The Great American Pastime

Game 3 of the World Series, and obviously, the dinner of choice is Cioppino!



No, just kidding, I really was just craving tomato-y seafood-y salty food tonight, so made a quick detour to Whole Foods on my way home from work to score some misto de mare. I pretty much just made this up as I went along, because basically cioppino is just mixed seafood braised in a tomato/garlic/wine broth. Easy peasy. This is usually served over or with pasta or garlic bread. We served it over steamed spinach.

Cioppino with Steamed Spinach
serves 2-3



1 tsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 T tomato paste
3 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 large tomatoes, diced
2 T parsley, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 c dry red wine
1 6-oz can chopped clams with their broth
1/4 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 lb raw bay scallops
1 small tilapia filet, cubed
1 small calamari steak, sliced into thin strips
1/4 c fresh basil, julienned
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb baby spinach

Parmesan cheese

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the garlic and red pepper in olive oil. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, parsley, oregano, wine, and clams and broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add the remaining seafood and simmer for 5 minutes or until cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Heat cooking spray in a large pan and had the spinach with a few spoonfuls of water. Cover and steam for 5 minutes or until spinach is wilted.
4. Divide the spinach between shallow bowls and spoon the seafood and tomato sauce over the top. Shave parmesan cheese over each serving.

Scallop Ceviche with Pineapple and Basil

I'm back, again, for a brief spell, AGAIN. We're off to Texas next weekend for a wedding, which will bring our flying mileage for the summer to somewhere around 50 kerbillion combined. No more travel for this aero-phobe for at least a couple of months!

After a week of rich fare with my family in Chautauqua, NY (referred to variously as Brain Disneyland, Grandma Sleepaway Camp, or Kulture Kamp for Grown-Ups...), I was ready for some light, homemade food.

I'd been craving ceviche again, so I thought I'd try my hand at some new flavors. It was mighty tasty, if I do say so myself! I'm a fan of the scallop ceviche, and may not ever stray; I did add some poached shrimp this time just to add volume.

Scallop Ceviche with Pineapple and Basil



serves 2

4 oz bay scallops, sliced into bite-sized pieces
4 oz raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp grated lime zest
1/2 c fresh pineapple, diced
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 T red onion, minced
2 T fresh basil, minced

1. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil (enough to cover the shrimp). Add the shrimp and poach for 30 seconds, or until just pink. Immediately remove from the pan and plunge into a bowl of ice water. When cool, cut shrimp into 1-inch pieces
2. In a bowl, combine the shrimp and all remaining ingredients. Marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Serve cold.

Passionate Indian

I've been lugging Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian around for a few days, and I finally opened it today. I had shrimp in the refrigerator that needed to be used up and the recipe for lentil dal seemed to jump right out and ask for a little shrimpy protein.

Menu:
Grilled Curried Shrimp
Lentil Dal
Mr. Panseer's North Indian-Style Spinach

Lentil Dal



While not particularly pretty, this was restaurant-quality. I bet it'll be even better tomorrow. I pretty much made it as written, except I toasted all of the spices first. I don't know if this actually makes a difference, but it sure smells good while it's happening. I also subbed light butter for real.

Serves 4 (1/2 c servings)

3 c water
1 c brown lentils, rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 tsp light butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 T grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
3/4 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp ground turmeric
pinch ground cloves
pinch cayenne
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Bring the water to a boil and add the bay leaf and lentils. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are very soft, about 1 hour. Check occasionally to add water if necessary.
2. While the lentils are cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes, Add the ginger and spices and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the spice mixture to the lentils and cook until the lentils are very soft, thick, and saucelike. Season with salt and pepper.


Mr. Panseer's North Indian-Style Spinach



This recipe calls for a cooking method that goes against all of my vegetable instincts, but I persevered and was rewarded with a mighty tasty dish. I usually like my veggies bright green and lightly blanched, but here the spinach is cooked to death for about an hour. I was afraid it was going to be a disgusting, mushy goo-fest, but actually it ended up turning into an intensely spinach-y aromatic stew-like side dish whose juices would make a lovely soup base. If I hadn't slurped them all out of the pan afterward, that is. I served the spinach over the dal in a bowl and topped the whole thing with shrimp. Rice would also be a good addition to soak up the liquid.

Serves 3

2 tsp clarified butter or vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 serrano chile, diced, seeds and membranes removed
1 T peeled grated ginger
1 T finely minced garlic
2 pounds fresh spinach, well washed, coarsely chopped
2 T water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add half of the chile and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
2. Add the spinach a few handfuls at a time, allowing it to cook down until you are able to add all of it to the skillet.
3. Add the water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over very low heat for 1 hour.
4. Just before serving, spray a small skillet with cooking spray and heat the remaining chile and ginger until very hot. Stir into the spinach and serve.



Grilled Curried Shrimp

Serves 2

12 oz raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 c warm water
2 T kosher salt
2 T sugar
1 c ice
3 T curry powder

1. Brine the shrimp: dissolve the salt and sugar in the warm water and add the shrimp and ice. Brine for 30-60 minutes, then drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Toss the shrimp with the curry powder and grill over high heat for 3-4 minutes or until just pink.
3. Serve over dal and spinach.

Eat that, Ra!!!

So yesterday Nate and I went out for sushi* for a lunch date. We had some particularly yummy gyoza that Nate thought I could probably replicate at home. Not being one to back down from a food challenge, I created our own version of gyoza, minus all of the fried-ness. Except for a minor steaming setback, I think these turned out pretty well, and they weren't really very complicated.

First, a word about equipment. I must give a shout-out to one of the workhorses of my kitchen, the Microplane. This little beauty (actually, I have two of them) gets used several times during the week for citrus zesting, ginger grating**, parmesan shaving, and the occasional nutmeg grind. I have only grated my knuckles a couple of times. Since I cook a lot of Asian-inspired food and have lately been using quite a bit of fruit at dinner (which often finds itself accompanied by grated ginger and/or some form of citrus zest), my microplanes get a lot of use. Get one. They're cheap and fabu.




*(((GASP!!! OMG I KNOW!!! First spinach, then sushi...my work here is done.*** ))))

**I keep a knob of ginger in the freezer and grate it right into whatever dish I'm making. Sometimes I'm too lazy to even peel it, and it works just fine. It keeps forever. Seriously. The 8half-life of frozen ginger is about 2 bajillion years.

***(Well, OK, not done yet, I'm still working on onions.)

Menu:
Shrimp Dumplings with Sesame Dipping Sauce
Vegetable Stir-Fry Over Rice

Shrimp Dumplings with Sesame Dipping Sauce
from Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight

This is a great cookbook. Regardless of whether you're on Weight Watchers, on any kind of diet, or just trying to cook without so much oil and fat, the recipes and methods in here are very useful.



Makes about 36 dumplings

Dipping Sauce
1/4 c reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c seasoned rice vinegar (I used 2 T and it was plenty)
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
pinch crushed red pepper

Dumplings
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used cooked, frozen salad shrimp that came from the freezer section at Fry's)
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 T water chestnuts, chopped
1 T minced peeled fresh ginger
1 T dry sherry
1 T oyster sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg white
36 (3-inch) wonton wrappers

1. Make the dipping sauce: whisk together the soy sauce through red pepper and set aside.



2. To make the filling, process the shrimp through egg white in a food processor until smooth (I seem to have an obsession with pureed seafood).




3. Arrange the wonton wrappers on a work surface.



Place 1 tsp of filling at the center of each wrapper.



Dip your finger in water and paint the edges of the wontons with it, then fold the edges over and pinch together to form the dumpling.



4. Place dumplings on a baking sheet lightly dusted with cornstarch and cover with damp paper towels until ready to cook.
5. Place 8-10 dumplings in a steamer basket and set in a sauce pan over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover tightly and steam until the dumplings are cooked through, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.


Shortly before dissolving into a gooey mess.

***DISCLAIMER*** Steaming the dumplings did NOT work for me; they all glommed together and came out in a gloopy, mushy, albeit very TASTY pile of shrimpy wonton-y goodness. I don't know if I'll ever succeed in cleaning the bits of dumpling from the holes in my steamer basket...

I ended up browning the rest of the dumplings in a skillet with cooking spray, which was much easier and involved far fewer steam burns.

Spinach (I could be convinced to try)...

...wrote Nate in an email the other day outlining which fruits and vegetables he
a)likes
b)dislikes
c)hates
d)hasn't tried but would be willing to taste in the interest of expanding his food repertoire

And lo, this wife's heart went pitter pat at this concession from her veggie-wary husband.

Aaaand about 2 seconds later, I threatened to print out the email, get it notarized and framed, and use it against him for all future time.

SO: we are all spinach all the time here on Flower St. I am going to cook every yummy spinach dish known to man in the hope that I find one he likes.

Pray for me.


Menu:
Grilled Shrimp over Garlicky Lemon Spinach
Mixed Greens and Mango with Lemon Vinaigrette
Grilled Medjool Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese
Grilled Corn


Grilled Shrimp Over Garlicky Lemon Spinach

I love grilled shrimp. It takes no time at all and you can serve it with greens, salad, rice, pasta, you name it. Perfect for summer evenings.




serves 2

Shrimp:
1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp, tails removed
2 c warm water
1 T kosher salt
1 T sugar

Spinach:
4 c baby spinach
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 T water or chicken broth
juice of half a lemon (about 2 T)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Light the grill. While the grill is heating, mix the salt and sugar in the water and add the shrimp to brine (about 15-30 minutes, or however long it takes to get it to the grill).
2. Grill the shrimp in a grill pan over medium heat, about 2 minutes per side. They will be done quickly; don't walk away!
3. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper, cook for 1 minute. Add the spinach and broth and bring to a boil. Cook the spinach until just wilted. Remove from heat and toss with the lemon juice.
4. Arrange the shrimp on top of the spinach and serve.



Mixed Greens and Mango with Lemon Vinaigrette

This was a terrific, light, easy summer salad. I had planned to make it with beets and balsamic dressing, but my beets were bad and the mango was ripe, so I changed the dressing to lemon and came up with this. It would probably also be very good with peaches or nectarines or maybe even strawberries. Slices of grilled or poached chicken would make it into a very easy, more substantial lunch.



serves 2

1/2 tsp lemon zest
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
2 c baby spinach
2 c baby arugula

1. Whisk together the lemon zest, juice, honey, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
2. Toss the dressing with the mango, goat cheese, and greens.

Grilled Medjool Dates Stuffed With Goat Cheese

These were inspired by a dish at one of my favorite Phoenix restaurants, Tuck Shop. They serve dates stuffed with chorizo and cheese and drizzled with some sort of dressing, and I have to really hold back from licking the plate right there in the middle of the resturant. I saw dates at the store today and thought I could make a stab at my own lightened version.

UM. OH MY GOODNESS. CAN ANYONE SAY "CANDY FOR DINNER?"
Holy Bites Of Sin, Batman.



serves 2, if you can bear to share.

4 large Medjool dates, pitted
1/2 oz soft goat cheese, divided
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste

1. Stuff each pit cavity with goat cheese.
2. Thread the dates onto two parallel metal skewers. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Grill over hot coals, slit-side up, for about 2 minutes, or until lightly charred.
4. Devour.


Ha! In my excitement over the spinach, I almost forgot about the Fruit-stravaganza that is taking place in our house. Nate has put me in charge of finding fruits that he will like. So I buy lots of different fruits and we eat them together, with me being the judge of whether a particular piece is a good representative (i.e., mealy pears are bad reps of their kind and we wouldn't want to write them off completely based on one bad seed).

So far, the list of approved fruits includes:
cherries
nectarines (but not peaches)
pineapple
grapes
apricots
apples
strawberries
plums
lemons/limes (although I think these were approved as drink garnishes...)

Let the record show that Nate can no longer be called a veggie-hating, fruit-avoiding, pizza-and-hamburger-subsisting beige-food-only eater. I support this endeavor and am proud of his eagerness to try new stuff!