Pesto

I mentioned before in my post about "Pizzadillas" my affection for pesto sauce. I love that garlic-y spread and usually eat enough of it to ward off a vampire attack whenever we have it in the house.  So it could be dangerous that I learned how to make it.

I used a large bunch of parsley and some fresh chives from our herb garden, along with some garlic scapes from the farmer's market, green onions, unsalted almonds, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.  This was a great way to use more of the garlic scapes and our fresh herbs.

Start by finely pulsing the almonds in a food processor.

Rinse off the herbs.  It helps if you have this handy spin-dryer that The Mrs registered for when we got married.

Next add your herbs, cheese, and garlic. Attach the lid, and drizzle in olive oil through the opening at the top until you achieve the right consistency.

I should tell you (warts and all) that I seasoned mine with salt and pepper and used WAY too much salt. It was nearly inedible. This is usually a cardinal sin in any cooking competition we watch on TV. But this brings me to a nice lesson: always taste your food before serving it.  Thankfully I was able to fix it by adding lemon juice and sour cream to counter-act all that salt. I also went out and got more parsley and chives to help.

After I thought I had ruined my pesto, I was relieved to find that my wife thought it tasted good. I had it on some toast to serve with a great seafood pasta I'll be posting soon.  Now I have to be sure to ration the rest so I don't eat it all right away.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Last night on "The Next Food Network Star" the contestants were asked to be resourceful using items found in their pantry to make something delicious.  That is a pretty common occurrence in our house.

I usually pick out a few new recipes that I want to try out during the week.  That often means we have leftovers that can be used other nights of that same week. We probably go out to eat at least 1 night each week. And that leaves 1-2 nights of "fending for ourselves" where we see what else we have on hand.  I was pretty proud of this little gem:

• Frozen chicken patty
• Bag Salad
• Pickled Red Onions
• Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Seasoned Croutons

I heated up the chicken patty, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and then carefully arranged them along with croutons & pickled onions on top of a classic bag salad.  I dressed the whole thing rather liberally with blue cheese dressing and the integral part of anything called "Buffalo Chicken" ... Frank's Red Hot Sauce.

If you haven't discovered Frank's, it is the perfect sauce for Buffalo Chicken. That's really all you need -- the bottle says to mix it with melted butter to make the original Buffalo sauce.  Of course that means this isn't as versatile of a hot sauce, unless you want whatever you're eating to taste like Buffalo Chicken.

Luckily for me, I did.

Could it be any easier? And it looks nice, filled me up, and tasted great.  You could easily pay $8 for a salad like that at Chili's.  And they probably don't have my sweet & tangy pickled onions to compliment that great vinegar hot sauce, and funky blue cheese dressing.

You could top this with some shredded cheese.  And I'm kicking myself right now for forgetting that we have blue cheese crumbles in the refrigerator.  Ooops!

Smoky Stuffed Peppers

Have I mentioned before how much I love smoked cheeses?  Because I do.  I also love some great smoky bacon -- when used in moderation.  As much as I might like to, you can't have bacon every day.  And you really shouldn't have to add it to everything you cook.  But every once and a while it's fantastic.

This was a great way to use some of the sweeter peppers that Farmer Eric gave us.  I used smoked Gouda, bacon, Panko bread crumbs, and tomatoes.  Gouda is a wonderful cheese from my homeland -- The Netherlands. And being from Iowa you know I love to cook with pork.

Cut the cheese into small cubes.  Cook the bacon until it is tender, but not yet crispy. Drain the fat off and dice into small pieces. Then mix them together with Panko bread crumbs, diced tomato, and fresh parsley.  Cut the ends off the peppers and carefully scoop out the seeds and ribs.

I had to use my hands to get the filling stuffed all the way down to the bottom of these peppers.  If you have larger peppers, you can probably use a fork or a long spoon.  Cover the ends with aluminum foil to keep the filling from seeping out during cooking.  The recipe suggested wrapping the entire pepper -- but I wanted to add to the smoky flavors by charring the outside of the peppers on the grill.

Be very careful when you turn these on the grill so your stuffing doesn't fall out.  I wanted to soften the peppers, melt the cheese, and get a nice char on the skin of the peppers.

As you can see I had a couple of the foil covers come off when I was taking them off the grill.  It's not the end of the world -- but you do want to save as much of that filling as possible.

The charred peppers were sweet and smoky.  The bacon and cheese were rich and gooey, with a nice acidic tomato, and some freshness from the parsley. The bread crumbs work to bind everything together into a pretty perfect bite.  

My old roommate the chef happened to call the night I made these, and he thought they sounded delicious.  That makes me feel good.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/8 cup kosher salt
1.5 lb potatoes
2 garlic cloves
3 small sprigs rosemary
1/8 cup white wine (dry)
1 tbsp olive oil
black pepper

Being a Midwestern meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, a dish like this really appeals to me. So I pulled this recipe from a "Cooking with Fresh Herbs" section of our Bon Appétit magazine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then bring vinegar, 1/8 cup salt, and 2 quarts of water to a boil.  Add potatoes, cut into 3/4" wedges. Boil for about 5 minutes, then drain.  The vinegar will help to soften and flavor the potatoes. My wife actually said when we were eating them that could taste the vinegar -- and she really liked that part.

Mix your white wine, garlic, rosemary, and oil in an oven-safe casserole dish. Toss potato wedges to coat, and season with salt & pepper.  Place your rosemary sprigs around the dish so the flavor will infuse the potatoes while they are roasting.

Roast for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and just beginning to brown.

This was a great way for us to use some fresh herbs from our garden.  And I have always loved the combination of rosemary & potatoes.  The white wine, garlic, & vinegar lend a great tangy/briny quality to the potatoes. They come out super tender, and the herbs & seasoning pack a lot of flavor.

These are no ho-hum potatoes, let me tell you.

Steak Fajitas!

I was recently watching an episode of Jerry Seinfeld's online show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" where Jerry told his guest that he had "never been so out-ordered in his life" (at a restaurant).

I think there are few foods that turn more heads and induce an "Oh, I should have ordered that!" response than fajitas.  When you see that hot cast-iron skillet traveling through a restaurant, leaving a delicious steam trail behind, part me of always regrets not ordering one myself.

Thanks to our friend Farmer Eric's pepper planting hobby, we had some nice locally grown bell peppers and spicy peppers to cook up. I bought a sweet candy onion at the Farmer's Market, and I was ready to go!

I sliced the onion and peppers into slightly larger than julienne-sized strips.

I wanted them to be small enough to cook through, yet large enough to give a nice bite when you wrap up your fajita.

Normally I grill almost all proteins in the summer outside. But it was around 96-degrees with unbearable humidity, so I got out my seldom-used cast-iron grill pan.  (This will also assist in the presentation later.)

I heated the skillet up to about medium-high setting because I wanted to flash sere the meat while keeping the inside nice and tender.  I cut up an Angus flat iron steak into bite-sized pieces.

For my meat lovers out there:  doesn't that look beautiful?  Look at that great color and some nice marbling running through (fat = flavor).  Then I liberally seasoned it with cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt,  and pepper.

I put a little vegetable oil in my pan to help with what I'm calling a "flash sere" process.  Vegetable oil is better than olive oil here because it has a higher burning point.  You don't want your oil to burn because a.) you could start a grease fire, and b.) your food will taste acrid.

This was quite a scene, let me tell you. The meat cooked so fast that it literally only took like 2 minutes.  There was so much steam coming off the stove top that I had to open a few windows and really crank up the hood fan.

I transferred the meat to a plate to let it rest.  It will continue cooking a little while resting. And if you have a larger piece of meat, the resting process will help ensure that you don't loose all that wonderful moisture when you slice into it.

I cooked down the peppers & onions in the same pan to soak up some of that great flavor.  I also seasoned them well with salt & pepper.  I let them get almost caramelized to really soften them up and bring out some nice sweetness.

I brought the steaming skillet over to the dinner table and then mixed the meat in with the veggies.  I also heated up some flour tortillas in the microwave at about a 0.7 power level, then covered them with a damp paper towel to keep them warm.

These were fantastic! The steak was super tender, well-seasoned, and juicy. The cumin and spices really gave a great smoky & spicy flavor, and that sered outside gave it a wonderful crust.  We served the fajitas with a little sour cream and some pickled peppers from Farmer Eric's stash.

You can add lettuce, salsa, and hot sauce if you want.  But I would avoid added shredded cheese because then you're moving close into taco territory.  Let the fajita stand alone and your steak, peppers, and onions will shine through.

Sesame Noodles with Chili Oil

"So when are you going to make me those Asian Noodles you've been promising?"

It turns out I made them Sunday night.  We like to have a nice dinner and a movie on Sunday nights to relax in the basement.  It's sort of like a date -- except it's with my wife.  I'd like to think if we were still dating that I could impress her by cooking dinner.  As it stands, I'm just hoping that the key to her heart is through her stomach. ;-)

This recipe looked really good to me and let me buy another ingredient to add to my Asian flavor arsenal:  sesame oil.  I now have fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil to compliment my long-standing stash of pantry ingredients.  That opens up a lot of opportunities to make food that I love to order in restaurants.

These are all the ingredients used here.  And that's right folks, I used Ramen Noodles.  It's a much more grown-up version, though.  And I discarded the flavor packets.  But the noodles are perfect for what I was making.

Start by finely slicing 4 scallions, and then separating the whites from the greens.  Also chop up a Sichuan pepper -- or another spicy pepper of your choosing.  Add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to a pan over medium-low heat and toss in the whites of the scallions, the diced peppers, and 1 Tbsp of crushed red peppers.  If you have sesame seeds, add those as well.  Since I didn't, I just used a dash of sesame oil.

Stir this occasionally and cook for 12-15 minutes until your scallions have turned a golden brown.

Let your chili oil cool in the pan.  Cook your noodles in salted water until al dente, rinse with cold water in a colander, and drain thoroughly.  

Then in a large bowl whisk together 1/4 cup of tahini (sesame seed paste), 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, 2 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. sugar, and 3 Tbsp. of your chili oil.

Add your noodles and toss everything to coat.  Serve it in a wide bowl and top with more chili oil and the greens from your scallions.  I also added a few rings of peppers for a little more texture and presentation.

We served ours with some frozen potstickers that I dusted with brown sugar, cayenne pepper, and a little garlic salt.  I also make my own dipping sauce.

The tahini paste makes your sauce rich & thick.  The chili oil gives it great heat, and the sesame oil & soy sauce really bring home the Asian flavors you'll be expecting.  I thought this was a great noodle dish to eat on the sofa while watching a good movie.  I think it was worth the wait.

Tasty Toasts Two-Point-Oh

I eat a really light breakfast during the week. But on weekends I love cooking breakfast.  It usually involves eggs and a salty pork product, though ... and maybe potatoes.  If not, then I'm making French Toast or pancakes.  Needless to say, none of those options are light or healthy.

So sometimes I feel like having a breakfast that is more than a cold bowl of cereal, but not as heavy or labor-intense as some of my usual choices.  Enter: tasty toasts.

We got this "Quark Cheese" at the co-op recently when I was freeloading and grinding some coffee beans we bought from the Farmer's Market across the street.  I have since bought a coffee/spice grinder, so I'm eager to use that as well.

This is a cow's cheese, but they say it's similar to goat cheese.  Me and The Mrs. love goat cheese. So we thought it would be worth a shot.

It's soft, creamy, and tangy.  In fact, I probably would have guessed it was goat cheese if someone had given me a blind taste test.  So far, so good.

I decided to add a vinegary hot sauce, some sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro to make my second version of "Tasty Toasts".

"Ooooh. Those are pretty!" was my wife's response.

The hot sauce provides a nice heat & acidity level to the toast.  The onions give you a bite -- both literally, and taste-wise. And I just love that aromatic quality that fresh cilantro adds.  I also added a pinch of salt & pepper because I trust Bobby Flay's theory of always using them.  The rich and tangy cheese made this all a flavor-packed little breakfast.

If you used little mini bagels or some type of crostini, these would make an even more striking presentation.  It could be a nice appetizer for a party or a starter for a breakfast.  I think they were great.

What are Garlic Scapes?

I may have invented a new condiment -- or seasoning.  I'm not really sure what to call it.  But the picture above is garlic scapes, shallots, and crushed red pepper flakes sauteed in olive oil.  And it was a delicious addition to the Herbed Pasta dish posted a few weeks ago.

So you're probably asking yourself, "What are garlic scapes?"

I didn't know either until a few years ago.  My wife signed us up for a share of a local CSA (Community Supported Aggriculture).  It was great because each week we would get a bag of fresh produce from a local farm.  They would let you know on Monday what to expect, and then you picked it up on Wednesday. That gave you two days to plan a menu around whatever was harvested that week.

Garlic scapes are the long green onion-looking part of garlic that grows up out of the clove.  Normally people just purchase the cloves for cooking. But the scapes are actually pretty cool too.  They are much milder in flavor, but they are really dense and crunchy.  So you can add a subtle garlic flavor, and some nice texture to a dish.

I have just sliced them up and cooked them down a little and serve them as little crunchy bits, much like a green onion.  But you can also mince them down like you would with the garlic cloves.

The best news is that I got a bunch of them for $1 last Saturday at the farmer's market in Iowa City.  I also minced up some fresh shallot and threw them both into a sauce pan with some olive oil.  Then I added a fair amount of crushed red pepper flakes and let them get a little toasty.  Then I reduced the heat and cooked them through to soften everything up.  It was kind of like a mix of caramelized onions and crushed red peppers, with a garlic flavor running through.

Then I just added the fresh parsley & thyme with a little butter.

And presto!  I added a new kick to a very simple dish that I just couldn't leave well enough alone.

There are several other uses for these little garlic scapes in addition to using them as a substitute for your traditional minced garlic.  You could pickle them, make a pesto, or salad dressing.  I just got a new immersion blender, and I'm looking for excuses to whip that bad boy out.

Quick Pasta Dinner

I mentioned yesterday that my wife prefers when I do the cooking.  But Sunday night was my birthday; so she decided to give me the night off.

Thanks honey.

This is an easy way to get something really tasty on the table.  But there are a few nice touches you can add to give the dish a more home-cooked feel.

She started by sauteing down some onions in olive oil with a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Let the onions "sweat" for a few minutes until they being to look translucent.  The fresh onions and herbs will give a little boost to any pasta sauce.

Luckily we had a home-made sauce in the freezer from when I made too much before.  So really, I contributed too.

But I honestly have to say I have been impressed with some of the pasta sauces available at the grocery store. And they boast 2 full cups of vegetables in every jar.  So parents: if you want to sneak some veggies in on your kids, try some spaghetti.

Once the sauce has heated up and is gently bubbling, toss in some frozen ravioli from the grocery store.  Like I said in the title, this is a quick pasta dish.

Bake a loaf of Italian bread, which can also be found in your grocery store (by the crescent rolls), assemble a quick salad, and top the pasta with fresh parsley and some Parmesano-Romano cheese and you're all set!

After a day basking in the sun at our local pool, I appreciated The Mrs making me dinner. And thanks to a few short cuts, it didn't involve her slaving over a hot oven/stove too much.