Deconstructed Chicken Parm and Brussels Sprouts with Port-Balsamic Reduction

Today was a lazy football Sunday. You're lucky I cooked anything, because there was a serious temptation to spend the whole day eating nachos and napping on the couch. This dinner was cobbled together out of necessity, as I did not feel like going to the store. There was some freezer and cabinet scrounging involved, and things turned out pretty well.

Menu:
Deconstructed Chicken Parmesan
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Port-Balsamic Reduction
Quinoa


Deconstructed Chicken Parmesan



serves 2

1 bone-in, skinless chicken breast
2 T kosher salt
2 T sugar
1/4 c white-colored vinegar, flavored if available (I used citrus champagne vinegar)
1/2 c jarred pasta sauce (I used Muir Glen Tomato Basil)
1 oz part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1 oz shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the grill to high with the coals moved to one side.
2. While the grill is heating, brine the chicken: Dissolve the salt and sugar in enough water to cover the chicken in a bowl. Add the vinegar and chicken.
3. Sear the chicken over direct heat, about 3 minutes per side. Then move it to indirect heat and cook until done, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and slice. Place slices over quinoa (or rice or pasta) and top each serving with pasta sauce and half of each of the cheeses. If you're feeling really ambitious, heat the plate in the microwave to melt the cheese.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Port-Balsamic Reduction

This was very tasty, easy, and Nate-approved! The reduction probably could have gone without the honey, since the it ended up quite sweet, likely due to the port. We brought a lovely blackberry port wine back with us from Salt Spring Island and I'm glad I finally broke it open. Probably any port or red wine would work here.



1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c port wine
1 T honey
1 lb brussels sprouts, halved
1/2 of a medium onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Bring the vinegar and wine to a boil in a small sauce pan.
2. Stir in the honey.
3. Boil until reduced to a thin syrup; it will thicken as it cools.



4. Combine the brussels sprouts, onion, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a large piece of foil. Fold it up into a packet and place over high heat on the grill.
5. Roast, stirring once halfway through, for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked and there are a few blackened bits.
6. Serve with drizzles of the balsamic reduction.

Quinoa

makes 4 servings, 1/2 c each

1 c quinoa
2 c water or broth

1. Bring the water to a boil and add the quinoa.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.



Suspicious. But hungry for tasty morsels.

It's important to have cookies in the house at all times.

My mom says so. So what did I do on this brisk autumn day of 105 degrees? I baked. And it was really hot in my kitchen. I like to think I was sweating out the calories.

I baked because I have a serious condition called Bittmanopathy. I am completely incapable of NOT making a recipe that Mark Bittman posts in the NY Times. Yesterday he posted a recipe for Savory Cheddar Biscotti, and wouldn't you know it, now they are cooling on my counter.

Fie on you, Mark Bittman! Fie!

I made a savory and a sweet version, and they were both fabulous. AND, I used all whole wheat pastry flour, because YES, I'm still trying to use up that gigantic bag. I've made biscotti before, and I forgot how easy they are. Aside from the long cooking time (they are twice baked), they are a cinch, and it's simple to make small batches of different flavors. I look forward to making more.



And then eating them.

Jalapeno Cheddar Biscotti
adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe in the New York Times

makes 8 cookies

1 egg
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c plus 1 T whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 small jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded and minced

1. Heat the oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whirl the egg and the cheese together in a food processor until golden and smooth.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the egg mixture and pulse 3-4 times until just incorporated.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until you can shape it into a log. It will be crumbly at first.
5. Place the log on the parchment paper and flatten it slightly.
6. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch.


After the first bake.

7. Cool for 10 minutes, slice on the bias into 1/2" slices, and arrange them in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip them over, and bake for 15 more minutes or until hard and lightly toasted.





Almond Cardamom Biscotti

makes 8 cookies

1 egg
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 c sliced and toasted almonds
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whirl the egg and the sugar in the food processor until golden and smooth.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse 3-4 times until just incorporated.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until you can shape it into a log. Add more flour as needed.
5. Place the log on the parchment paper and flatten it slightly.
6. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch.
7. Cool for 10 minutes, slice on the bias into 1/2" slices, and arrange them in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip them over, and bake for 15 more minutes or until hard and lightly toasted.

Southern Comfort

Oh dear, Poor Elaine must be positively wasting away on her diet of corn cobs and dirt while I neglect my duties to feed her....Sorry, E, it's been a busy few weeks. We've been eating, and even cooking some, but what with vacations, work, house stuff, and the general silliness that is the way-too-short-24-hour-day, I just haven't had the motivation to report.

But I'm back on the wagon, and it is good.

I was craving some Southern homestyle food last night for who knows what reason, so I whipped up a mighty tasty cornbread pudding with greens, cooked Southern style (i.e., to death), and topped the whole mess off with some grilled shrimp. Honestly, the shrimp was such an afterthought compared to the substantially filling pudding that next time I wouldn't even bother.

And, ooh! I was just brilliantly inspired! This would probably make a fabulous stuffing for Thanksgiving: omit the milk and eggs and moisten everything with broth before stuffing the bird. Drool.

I'm a little proud of this one, I have to say. Enjoy.

Menu:
Smoky Cornbread Pudding
Steamed Greens
Sliced Tomatoes

Smoky Cornbread Pudding

This was a star. Not only was it beautiful and scrumptious, but it necessitated coming up with my very own cornbread recipe that rivals any store-bought version. AND I used some of my bottomless supply of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, so I give myself points for that.

I had originally made a batch of cornbread using some cornbread mix I had in the cupboard. It tasted kind of bitter and dry after baking, and when I checked the expiraiton date on the bag, it was 2 years expired...now, I'm not usually one to get all hot and bothered over a little thing like an expiration date on a dry good, but I had already had two servings of milk from a jug in the fridge that both Nate and I agreed had gone bad but kept drinking anyway, and even though I have (so far) survived that gastric challenge (it was a whole gallon! What a waste!), I didn't think I should push it with the Bad Food Gods. So I tossed the cornbread and scrounged for another option. And here it is. Love.

My Very Own Cornbread

makes 16 pieces

2 eggs
1 T canola oil
2 T honey
1 c buttermilk
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c stone-ground cornmeal
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and honey.
2. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
3. Pour the batter into an 8x8" baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.



Cornbread Pudding

This is a dry-ish bread pudding, which I thought was fine. But if you prefer a moister, less crumbly version, try increasing the eggs and milk and letting the bread cubes soak in the egg/milk mixture for a few minutes before mixing everything together.



serves 6

4 c cubed cornbread
7 oz turkey kielbasa
1/2 of a medium onion, sliced into fat rings
1 poblano chile pepper
2/3 c skim milk
1/3 c packaged egg whites, or the whites from 2 eggs
corn kernels from 1 cob, about 1 cup
1/4 c cilantro, minced

1. Heat the grill to medium. Place the poblano chile, sausage, and onion over medium heat and grill until char marks appear (the chile should be lightly charred and blistered). Remove from the grill.
2. Peel the skin from the chile, remove the stem and seeds, and dice.
3. Dice the sausage and onion.
4. Toss the cornbread, corn, sausage, chile, onion and cilantro in a large bowl. Transfer to an 8x8 baking dish coated in cooking spray.
4. Stir together the milk and the egg whites and drizzle over the cornbread mixture.
6. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 20 minutes.



Steamed Greens

I usually like my greens lightly blanched and still mooing when I eat them, but sometimes I have a hankering for Southern-style stewed greens. Tougher greens like collards or chard hold up a little better, but this work for spinach, too.

serves 4
3 cloves garlic, minced
cooking spray
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 c chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
8 c chopped greens: collards, mustard, kale, chard, spinach, or a combination

1. Saute the garlic in the cooking spray for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the red pepper.
2. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
3. Add the greens, a few cups at a time, cover the skillet, and let them cook down for a minute or two until you have enough room to add more. When all of the leaves have been added, cover the skillet and turn the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until uniformly dark green and very very soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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.

Marinated Grilled Okra.

Lunch today was a cup of borscht (I'm going to freeze the rest...I'm a little beeted out.) and grilled okra. The Phoenix Public Market was overflowing with okra today, so I thought I'd give it a try.



If you're like me and have only ever had the slimy version coated in cornmeal and deep-fried, then definitely branch out and give this version a try. It was flavorful, crisp, and certainly not the gelatinous globbiness that I remember from the last time I had okra.

Tomorrow I'm off to Chautauqua, NY, for the week, where I will be attending summer camp for grown-ups with my family. While I'm sure I will be eating well (and lots!), I'm also pretty sure I won't be cooking any of it. You're on your own, Elaine...

Marinated Grilled Okra
adapted from The Passionate Vegetarian

Yes, another recipe from PV. I have it on loan from the library, and there are so many good recipes in there that I want to try them all before I have to return it! Sigh...I'll probably just end up buying it...

Crescent lists three different marinades for grilled okra, but I just combined two of them to use up some ingredients on hand. This dish would be a perfect side to accompany any kind of grilled steak or as part of a grilled vegetable cornucopia. I imagine it would also be excellent as part of a salad or salsa with grilled tomatoes and corn.

serves 1-2

6 oz fresh okra
2 tsp olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1 clove garlic
5-6 large basil leaves
1/4 c fresh cilantro
4-5 cherry or grape tomatoes

1. Set the okra in a flat baking dish.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to a food processor and process until uniformly chopped. Spread over okra and marinate for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
3. Heat the grill to medium-high. Place marinated okra over direct heat and grill about 4 minutes per side, or until char marks appear and the okra is soft.
4. Serve whole.

Beetstravaganza!

I have been informed that Elaine does not care for beets. And she's RUSSIAN. Oh well, Elaine is going to have to put up with at least one more beet-centric recipe, because I'm going out of town and I'm pretty sure Nate won't eat them. And darn it, I worked HARD to roast those things!

Plus, Elaine, you have to admit, beets are hands-down the prettiest vegetable out there. I mean, what other brilliantly pink food can you eat that isn't of the sugar-coated marshmallow variety*? Check it:



*Don't misunderstand...I am a card-carrying Peeps lover.

Menu:
Borscht
Garlic-Herb Braised Cod
Spanish Millet

So if you have a bunch of cooked beets sitting around waiting to be used up, and it's a hundred-and-umpteen degrees outside for the 75th day in a row, you just have to make borscht. And you have to serve it in a bone-china white soup bowl, because there just isn't a prettier pink in nature. This recipe was adapted from another great cookbook, The Silver Palate Cookbook. I've written it as I made it, which involved cutting down the ingredients to make about 3 1c servings.

Borscht
adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

serves 3

2 1/4 c cooked beets, cubed
2 c water
1 T sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3c milk
6 T light sour cream

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the beets, sugar, lemon juice, and salt and lower to a simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. While whisking, gradually add 1/4 cup of the beet mixture to the egg mixture. Turn the heat back on under the beat mixture and stir in the egg mixture just enough to heat through.
4. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for several hours until very cold. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, sugar, or lemon juice as needed.
5. To serve, ladle 1 c soup into a bowl and top with 2 T sour cream.


Garlic-Herb Braised Cod



Nothing fancy here, just an opportunity to use up some wilting herbs from the refrigerator. Any combination that you like would work.

serves 2

1 T each minced basil, parsley, tarragon, and cilantro
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
2 4-6 oz cod fillets
2 T white wine or chicken broth

1. In a small bowl, combine the herbs, oil, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add the cod fillets and saute quickly on each side, about one minute per. Divide the herb mixture over each fillet, drizzle the wine over the fillets, and cover.
3. Braise for about 5 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately, spooning the cooking liquid over each serving.


Spanish Millet
adapted from Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian



1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced into thin vertical crescents
1 green bell pepper, diced (I used a roasted poblano pepper* here)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c cooked Basic Fluffy-Style Millet**
Tabasco sauce to taste
3 T tomato paste

*1. To roast a poblano pepper, which I far prefer to using bell peppers: from fresh or frozen, place the pepper over a heat source (hot grill or gas stovetop flame) and roast until the skin is blistered and lightly charred, turning frequently. If you do this over your gas stovetop, be careful of pepper juice dripping onto the burner. Allow the pepper to cool and peel the bits of char off before dicing.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and pepper and saute for 1 minute.
3. Fold in the millet, cover, and heat through for about 5 minutes.
4. Mix in the Tabasco and tomato paste until fully incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


**Basic Fluffy-Style Millet
Follow the same recipe as for Basic Moist-Style Millet, but reduce the water to 2 cups and the cooking time to 18 minutes.

Beets, Beets, Beets!

Tonight's meal was taken again from Crescent Dragonwagon's book, Passionate Vegetarian. The Phoenix Public Market (which, if you live in Phoenix, you should make every effort to support on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings--even if you only go to sample the wares from the traveling creme brulee truck...) had beautiful, huge beets aplenty and I bought enough to make us bleed red for quite a few days.

A word about beets: I love them. They are pretty, they are great for you, they are versatile, they taste like you are eating everything good borne from the earth...but they are also MESSY. And honestly, while I'm all in favor of cooking from scratch and earning bragging rights for doing things like churning your own butter and making your own mayonnaise even thought it tastes exactly the same as Land-o-Lakes and Hellman's, this is a case where you can save yourself some time and bleach by simply buying the prepackaged version.

I roasted my beets. By the time I was done, my fingers were fuscia, my kitchen looked like the scene of a small massacre, and my roasting pan had burned beet sugar coating the bottom of it.

Trader Joe's has cooked, vacuum-packed beets available in the refrigerated section that I have kept on hand for salads and whatnot, and next time I want some beets in a pinch, I will reach for those again. Not to say I won't roast my own again, but definitely not on a weeknight. Heck, for all I know canned (gasp!!) beets might be just as good as the original, too. Sounds like some experimentin' is in order!

Menu:
Scallioned Beets and Their Greens in Herbed Mustard Sauce
Outrageously Good Pan-Crisped Millet-Vegetable Cakes


Scallioned Beets and Their Greens in Herbed Mustard Sauce



This was a very tasty and colorful vegetable side, but not worth the time it took to prepare the beets. I would definitely use pre-cooked next time. Also, my beets did not come with their greens, so I used kale instead. And finally, this is Whooo! Mustardy! And I love mustard! If you are at all mustard-phobic, this is not the dish for you. Next time I might temper it a bit with some honey or something. There was a whole lotta tang in this recipe. I've re-written the recipe as I made it (which basically just means I cut it in half and actually measured my beets).

Serves 3, generously

1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 c vegetable stock
1 1/2 T course-ground Dijon mustard
2 T reduced-fat sour cream
1 tsp butter or olive oil (I omitted this and used cooking spray instead)
3 scallions, white and light green parts, minced
1 bunch (whatever came off the beets) beet greens, washed, stems finely diced, and leaves sliced into ribbons (I did not have greens and substituted a bunch of kale leaves)
1 pound Basic Baked Beets (to follow), cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 T minced fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine the cornstarch with 1 T of the stock to dissolve, then whisk in the remaining stock. Stir in the mustard and sour cream. Set aside.
2. Melt butter or spray cooking spray in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions and greens and saute for 1 minute, then cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and add the beets and garlic to the pan and toss until just heated through, about 1 minute.
3. Whisk the mustard mixture. Quickly stir it into the beets. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is hot and thick, 1 minute at most. Stir in the herbs and taste for seasonings.

Basic Baked Beets
Servings variable

Whole fresh beets, all about the same size, greens removed and scrubbed.
mild vegetable oil, such as corn, canola, or peanut (I omitted this)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lightly coat each beet with oil (This was not necessary). Individually wrap the oiled beets in sheets of foil.
3. Place the beets in a baking dish in the preheated oven.
4. Bake until done, testing with a fork (the fork should go in easily, but the beet should still offer a tiny bit of resistance). This could be 35-90 minutes. I'd say mine took about 45 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool (or you can opt to do as I did and burn your fingerprints off trying to skin the hot beets because you are too hungry to wait). Unwrap and peel with a vegetable peeler or slip the skins off with your fingers.

Outrageously Good Pan-Crisped Millet-Vegetable Cakes



OK, I wouldn't classify these as "outrageously" good. They were Satisfactorily Good. As veggie burgers go, they were unusual because of their color and the addition of tahini. They were filling and very tasty. They called for ingredients that I would not have thought to include in a veggie burger and thus helped me branch out a bit (beets, millet). However, they were very soft and they took a long time to brown, and I got impatient and took them off before they were truly "pan-crisped." They might very well fall apart if eaten as a burger between bun halves. That being said, I would make them again and I'm glad I made the whole recipe so I could freeze the leftovers.

Makes 6 cakes

1 small beet
1 carrot
3 c Basic Moist-Style Millet (to follow)
1/2 c canned navy beans, rinsed and drained
2 T tahini
4 cloves garlic, peeled and split
juice of 1 lemon (all I had was a lime, this worked fine)
1 T soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

1. Using the grating blade of a food processor, grate the beet and carrot. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl containing the millet. Set aside.



2. Without washing the processor, replace the grater blade with the S blade. Add the beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Process until very smooth. Work the mixture into the millet, using your hands. Taste and add salt, pepper, or more soy sauce if needed.
3. Shape the mixture into 6 patties.
4. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until quite hot, then add the cakes and lower to medium. Cook slowly, 8-9 minutes, before gently flipping. Cook on the second side until crisp.

Basic Moist-Style Millet
makes 4 cups

1 c millet, well rinsed and rained
3 1/4 c water or vegetable stock
1/2 tsp salt

1. Over medium heat, in an ungreased cast-iron skillet (or stainless steel), toast the millet, stirring frequently, until lightly fragrant but not browned, about 2-3 minutes. This may take 7-9 minutes if it is still damp from rinsing. When it's reached the proper degree of toastiness it will also sort of skitter around the pan. Remove from heat.



2. In a pot with a tight-fitting lid, bring the water or stock and salt to a boil. Stir in the toasted millet. Return to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook until the millet is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 25-30 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.