flourishes. MZ loves it best with Napa cabbage and halibut, in general kids love the big fat udon noodles.

4 T white miso paste

2 t fish sauce

2 T soy sauce

6 cups warm low-sodium chicken broth

3-4 slivered green onions, white and green parts separated

1 lb firm fish such as halibut or rock cod, cut into bite-size pieces

Four good handfuls of sliced quick cooking greens such as baby bok choy, Napa cabbage or spinach

3 servings fresh udon noodles (see above)

Gomasio for garnish

Bring a medium pot of water to boil and cook udon noodles per package directions.

Meanwhile, bring chicken broth to simmer, add miso, fish and soy sauces and the white part of the green onions. Return to simmer, cook 1 minute and add fish and greens. Cook 2 minutes.

Drain noodles, place a serving in each bowl and ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining green onions and gomasio and serve.

Dinners Week of 07/19

Robert away, but MZ and I ate well...

Sunday: Potato-Sorrel Soup and Heirloom Tomato Salad

A Greens recipe, completely violated by a bit of pancetta and low-sodium chicken broth. Potatoes from the farm box and sorrel from the garden!

Monday: Moki's with friends

Tuesday: Mission Beach Cafe for Barbecue Night! (MZ at g'parents)

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Chile con Carne with Salsa Cruda, red cabbage coleslaw and corn muffins

The basic chile recipe from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook made with lean ground beef, cooked all day. Salsa from the tomatoes, cilantro and red onions from the CSA box. Mana made the cornbread, but next time I'll prep the wet and dry ingredients in the morning, the muffins bake in just 18 minutes.

Thursday: Teriyaki pork tenderloin, microwave-baked yams, stir-fried zucchini and Korean cucumber salad

Friday: Hula's in Monterey (definitely worth a return visit)

Saturday: Roasted cherry tomato and shredded chicken pasta

Leftover roast chicken, a dozen or so cherry tomatoes, sauteed scallions and garlic and some chicken broth worked well together. I topped mine with goat cheese, MZ opted for Parmigiano.

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 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.

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.

Tomatillo Pork Stew, A Steak and a Soup

I made a pork and tomatillo stew earlier in the week, a variation from a real recipe in a slow-cooker cookbook. I had Niman Ranch pork shoulder and decided to go the easy way with jarred salsa and a can of green enchilada sauce. I should have known better, it was good, but kind of flat and one-dimensionally salty in spite of the browned onions, chile and 1/2 bottle of beer I added. I won't take that many shortcuts in one recipe again.

Tonight was skirt steak, grilled out in the wind, and Beets Two Ways. This is what we call it, I habitually buy beets with the greens, and we make a roasted beet with blue cheese salad as well as sauteed beet greens. I roasted the beets during MZ's nap, and sauteed the greens while the meat was resting. R. grilled the meat and made the salad, so it was a pretty easy dinner, along with some roasted purple potatoes.

I've been trying to get a grip on our refrigerator. It was good to get those potatoes used up, as well as some russets that have been sitting around since Chanukah, a bunch of leeks, some chicken stock left over from stretching S's fabulous matzo ball soup, and a ham steak I bought, then rejected, for my New Year's black eyed peas. I started off making potato leek soup, rustic-style with the potatoes lightly broken up rather than fully pureed. I added some ham and then couldn't resist throwing in some frozen spinach. No dairy, and it's hearty enough for a meal with some good bread and a salad. A keeper.