Summer is here and vegetables such as zucchini and squash are in season. Summer is also a time when we try to cook more meals and side dishes that require little, if any, use of the oven, stove or grill. It’s hot here in the summer, is what I’m saying. So the less slaving over hot cooking methods, the better. Coleslaw is a good cold side dish and we’ve tried several different varieties (including celery and hot & sour), so we were intrigued by this recipe, which uses zucchini and squash instead of cabbage. Other ingredients include carrots, green onions, red bell pepper and parsley, as well as white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for the dressing. Although we adapted the dressing recipe a bit to make it more suitable to our tastes (less sweet), we liked how easy it was to make, and that it’s an interesting take on traditional slaw and unusual use of zucchini and squash (raw instead of cooked.) Most refreshing of all, it’s a lightly tangy and spicy side dish that requires zero heat to prepare.
Category: Recipes
Seafood Paella (on the grill)
We’ve previously made a couple of different kinds of paella (a version with chicken, sausage and seafood, as well as one made with leftover turkey), using the stove-top method of cooking. After a lovely dinner party at a friend’s house several weeks ago (thanks Sally!), we were inspired to try an all-seafood paella cooked on the grill instead of the stove. One of the reasons for cooking this dish on the grill is that the heat will be more evenly distributed across the entire pan and its contents. Generally, paella pans are wider than the size of the typical stove burner, so the ingredients in the center will cook a little faster than the outer edges. No big deal, since the proteins cook in the center and the outer edges are mostly rice, but authentic paella should ideally have a crispy layer of caramelized rice along the bottom and sides called “socarrat.” (We have yet to perfect the socarrat, but cooking the paella on the grill gives us a better shot at doing so. And the paella is still delicious even without that crispy layer.) Grilling the paella or using a paella pan is by no means required — in our humble opinion, the only true requirements for paella are rice and saffron — so feel free to make do with whatever other ingredients you prefer and means you have available. This version is simply our take on the recipe from this article, using the seafood we like and a few techniques borrowed from other recipes. No matter the protein (although beef might be a bit strange) or cooking method used, it doesn’t get much better than a big pan of flavorful, saffron-infused rice cooked in a rich broth along with sweet and savory protein, red peppers and other veggies that add a bit of bite.
Refrigerator Pickles
Something about “refrigerator pickles” says “summer” to us. Maybe it’s the name — “refrigerator” makes one think of grabbing a cool, crisp snack out of the fridge on a hot day. Or perhaps it’s because pickles go so well with summertime foods like hot dogs and hamburgers, consumed at backyard barbeques and gatherings. Could be because cucumbers are in season this time of year (our cucumber plants WERE at least, until they succumbed to the heat.) Whatever the reason, we’ve already made several batches of refrigerator pickles this summer, and they could not be easier or more delicious. All you need are cucumbers (small, pickling cucumbers work best), garlic, peppercorns, dill, white vinegar, water, salt and sugar. And patience to wait about 4 days for the ingredients to pickle. Continue reading “Refrigerator Pickles”
Shrimp Burgers
Sounds weird, tastes delicious. Really! If you like shrimp and want the texture of a hamburger without the red meat, these burgers are a tasty and more healthy alternative. And they are a vast improvement over our attempt to make veggie burgers, which was a one-bite-so-bad-throw-away-and-order-pizza moment. This burger recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s “Light & Healthy 2012” magazine is also easy to make with simple ingredients: 1-2 slices white bread, 1 pound shrimp, 3 tablespoons light mayonnaise, 2 green onions, 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley, 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil. Topped with creamy chipotle chile sauce and served on a toasted English muffin with lettuce and tomato, these shrimp burgers taste almost like a lighter version of a po’ boy, without the breading and frying, and satisfy a craving for protein in patty form.
Buttermilk Fried Game Hen
Birthdays just may be the ultimate special occasion. The single day of the year with the sole purpose of celebrating your very existence. Whether it’s a milestone entry into a new decade or simply the passage of another year, the day you came into the world is a cause for celebration. And indulging in a favorite food — especially one you don’t allow yourself very often — is the perfect way to commemorate you. This year for my birthday, Dan honored me with a rare treat — homemade buttermilk fried game hen. He used the recipe found in Chef Thomas Keller’s beautiful book, “Ad Hoc at Home” (click the link for the book, then scroll down for the recipe.) Not so coincidentally, Ad Hoc is one of our all-time favorite restaurants and the book, according to Chef Keller, is “a big collection of family meals and everyday staples, delicious approachable food, recipes that are doable at home.” While the recipe is indeed quite doable at home, it is time-intensive and involves many steps. Justifiably so, for a decadently delicious dish worthy of a birthday.
Asian-Glazed Halibut
Asian flavor makes just about anything taste better, even fish. Thanks to my aversion to any fish that tastes too fishy, we have experimented with all kinds of sauces to make fish more appetizing, including citrus, BBQ, Southwestern and Italian style sauces and toppings. While we usually cook with tilapia at home, halibut is another mild flavored fish that is easy to prepare in several different ways: baked, broiled, grilled, pan-sauteed, poached or fried. Because it is thicker than tilapia, halibut holds up nicely in a heavier sauce or glaze. Breaking out of our tilapia rut, we adapted this recipe into an Asian-inspired marinade and glaze for fresh halibut, pan-seared and finished in the oven. The marinade keeps the halibut from drying out and infuses the fish with spicy, tangy and fresh flavors.
Steak Salad (w/ leftover steak) & Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Although we don’t cook steak at home all that often, when we do, we usually have leftovers. Dan appreciates a good deal almost as much as a giant slab of red meat, so whenever he sees a bargain on nice, big steaks at the grocery store, he buys them and freezes them for later use. Then, when a special occasion calls for steak (for Dan, the occasion would be a random Tuesday), we’ll have enough left over for another, separate meal (thereby creating two special occasions.) Dressing up a simple green salad with leftover steak is an easy way to create an elegant weeknight meal. Adding homemade vinaigrette and roasted onions ups the fancy factor even higher.
Continue reading “Steak Salad (w/ leftover steak) & Blue Cheese Vinaigrette”
Spicy Cajun Shrimp
Even though we’ve only been there once together, New Orleans is one of our favorite places (and if you’ve ever been, it’s probably one of yours as well), due in no small part to the amazing food there. Whenever we’re lucky enough to visit a place with uniquely exceptional food, we like to find cookbooks with recipes from the local area. During one of our many strolls through the French Quarter a few years ago, we stopped in a small used bookstore and picked up the book “Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picaune of New Orleans.” This book is a special as New Orleans itself, and is filled with old recipes exchanged via a food column of the Times-Picaune, by locals struggling to rebuild their lives — and recipe collections — after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. This particular shrimp recipe was submitted by a reader who cut it out of the paper many years ago and adapted it by reducing the amount of cayenne pepper, even though her family enjoys spicy food. (Okay by me if it’s okay “bayou” — the dish is plenty spicy even with the reduced amount!) The recipe is quick and easy to make with simple ingredients: shrimp; cayenne pepper; black pepper & salt; red pepper flakes; dried thyme, basil and oregano; butter; garlic; Worcestershire sauce; tomatoes and beer. The plump shrimp cooked in a spicy, rich sauce evokes fond memories and takes us right back to the Big Easy.
Greek Lasagne (“Pastitsio”)
Again with the Greek food? Apparently, once we try cooking a certain type of food and have some success, we continue to roll with it. Unlike Souvlaki, and Greek-spiced Shrimp, this dish is not one we immediately recognized as Greek cuisine. But once we tasted it, we could easily imagine it as a signature comfort-food recipe handed down through generations of Greek families. But this version, found in Cook’s Illustrated’s “Light & Healthy 2012” magazine, is probably a lot more low in calories and fat than one a grandma likely used to make. Pastitsio is typically made with a beef- or lamb-based meat sauce, pasta, a rich béchamel sauce and cheese. This healthier version replaces the beef/lamb with ground turkey, incorporates a béchamel made with low-fat dairy ingredients and reduces the amount of cheese. Although this recipe is the only version we’ve ever tried, we certainly did not miss any of the more fatty, higher-calorie ingredients in the finished product, which was plenty rich and hearty. Just like (a calorie-conscious, red-meat-abstaining) Grandma used to make.
Tabouli
Tabouli is one of those dishes that always seemed (at least to us) a little mysterious and intimidating, as though it involved complicated preparation and exotic ingredients. Not sure why — maybe the unfamiliar name/spelling? (“Tabouli” may not be the technically correct spelling of this dish — I picked the spelling from the recipe we adapted. I’ve also seen it spelled “taboule,” “tabbouleh,” and “tabouleh.” Whatever — you don’t spell it, son, you eat it!) But we were pleasantly surprised that tabouli is actually quite easy to make with readily available ingredients: bulgur, parsley, mint, oregano, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt & pepper. In fact, the most “exotic” ingredient — bulgar — really isn’t that unusual at all. Especially after you finally ask the salesperson at Central Market where the cracked wheat is located and she points out that “cracked wheat” is the same as bulgur. And it’s available right in front of your face in the rice/grains section where you are currently standing, or in bulk in the bulk foods section. Awesome. In addition to being quick and easy to make, tabouli is a versatile side dish that pairs well with many different kinds of proteins (we’ve had it with both fish and pork) and tastes just as fresh and healthy as it actually is. If you’ve never tried it, tabouli is slightly similar to quinoa, but with a MUCH better texture (in my, possibly biased, opinion.)