Tomato and Soppresata Salad

Balance. I'm an constantly seeking it, but somehow it eludes me. Every once in a while I catch it, but never hold on. I am a passionate person who seeks and craves change but needs routine and structure. So I tend to run after the change full force, forgetting to slow down and re-visit the things proven to make me happy. Eventually I stop running and realize how much I miss the routine. Ah, the joys of growing older, the increased insight is awesome and so often the thing you need most is right in front of you.

One of my favorite routines is going to Bill's Imported Foods on Lake St. and Lyndale Ave in Minneapolis. Just going through each of the aisles, looking at strange and familiar foods, planning our next meal or snack is a calming, restorative routine. Often our eyes are bigger than what we'll actually ever eat and we end up with exotic syrups, preserves and fabulous halva that will go bad before the perfect meal was formed. One of the things we always use up and can always be found in the brown paper bag that leaves the store with us is Soppresata sausage. Go ahead, re-visit some of our old posts, I'll bet it's in half our recipes. Huge fans of cured meats- nitrates and all- Bill's is where we find our staples. Soppresata is an Italian-style cured sausage. It comes as a link about 1.5" round and 10" long. We prefer the one labeled "hot". It's not really, it's just spicier and more flavorful than the other option. Sometimes we cut thin slices to serve with cheese, but the real miracle is it's versatility. Chopped finely, it provides the perfect amount of saltiness, bite and extra flavor to nearly everything.

This recipe makes use of all the extra tomatoes and basil you're going to have to pick tonight before the deep freeze. It's incredibly simple and a fabulous side dish to place next to your favorite entree tonight. You're basically going to core, de-seed and chop a couple tomatoes, add diced basil (sweet, lemon, thai, whatever you like), some good quality olive oil, a splash of a nice balsamic and thin slices of the Soppresata I just told you about. Salt and black pepper finish it off. Simple, fresh, delicious way to say good bye to summer.

Cheesy Pancakes with Corn and Avocado

The Ultimate Beta cooks! Notice I did not say "bakes", I said "cooks". Yes, I made dinner. I have only cooked dinner for the AlphaChef three, maybe four times in our nearly 13 years together. Seriously, we counted.

Always these were special occasions, starting with a lengthy, indecisive recipe search and shopping for special ingredients. It always culminated in an anxiety filled evening, which was so painful for us both, ultimately the AC steps in to save the day. This is why I make breakfast, although there is some timing involved, I can whip up some pancakes and serve. Easy, low stress.


Well, I guess change is good. It just hit me, the idea that my favorite cottage cheese and yogurt pancakes could be made savory. With corn and some kind of sauce. Avocado. Oh yeah, Lynn's Corn and Avocado Salad would be perfect. I can do this, I thought. And it worked. I wasn't stressed out at all.

After sampling, The AC said, "If I got this in a restaurant I'd be pleased..." WHAT???? Arguably the best compliment he has ever paid me.

 I have to say, this is a proud development. I am finally understanding the joy of cooking. After all these years, it's a bit exciting. This does not mean the Ultimate Beta is a cook, but it means I have potential and that makes me smile.

The pancakes are based on the first recipe ever posted on this blog. Based on a Bittman recipe, they are tangy, sweet and full of protein. Since this was dinner, I cut the recipe into a quarter, so we had two small cakes each. We happened to have an abundance of corn, so I added some to the batter. Also added some shallots, fresh parsley, basil, garlic and black pepper. This is very flexible, you could add any herbs and spices. I cut the sugar out.


Cheesy Corn Pancakes
1/4 c large curd 4% fat cottage cheese
1/4 c  fage greek yogurt 2%
1/4 c flour
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 shallot, diced
1 small sprig fresh parsley, minced
1 small sprig lemon basil, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of salt, black pepper to preference
kernels of 1 small corn cob
unsalted butter for pan frying

1. Place a frying pan over med-high heat.
2. In a largish mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese, yogurt and egg yolk.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder in another bowl and dump into the first.
4. Stir in the corn, add the herbs, garlic and shallots (as below).
5. Add a small amount of salt and a healthy bit of black pepper.
6. Beat the egg whites until distinct and fold into the batter.
7. Add butter to the frying pan, scoop 1/4 cup amounts of batter onto the frying pan, make sure you take a bit of the egg white each time. Turn when golden.


Avocado/Corn Chutney
1/2 large avocado, cubed
kernels from 1 small corn cob
1 small sprig parsley, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
juice of 1/4 lime
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
Add lucky's habenero hot sauce at the end if desired

Just dump it all into a bowl and mix.

I served the cakes smothered in the chutney. Yes, I realize I'm stating the obvious here (I'm frequently accused of over-emphasizing points by my employees, guess they're right). The crispy, buttery, cheesy, tangy goodness, covered by the fresh, crisp corn and creamy avocado was quite fabulous, if I don't say so myself...

Chinese broccoli and Chicken with Garlic Sauce

The AC is a bit of a stir-fry genius, which you wouldn't know looking at this blog. Nary a post about stir fry. It's a staple in our house, so maybe we're just never inspired by it enough to take pictures. That changes today.

The farmer's market is our favorite way to start a lazy Saturday. We thought about joining a CSA until someone referred to it as a "lifestyle change" and we realized we'd probably end up tossing a ton of fresh veggies and feeling really guilty about it. So, we choose instead to buy what we want in the quantity we can use, supporting a variety of local farmers in the process. It's working out pretty well that way.

This time our bounty included Chinese broccoli. We're both huge fans of this leafy version of the Bush-reviled vegetable, especially when it's cooked in a nice, light garlic sauce. Normally the AC will stir-fry with some kind of black bean sauce, which has it's place, but can get real salty real fast. I suggested we try garlic sauce, the AC started to plan it's execution and this is what we got.  

Mix:
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (if you only have one kind, that's okay, just make sure you add 2 tbsp soy sauce)
1/2 tsp chile sauce (1 tsp if you like it spicier)
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp water mixed with 1 1/2 tsp corn starch (add at the end)
2 tsp cooking Chinese wine or sherry

Chinese broccoli, sliced.

Saute garlic in a little peanut oil, let it cool and mix into the the above ingredients in a bowl. 

2/3 lb chicken thigh, sliced. Fry in a wok with peanut oil to coat. Cook 3/4 of the way, nearly done. Put chicken aside. Put brocolli in the wok with 1/2 c of water, and sprinkle with a tsp of sugar (this will make it really green). Cook until the stems are al dente and pour out any remaining water. Add the mostly-cooked chicken, thicken the sauce with the water/starch mix and then pour the sauce into the wok, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the chicken is cook through.

What we ended up with was a  stir-fry with little delightfully crunchy, sweet, almost caramelized garlic pieces mixed with soft, moist chicken and leafy broccoli.

We were definitely inspired by the outcome, so you now see it here. Try it, let us know what you think.

Gazpacho!

To say it's been hot here lately is a serious understatement. It has been hot everywhere. Gone is the desire to cook, gone is the appetite, hello desire to sit on patio, drink beer and eat gelato.

The heat has really cramped our foodie style. One painful example- hoofing it out to Como Park in nearly 100* heat to check out the 32nd Annual Hmong Sports Tournament, purely in search of some good homestyle Hmong cooking. Namely, fiery papaya salad, sausage, BBQ and tapioca with coconut. After our journey we were, tragically, too hot to eat any of it. We settled for a coconut popsicle and vowed to hit the Hmong flea market on Rice Street some day soon. So sad.

Fourth of July comes around, as do a number of friends. We figure we would cook some chicken outside and make Gazpacho. Really, what could be more perfect in this sweltering weather than the creamy, cold, spicy soup made from fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and the chiles in our garden? Not much else I would want to eat. Oh, except my friend Lynn's corn and avocado salad, but she was already bringing that.

There are two main components to this gazpacho recipe. First you have the vegetables you will chop and blend with bread crumbs and oil to create a creamy broth. Then you take a second batch of nearly the same chopped vegetables to put into the broth. What you end up with is the best of both worlds.


Due to this two part process, half of the vegetables below will be coarsely chopped and go into the blender, the other half will be  chopped into 1/4 " pieces, strained and dropped directly in.  

 Ingredients:
 3 pounds tomatoes, cored, (2 lbs chopped coarsely, 1 lb, finely)
 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped (1/2 coarse, 1/2 fine)
 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (1/2 coarse, 1/2 fine)
 2 large shallots, chopped (1 coarse, 1 minced)
 2 garlic cloves, chopped
 1 Serrano pepper, chopped (2 or 3 if you like it spicy)
 Kosher salt and black pepper
 1 white sandwich roll, or piece of hearty white bread, torn into pieces 
 1/2 cup olive oil
 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
 1 tbsp fresh minced basil 

First:  Take the finely diced vegetables (1 lb tomatoes, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 green pepper, 1/2 red onion minced) and add to a medium bowl. Toss with 1 tbsp salt and transfer to a finely meshed strainer, place the strainer over a bowl to catch the liquid and set aside.

Second: Put the remaining coarsely chopped vegetables in a bowl, add garlic, the Serrano pepper and 1/2 tbsp of salt, toss to combine.

Third: Take 1/4 cup of the liquid exuded by the finely diced vegetables, discard the rest of the liquid. Add bread pieces to the liquid and soak for 1 minute. Add the soaked bread to the bowl with the coarsely chopped vegetables and toss thoroughly to combine. 

Transfer 1/2 of the vegetable-bread mixture to a blender and process for 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup oil and continue to blend until it's completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain soup through fine mesh strainer into large bowl, using the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to press soup through. Repeat with remaining vegetable-bread mixture and 1/4 cup oil.

Stir vinegar, parsley, basil and the finely chopped vegetables into soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to chill completely and develop flavor (overnight is ideal). 

Collard Greens

 It's so hot here in good ol' Minnesota, it feels like we're in the south. Heat and high humidity. Let's eat some greens. Yes, greens. Turns out my Jewish AC knows how to make kick-ass collard greens. Since you can now get them fresh and local, I thought I'd pass on the recipe. 

Start with fresh collard greens from the farmers market near you, or the CSA box at your door.

A large bunch of collard greens- the AC guesses about 2 lbs, I think that sounds heavy.

3 slices of bacon
1 small red onion
1 large shallot
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper- our are very hot- add more if you like it spicy
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves minced fine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Cook the bacon in a high-sided frying pan, extra crispy. Chop fine, set aside.

 In the same pan, saute the shallot, red onion, crushed red pepper and garlic in the leftover bacon fat, until soft. Remove most of the stem from the greens- not to the point of de-veining, just the majority of it. Cut the leaves into 2-3" strips. Put the greens into the frying pan, sprinkle with balsamic and mix with the other ingredients until wilted. When wilted, add the broth, bacon and black pepper. Bring to a simmer for about 40 minutes until the stems are soft.

These were not bitter at all (a common complaint). They were sweet, salty and spicy. We ate them, ravenously I might add, with some local cheese. Greens and cheese, sometimes you have to improvise. Even though this didn't feel like improvising.

Penang crusted salmon and green beans (another glorious leftover)

I still had leftover Penang red curry paste and coconut milk from the previous day's dinner.  I intended to use them up if I could.  It's not that I am spendthrift or hyper focused on not wasting food.  It's because I am actually pretty lazy when it comes to preparing meals.  Too many meals require too many steps.  I try to skip unnecessary food prep when I can.  And in this case; I (the AlphaLazyChef) could.

Time to throw it all together:  This will take only 10 minutes to prep and another 18 minutes to enjoy a glass of wine while it cooks.

Prepped and ready to cook.

Ingredients (Note: many are the same from the ravioli dish)

Fish
2 Salmon filets about 1/3 lb each

Crust
1 Tbsp of Penang curry paste
1 Thai chile pepper
2/3 cup fresh cilantro (yes, you can use the stems)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 small shallot (about 1 tablespoon) diced
1/2 cup Panko flakes (you can use matzo meal, bread crumbs or crushed water crackers)
1/4 lime

Beans

2 handfuls of green beans

1 shallot sliced and

Dark sweet soy sauce

Galangal powder

Five Spice powder

Black pepper

Puree or mulch 'crust' ingredients in a food processor except the Panko flakes and the 1/4 lime. Remove and place in bowl, mix in 1/2 cup Panko flakes. Spread mixture over the top of two salmon fillets. On the same cookie sheet, place one sliced shallot on top of a couple handfuls of green beans, drizzled approx 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and a light dusting of black pepper, galangal and five spice. Finally, drizzled approx 1 tsp of garlic olive oil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes assuming you let the fish come to room temperature first. While baking drink your glass of wine or beer or milk, or run around the block to get some exercise. Now that's multitasking.

The salmon should be slightly translucent inside. Not cooked to death and dry. Drizzle juice from the 1/4 lime onto the fish. Plate, serve, eat, score points with your Beta and bask in the warmth of a good lazy meal.

Steak with Mushroom Sauce and New Potatoes

Everybody likes a good steak. AlphaChef has stumbled upon the following technique that renders a perfect, medium-rare, crispy on the outside, sirloin. We served it with rosemary new potatoes, a rare treat in our house. For some reason we never have white potatoes. I'm not complaining, AC just thinks they're boring. In this case, they were perfect. Salty, savory, crispy on the outside, soft inside.

The cooking technique is an adaptation of the now tried and true, sear-then-bake method. It will work with any cut of beef, bones may complicate the matter, so go boneless.

Steak

• Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and heat a frying pan on your stove top over high heat. The pan has to be HOT, so wait until you think it might be too hot before touching the meat to the surface. To test- splash a drop of water on it's surface and watch it sizzle before disappearing. 
• When the pan is undeniably, super, duper, hot, drop the meat in the pan using cooking tongs. It will kick-up some smoke, so make sure your exhaust fan is ready. After 30 seconds, flip the meat and sear the other side, then, using the tongs to hold up the steak, sear the ends and sides (if they aren't already brown). 
• Place the seared steak(s) on a cooking sheet with a wire rack, put it in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, flip the steak(s) and bake for an additional 4 minutes. 
• As usual, let sit for about five minutes prior to serving. 

Mushroom Sauce

•  Handful (or two) of crimini, also known as baby portobella, mushrooms. Slice into quarters. 
• 1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine.
• Salt and black pepper. 
• 4-5 ground allspice cloves.
• 1 diced habenero pepper.
• Small amount of flour (about a tsp or so).

Put the above ingredients into a frying pan on your stove top. Bring the sauce to a low boil and let it reduce to approximately 1/4 of its volume. Then, sprinkle in flour to thicken, start with a very small amount and increase as desired.

Rosemary New Potatoes

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Same as the steak, so you can throw these in the oven right before you start the steak process. 
• Approximately 8, medium sized, new potatoes. 
• Slice the potatoes into quarters. 
• In a bowl large enough to toss the potatoes, add a tbsp of olive oil and two cloves of minced garlic. 
• Place the potatoes in the bowl and toss.
• Place the potatoes on a sheet pan.
• Mince fresh rosemary and sprinkle over the potatoes, add salt and black pepper as desired. 
• Bake potatoes for 25 minutes. 

Put it all together for an amazingly delicious meal!

Simple Inspiration: Decontructed Guacamole

Avocado is my all time favorite food. I could eat it everyday at every meal and still want to eat it more. It's just so simple but rich, creamy and full of possibility. It's also really healthy, the only item with enough good-for-you-fat and nutrients that it could replace all other food in your diet. Even I wouldn't do that, but if I had to, I think I could.

The AC is aware of this other love. It was fully realized the first time we went to Mexico together and he realized I really could eat guacamole for every meal and still want more. He believes I will tire of it if I eat it too much, which I agree would be a tragedy. So, although he makes it for me, he tries to space it out a bit, which I must admit, does make me enjoy it even more. This post is about lazy guacamole, we call it deconstructed. The irony is, while it is very lazy, it stands on it's own, literally- there are no chips- and figuratively- it truly makes the best of the beauty that is a perfectly ripe avocado.

So we start there, with a perfectly ripe avocado. This used to be pretty much impossible to come by in good ol' Minnesota. When my love affair first started I would only buy them in little Mexican grocery stores on Central Avenue, and still had to put it in a paper bag for a day to ripen. Now they are everywhere and while it still takes about ten highly focused minutes evaluating a  box at the grocery store, you can get them ready to eat. It just takes patience and a little know how. First you want it to be soft, you should be able to squeeze it lightly and feel a fair amount of give. Second, feel around to see if there are any hollow spots, you'll know when you try to do this, it literally feels like the skin has separated from the fruit, don't buy it, it's too ripe. When I find a good one I'll buy another that's slightly under-ripe so I can eat it in the next couple days, once they're ripe you need to eat them.

After you've found the avocado, it's super simple. Cut the fruit in half, lengthwise, remove the seed by putting your sharp knife into it and pulling it out while twisting the nut. Remove the meat with a spoon, scooping in one smooth movement. Discard the shell. Place the avocado face down on the serving plate and slice into 1/2" size pieces, keeping the original shape. Squeeze the juice of a slice of lime over the avocado, add some salt, black pepper and a chili pepper. Don't use jalapeno, the tastes are not complementary. We use either Thai chili or habanero from our garden, if you don't have taste buds that can withstand nuclear heat, use a serrano pepper diced very small or a sprinkle of cayenne is good too. Add as much as you like. Then sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.  And you're done. This is great as a side for summer dishes, added to antipasto meals as a palate cleanser, it goes awesome with eggs for breakfast, or just a perfect mid-afternoon snack. Simple inspiration, it's the best kind.