Spicy Blanched Broccoli

So we know you can eat Broccoli Baked and of course you can eat it raw...How else can you prepare it?!  How about Blanched?

I'm not talking about the Golden Girls here...its a legitimate way to cook vegetables. And its fairly easy.

Blanching is a cooking method where-in you immerse a raw food into boiling water for a brief period of time, draining it and then arresting the cooking process by immersing it in ice water. As mentioned before - broccoli is best only lightly cooked.

You will need:

A Large pot
A Colander
A Container with a tight fitting lid
A small bowl (for mixing the dressing)
A larger bowl (for the ice water bath)

Ingredients needed (for 1 serving):

1 Cup Broccoli, chopped
1-3 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1-3 tsp Hot Chili Paste
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Diced Garlic
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 dash Salt
2 Tbsp Pine Nuts, toasted

Ice Cubes

Directions.

1. Fill the large pot with slightly salted water. Bring it to a rolling boil.

2. While waiting for the water to boil, chop your broccoli into florets. You can cook the stalks this way too or you can reserve them for a different recipe, or you can toss them. I have even seen grocery stores that offer fresh broccoli crowns without the stalks!

3. Drop the florets into the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes (you can adjust this time to your own preference on how cooked you like your broccoli)

4. Put the ice cubes in the bowl and add water - so that you have a ice water bath for your broccoli to go into.

5. Drain the broccoli in the colander

6. Put the broccoli into the ice water and chill for a few minutes. You can take the ice bath and put it in the fridge overnight if you like.

7. While your broccoli chills out, mix the remaining ingredients except for the pine nuts. This is your spicy dressing. These amounts are approximate and you should taste it as you make it to adjust it to your personal preferences. Recipes are alot like the Pirates Code - more like guidelines really. (You could even skip this whole step and eat the broccoli plain, or substitute your favorite salad dressing)

8. Drain the broccoli again. Then put it in the container with the tight fitting lid and add the dressing. Close it up and give it a good shake. This distributes your dressing on the broccoli more evenly.

9. Top with the toasted pine nuts and enjoy!

Its great hot or cold!

Asparagus Blue Cheese Pasta

It is Spring!!

Farmer's Market is in full swing and it is time to learn what to do with all the wonderful items showing up at the market right now.

Asparagus.

Asparagus, like opportunity, is not a lengthy visitor. Only available for a few weeks in early spring these tender shoots are a real delicacy.

They are fantastic roasted or grilled, very easy to steam or pan fry. You can use them anywhere fresh green veggies are welcome...stir-fry, pasta, salad, etc.

My favorite thing to do with them is...Blue Cheese and Asparagus Farfalle

You will need:

A Pasta Pot
A colander
A Cutting Board
A Knife
A small oven safe pan
Small pan
Spoons

Ingredients needed (for 4-6 servings):

1 pound Farfalle (Bow Tie) Pasta
1 pound Shallots
1 pound Asparagus
½ pound of Blue Cheese
5+ cloves of Garlic
1 Cup of Dry Vermouth
1 cup of Panko (or other bread crumbs)
Some Olive Oil
Some Butter

Directions:

1.Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
2.Slice the shallots and place them in the oven dish. Peel the garlic and add to the dish. Drizzle with olive oil and top with vermouth.
3.Get the water boiling in your pasta pot.
4.Prepare your asparagus. (Many books and people tell you to cut the ends off the asparagus and then peel half of the length of the stalk. I find that simply snapping the ends off works well. The tend to snap off just after the woody end. Peeling is a total waste of valuable nutrients and flavor.) You want the asparagus spears to be broken into bite sized pieces of no longer than 2 inches in length. 1 inch is ideal.
5.When the oven is hot, put the shallots and garlic in and cook for 15 minutes or so.
6.When the water is boiling add the pasta to the pot.
7.Crumble the blue cheese.
8.Cook pasta until nearly done (according to personal preferences and package directions) when there is only about 2 minutes until it is done, add the asparagus to the pot.

9.In a small pan melt the butter. Add the panko and cook, stirring until browned.
10.Drain the pasta and asparagus in the colander.
11.Return the pasta and asparagus to the pot. Add the blue cheese and stir.
12.Remove the shallots and garlic from the oven. Add them to the pasta, stir.
13.Top with panko...stir.
14.Eat.

Fantastic. Easy. Delicious. This dish is done. It needs nothing.



Nutrition (serving 6)

Calories per serving: 569
Fat: 15g
Protein: 21g
Cholesterol: 21mg
Sodium: 567mg
Potassium: 615mg
Fiber: 3g
Calcium: 243mg
Iron: 5mg
Zinc: 2mg
Vitamin C: 11mg
Vitamin A: 9885IU
B6: 4mg
B12: 3mcg
B1: 1mg
B2: 6mg
Folacin: 121mcg
Niacin: 8mg

Meatloaf Meal: Take 1

I received a request via my sister while I was in Florida for Meatloaf Dinner. I am more than happy to oblige my friends and family with meals of their request so...Here is my first attempt at meatloaf.

First a few words about the humble meatloaf. I feel that meatloaf is a formidable weapon in any parent's arsenal of comfort foods. However, if done wrong it is not a comfort but a torture. Bad meatloaf is a common problem if the media is to be believed. Nearly every show and occasional movie that features a family portrays the overtaxed mother placing a lump of something slimy, gray and coated in ketchup as the family dinner. To which the family in question groans and begins the arduous task of eating the tasteless mass.

This doesn't have to be the case! Don't let bad meatloaf ruin your self-respect or the respect for you of those around you!

Meatloaf may appear deceptively simple but it really is just this simple. Meatloaf is a couple kinds of ground meat combined with some binders and flavorings. Don't over think it. There are a two secrets to good meatloaf: spice and patience. Spice for flavor (like I needed to explain that) The Patience is a little trickier...Patience comes in a two part trial. Part one: Meatloaf takes a long time to cook, you will have to check on it a bunch of times because over cooking will make it awful and under-cooking is gross. Part two: You are going to have to let is sit for at least 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven to redistribute the juices or it will be both horridly dry and greasy at the same time.

A lot of people top meatloaf with ketchup. I feel that this is a mistake on multiple levels. 1.) Ketchup is a very strong flavor and is fairly obviously being used in this instance to cover up for bad meatloaf. 2.) The appearance and texture of baked ketchup on a meatloaf is fairly unappetizing. 3.) The natural accompaniment to meatloaf is mashed potatoes...therefore gravy should be the toping of choice for meatloaf.

This meal does utilize several fairly uncommon pieces of equipment that, though not completely necessary, do make things much easier: Food Processor (blender can be substituted), Loaf Pan, Masher -for chunky potatoes (Food Mill-for smooth potatoes). Other than these odd items you probably have everything you are going to need already on hand.

So with out further ado...Meatloaf meal Take 1

Italian Meatloaf with Garlic/Vermouth Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Dilled Baby Carrots

To make this you will need:

1 Small Baking Pan (brownie style with high sides)

1 Cutting board

1 Sharp Knife

2 Medium Sauce Pans

A large Mixing Bowl

A Food Processor

A small Scraps/Prep Bowl

A Fork

A Masher or Food Mill

A Glass Loaf Pan

A Small Sauce Pan

Ingredients:

1or 2 Heads of Garlic (actual garlic not the pre-chopped stuff in the jar)(Number depends on how garlicky you want the potatoes)

½ C Dry or Extra Dry Vermouth (more if using 2 heads)

2-4 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¾ lb of Yukon Gold Potatoes (ordinary Idaho russets will not do, you need to get Yukon Golds)

9 Tbsp Butter

0 to ¼ C Chicken Broth (Depending on how moist you want the mashed potatoes)

½ lb Ground Beef

½ lb Ground Pork

1 large Onion

10 baby Carrots

1 Tbsp Garlic if Chopped (3 large cloves if fresh)

3 Slices of whole wheat bread

2 Eggs

2-5 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

2-5 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

0-5 tsp Hot Sauce (Optional)

1-3tsp each of 2 to 5 different spices (I chose Tarragon, Oregano, and Marjoram)

4 Pieces of Bacon (Optional, I recommended not using any it makes it very greasy and adds fat and calories no one needs)

½ lb of baby carrots

4 Cups of Orange Juice

½ C Fresh Dill

¼ C Fresh Cilantro

¼ to ½ a Jalapeño (Optional)

4 Tbsp Flour

Salt and Pepper to Taste

3/4C or more Chicken Broth

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (This will take at minimum 15 minutes, some ovens come with a buzzer that lets you know when it has reached the desired temp.)

2. Cut the top ¼ to ½ inch off the top of the head(s) of garlic

3. Place the garlic in the small baking pan

4. Pour the Olive oil on the garlic

5. Pour the Vermouth in the pan

   

6. Bake the garlic in the oven for 25 to 35 min (until golden brown but not burnt check periodically)

7. Assemble the meatloaf ingredients...Beef, Pork, Onions, Carrots, Garlic, Bread, Eggs, Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot Sauce, Spices...on a clean surface along with the food processor, knife, cutting board and a mixing bowl.

8. Place the meat in the bowl and mix some with your hands (rubber gloves can be worn and are recommended if you have long nails)

9. Peel and quarter the onions (Go ahead and cut both the top and bottom off the onion then peel it. Then cut in half lengthwise and width wise)

10. Place onion and carrots in the food processor. Pulse until the onion and carrots are evenly chopped and look kind of like wet pencil shavings. (don't liquefy these veggies)

11. Round about now the garlic should be ready in the oven. Take the pan out and cool down. Leave oven on and at the same temp.

    

12. Add the garlic (if while cloves are being used) and the bread (after tearing it into medium sized pieces...6 to 10 chunks per slice) to the food processor and pulse again for a few moments. The result should look kind of like a slightly coarser version of cooked instant oatmeal in texture.

    

13. Add the bread/veggies mixture to the meat in the bowl and combine with your hands.

14. Add the eggs and incorporate

15. Add the spice and sauces/vinegar to the meatloaf mixture in the bowl and incorporate.

16. Carefully put meatloaf mixture in the loaf pan. Top with a few slices of bacon. (I now feel that the bacon is a bad idea as it makes the meatloaf very greasy, I recommend omitting or perhaps cooking the bacon ahead of time and adding to the meatloaf at the end of cooking time)

17. And put meatloaf in the oven for the next 60 to 90 minutes. (My meatloaf is fairly dense and just wouldn't cook, I ended up upping the temp to get it done.)

18. Seeing as the meatloaf takes so very long to cook you can freely take 30 minutes and talk to you family...watch the news...read a book...Or you can keep cooking and reheat everything at the end if they finish before the meatloaf.

19. Peel and Chop Potatoes into 1 inch pieces (roughly the size of standard dice)

20. Put potatoes in a medium sauce pan and cover with water, add salt if desired. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes until done. (Check doneness with a fork, stab a potato piece, the fork should pierce the potato easily but the potato should not fall apart.)

21. Place the remaining baby carrots in a pan and cover with orange juice. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. (Check doneness with a fork . Carrot doneness is a matter of choice and can be cooked until they feel like fully cooked potatoes – see step 19 – or until the fork can barely pierce the side)

22. While the carrots and potatoes are cooking...chop some fresh cilantro and dill herbs and some Jalapeño if you are using it.

23. Take the small the sauce pan and melt 4 Tbsp of butter, but do not burn. To the melted butter add the flour, some of the same spices you used in the meatloaf, hot sauce if you like it and stir until the flour has begun to brown. You will know your roux is ready when your flour butter mix is slightly darker than your favorite khakis.

24. When the roux is the right color slowly add some chicken broth and then whisk until the mix is smooth and repeat (if you have the dexterity or help you can whisk and pour at the same time). Stir occasionally over low heat...This gravy is done.

25. Drain carrots but do not drain completely, add a Tbsp butter the pepper and the herbs and stir.

26. Put a lid on the carrots...They are done.

27. Drain potatoes. (A colander is useful for this but not necessary) Feel free to leave some water in with the potatoes if you want to forgo the chicken broth (This will also help preserve some of the vitamins)

28. While the potatoes are still hot, but after that have been drained, add 4 Tbsp of Butter. (You can choose less or even none but I would not recommend more than 4 Tbsp) And then begin mashing by whatever means you prefer or have available. (A food mill will give you a creamier result as the potatoes are going to be smaller and more uniform in the
    resulting mash; a masher will give you a home-style lumpier result) (If making food for children...remember that texture is as important as flavor for winning them over on a food. If the didn't like your mashed potatoes last time, try them the other way and see if they like it this way – Of course the same goes for picky eater adults)

    

29. Carefully (the garlic might not be fully cool) remove the individual cloves of garlic from the head(s). You can squeeze them out with a firm grip on the head or you can pick them out with a fork. I tend to prefer the fork method as it is less messy. Drop the garlic cloves as you acquire them into the mashed potatoes and them mix them in with more mashing or simply stir them if you want more of a surprise bite than a uniform flavor.

    

30. Put a Lid on the potatoes...They are done.

31. When the meatloaf is done it will be brown in the center when pierced with a knife. It will be very moist. You can check the internal temp if you have a handy meat thermometer...it will read: 160° to 170°.

32. You will need to let the meatloaf rest for at least 10 minutes and probably better off at 30 minutes...During which you will reheat the side dishes.

This meatloaf was terrific but is needs to be better. Some questions...Why didn't my meatloaf cook like the websites say it will? Can I cook the bacon by itself to prevent the added fat?

This meatloaf will feed 8 well.

Nutrition:

Calories per serving: 548

Fat: 37g

Protein: 17g

Cholesterol: 129mg

Sodium: 677mg

Potassium: 989mg

Fiber: 3g

Calcium: 137mg

Iron: 5mg

Zinc: 3mg

Vitamin C: 36mg

Vitamin A (as Beta carotene): 7384IU

B6: 4mg

B12: 1.2mcg

B1: 4mg

B2: 3mg

Folacin: 77mcg

Niacin: 6mg

Frittata: First Draft

Cooking is a lot like writing/reading a novel. The ingredients are like the characters and the steps are the story lines. When you don’t have a recipe you are writing your own stories. When you have a recipe to follow you are reading someone else’s finished product.

I think one of the reasons that people don’t cook something new is perhaps they think that the recipes that they have used sprouted fully formed from some master chef’s imagination. Well, somehow I doubt that that is the case. It takes many drafts before the recipe is ready to be published.

I didn’t want to put any recipes on this blog for people to read that I myself had not put through a stringent drafting process, and had several very tasty and consistent final drafts. However I realize that this is the wrong way to think about this. I would be habitualizing the same problem that I am railing against if I did that.

Since I’ve decided that you all deserve to see the whole processes I will walk through the steps I took last night to make a frittata. The end resulting dinner was fine tasting but not nothing special and the visual appearance was less wonderful than I was hoping for.

So without further ado…Spring Vegetable Frittata – Take One:

Frittata is kind of like a quiche, kind of like an omelet, and kind of like a German pancake. It is also one of the easier foods to make...in my opinion. It is certainly easier than all of the afore mentioned food items that it is similar to.

One of the great things about frittatas is that you don’t really need to plan them into your week. As long as you have eggs you have everything you need to make a frittata…guaranteed. This is true because you can put basically anything into a frittata. Some good combinations are: Bacon pieces-green onions-Swiss cheese, Pees-cooked chicken-cheddar, spaghetti noodles-cooked hamburger-peppers-mozzarella, Feta-Black Olives-Capers-Diced cooked potatoes. Just open your fridge and look to see what you have available. Any starch veggie and cooked meat will work fine. All cheeses are good, though some are better than others.

For this frittata I decided to use some angel hair noodles, Asparagus spears, diced ham, chopped onion, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, feta cheese, garlic, oil, and some spices. And of course, eggs.

I turned my oven on to 250 degrees because I figured that eggs are pretty easy to cook and didn’t need to have a high temp.

I did not have any leftover noodles in my fridge, so I made some to start off. While I was waiting for the noodle water to boil in my large pasta pot, I chopped up an Onion and then sautéed it in a small frying pan/sauté pan with some Garlic in Olive Oil.

Then I added the Noodles to the boiling water and cooked them until they were fully cooked. And then I drained them fully and added some Olive Oil to the drained noodles to keep them from caking together.

Then I cracked 6 Eggs and scrambled them in a bowl. To the eggs I added some leftover Artichoke Hearts, some leftover Diced Ham, some fresh Asparagus Spears snapped into 2 inch pieces, and the sautéed onion/garlic mixture. I also added some spices and herbs to the egg mixture: Marjoram, Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Oregano.

Note: You don’t need a knife to prepare asparagus for the dinner pot. If you hold the asparagus in both hands near the cut –off end you can break off the woody end and the remaining spear should be fairly tender. For this meal I just snapped the remaining stalks into bite sized pieces using the same technique all the way up the spears.

The oven is ready and now so are all of the ingredients. I took out my cast iron skillet and placed the noodles in the bottom of it to act as a kind of base. Then I poured the egg mix over the noodles and finally I added the Cheeses to the top. At this point I realized that there was not enough egg as the whole thing looked fairly dry so I quickly scrambled 2 more Eggs and poured those on top and placed the whole thing in the oven.

After 25 minutes I checked the frittata and it really wasn’t cooking to I turned up the oven to 350. After an additional 20 minutes the frittata still wasn’t done so I put the oven put to 400. Then it cooked. It was done about 10 minutes later.

The result was stuck in the pan, when it should be easily plated as you turn the pan upside down with a plate on the top like a lid. It did eventually come out with only a little that stuck into my skillet – this may have only been because my skillet is not well seasoned.

Joe and I ate the frittata. It was good but as I said earlier not great and required some condiments. Joe added hot sauce and I used mayo – my favorite condiment.

I will work on this until I think it is just how I would serve it to the people on the Food Network's: Nest Food network Star.

The frittata servings have:

P.S. Food journal for yesterday: Breakfast-Banana and Red Bull. Lunch-Chicken Pot Pie from Pinkus and Pepsi. After work Snack- BLT from the Library. Dinner-1 Serving for Frittata and Red Bull.

Exercise: Nope-missed my workout time and had to get to the grocery store. I promise to go today.