They say if you video blog long enough, you’ll eventually post a snuff film. Okay, so no one says that, but that’s what this roasted beets with goat cheese and walnuts kind of felt like, as I harvested my homegrown, and completely defenseless beet.
I was obviously kidding about vegetables being able to sense pain, but the more I think about it, who knows? Anyway, until I find out otherwise, I’ll assume the bloody root didn’t suffer for my pleasure, and just enjoy its incredible goodness. It’s the same assumption I use when eating chicken wings.
There are very few things that pair as perfectly as roasted beets and goat cheese. Simply a match made in occasional-vegetarian heaven. When you toss in some crunchy walnuts, foraged greens, and a simple walnut oil/vinegar dressing, you have something that’s way beyond the sum of the parts.
I really can’t think of a more perfect fall lunch. By the way, in addition to making a great mid-day meal, this would also work nicely as a fancy side dish come holiday time, and you have plenty of time to practice. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 portions:
1 or 2 tbsp walnut oil
1 roasted beet (*about 8 oz)
2 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted chopped walnuts
2 tbsp champagne or sherry vinegar
thinly sliced beet greens and fresh chives to top
toasted walnut bread to serve with
*Note: Since beets come in all sorts of sizes, you’ll just have to go by feel. Roast a beet or two, slice it up, see how much you have, pick a baking dish that large enough for one layer, cover the bottom with walnut oil, toss in the beets, fill in between with goat cheese, season, bake and dress as you see fit.
It’s been awhile since I dropped a Seinfeld reference, but this hearty tomato bisque had me reminiscing about the famous “soup’s not a meal” episode. It’s rich, hearty, and satisfyingly thick without being heavy. Sorry, Bania, it counts.
There are different opinions on what makes something a bisque. Technically, it’s made from some sort of shellfish puree, but modern usage includes vegetables as well. Above and beyond that, it has to have cream, and be thickened with rice.
One problem with many of the tomato soups I’ve had, is that they are either thickened with tons of tomato paste, which is like eating a bowl of pasta sauce, or they’re thickened with a flour roux or cornstarch slurry, which leaves them too pasty for me. A little rice thickens the soup just as well , but also gives it a nice silky texture.
As far as the canned tomatoes go, we’re using the same argument here we use for tomato sauce. Unless you have some amazingly sweet, vine-ripened specimens around, that you’ve peeled, seeded, and cooked down to get rid of the excess moisture, then chances are San Marzano tomatoes will produce a superior product.
I tried to stress in the video how important it is to adjust the seasonings to your liking, especially the sweetness. Many of us were raised on Campbell’s tomato soup (and grilled cheese sandwiches, of course), and because that flavor is so ingrained in our taste memories, you need to get this at least close for it to work. Taste, adjust, taste, adjust, and as always, enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 Portions:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic
1 quart chicken broth, plus more as needed
1 (28-oz) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes, or about 3 1/2 cups of other crushed tomatoes
This time of year can be a little schizophrenic for a cook. We’ve not quite let go of summer and its fast, fresh food; but at the same time, the cooler weather has us craving hearty, more comforting fall fare. This beef medallions with fresh horseradish cream recipe is delicious nod to that kind of seasonal culinary dilemma.
The combination of the sweet, juicy tomato salad base, along with the seared beef, and aromatic sauce works whether you’re enjoying it on a warm autumn day, or cold, rainy night. My only regret is I didn’t have any crusty bread around to soak up all those incredible juices. That's a rookie mistake any time of year!
Like I said in the video, horseradish is easy to find these days, especially in the higher-end grocery chains. It’s usually sold by the pound, so don’t be afraid to ask the produce person to cut you off a smaller piece, as the roots can get pretty big. If you’ve never used fresh horseradish before, I hope you check it out soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 portions:
2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
4 pieces (about 3-oz each) beef top sirloin, pounded into 1/4-inch thick medallions
This is a great Pinterest find. My sister Susan made this for a family BBQ and I loved it! I have since made it twice and everyone who tries it raves about it and wants the recipe. I've altered the original recipe slightly but you can see the original recipe here at Kitchen Fiddler. This is a copy kat recipe of Houston' Kale Salad.
Ingredients:
4 cups finely chopped kale 2 cups finely chopped savoy cabbage 1 scallion finely chopped, white and green parts 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped 1/2 cup peanut oil 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons honey
Preparation:
In a large bowl combine, kale, cabbage, scallions, cilantro and roasted peanuts
In a small bowl, combine peanut oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over kale and toss well to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Read More »
While the grilled salmon with bacon and corn relish recipe we posted Monday was extremely well received, some viewers had a problem with my extremely dangerous and difficult to perform method for shaving the corn off the cob.
So, just in case you’re one of these people who prefer your culinary techniques not to be dangerous or difficult, I’m posting this alternative method. Sure it’s just as fast, just as easy, and way safer, but you do have to admit, my style was way more exciting.
Anyway, since I had freshly cut corn at my heavily-scared fingertips, I decided to show you my new favorite recipe for creamed corn. This lower-cal take on the classic side dish features Greek yogurt and a little Indian spice, and I was absolutely thrilled with how it came out.
The flavor was great, and the tangy yogurt gave the dish such an interesting texture. I couldn’t stop eating it. So, if you’re looking for another easy, and relatively healthy way to enjoy fresh, sweet corn, I hope you give this a try soon. Just be safe, and as always, enjoy!
One of the sadder side effects of the American culinary renaissance we’ve enjoyed over the last thirty or forty years, has been the chronic under-cooking of green vegetables. Sure, there was a time when we cooked everything too long, but now, if it’s not bright green and still crispy, it’s considered ruined.
That’s why every once and a while you have to enjoy something like these slow-cooked, southern-style green beans. These beans are cooked forever in a bacon-spiked, aromatic broth, and when they’re finally done, you’re almost shocked at how good they are. It seems so wrong, yet tastes so right.
I think two hours is perfect, but if your beans are fatter/thinner, you’ll have to adjust the time. What you’re looking for is something that literally melts in your mouth. Vibrant, quickly blanched green beans are many things, but “melt in your mouth” isn’t one of them. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 portions: 2 pounds green beans, trimmed 1 handful sliced bacon (6 oz)
It only happens once every couple years or so, but sometimes I’ll think of the name of a recipe before I actually have the recipe. This summery, hot wheels pasta is one such dish. Not sure how “hot wheels” popped into my brain, but pop it did, and the next thing I knew I was at the market buying a box of rotelle.
So the “wheels” part was easy, but what about the “hot?” Just as easy, thanks to an assortment of hot and sweet pepper rings. I used about two-thirds hot peppers to one-third sweet, but you’ll obviously adjust to your personal tolerance. The zucchini provided a nice balance, although this is the kind of pasta that will accept any and all other summer veggies.
Besides what to add, you also have a lot of flexibility when it comes to the final taste and texture. I tend to like my peppers and squash just barely tender for this, but if you cook the sauce a few extra minutes before adding the pasta, you will get a softer, sweeter sauce. My version was a little more bracing, with some bite left to it.
On the other hand, you could cook everything even less, and have what would basically be a hot pasta and vegetable salad. Regardless, no matter what you add, or how long you cook it, I hope you’ll be driven to try this great recipe soon. Enjoy!
You may remember this peach coleslaw from such video recipes as, Grilled Coffee and Cola Skirt Steak. It was a beautiful match, and as I ate, I couldn’t help but wonder why you don’t see peaches used in these cold cabbage salads more often.
People have no problem loading up their ‘slaws with grated apple and diced pineapple, so it can’t be an anti-fruit bias. I think the real reason is that a perfectly ripe peach is such an incredible experience, that it seems almost criminal to consume it any other way.
I think George du Maurier put it best when he said, “An apple is an excellent thing – until you have tried a peach.” So, is that it? Just too good to not eat as is? That could explain some of it, but just in case the real reason is that you simply hadn’t thought of it before, I’m posting this. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
I love Twitter for many reasons, but stumbling upon recipe ideas is probably my favorite. I recently saw a picture posted by my friend, Mardi from eat. live. travel. write, for something called, “BLT Pasta,” and I immediately had one of those, “why didn’t I think of that” moments. By the way, I have four or five of those moments a day.
Since I get so many food wishes for pasta recipes, I figured I would give it a go. Plus, as luck would have it, I had some arugula in the fridge just begging to be used. I knew that this combination would taste great, but I wasn’t prepared for just how great.
I decided to use crème fraiche as the main sauce ingredient, and it worked beautifully. It was just rich enough, and the fermented cream’s subtle nuttiness was an excellent foil for the smoky meat, sweet tomatoes, and bitter greens. As I mentioned in the video, crème fraiche is pretty easy to find, but of course we’ll encourage you to follow this link and make your own.
If you can’t find or make some, just use heavy cream along with a squeeze of lemon juice to mimic that essential tanginess. Thank you Mardi (and Twitter) for the inspiration, and if you’re looking for a quick, easy, and very summery pasta idea, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
I know a recipe came out well when my wife Michele says something to the effect of, “we can never have this made any other way, ever,” which is exactly what she said after tearing through two ears of this amazing Mexican-style grilled corn. She wasn’t kidding.
I have no idea how authentic this is, as I’ve never had this in Mexico, or even prepared by actual Mexicans, so let’s play it safe and just say this was inspired by “elote,” as it’s called. I’m sure there are hundreds of variations, but the one constant seems to be the final step, which consists of grating copious amounts of Cotija cheese over the seasoned ears.
Cotija can be found in any large grocery store (at least in California), and for me it’s like a bland, slightly drier Feta cheese. I know that doesn’t sound especially appetizing, but when combined with the creamy chili mayo, and the smoky grilled corn, it’s absolutely to die for. In a pinch, Parmesan or Feta would work, but I can’t imagine it being as perfect.
There should be no shortage of fresh corn on the cob this time of year, so I highly encourage you to get some (twice as much as you think you are going to eat), and give this amazing recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
corn on the cob, boiled in salted water for 5 minutes, drained
melted butter, as needed
grated cotija cheese, as needed
For the chili mayo (makes enough for about 8 ears):
I’ve never been a big cold soup fan. Where I’m from, cold soup gets sent back, but over the years I’ve grown to appreciate things like gazpacho, vichyssoise, and…that’s about it. Well, thanks to this gorgeous chilled sugar snap pea soup, my repertoire just expanded in a very delicious way.
Traditionally (from what I hear), chilled pea soups are made with English peas, but thanks to the very user-friendly sugar snap, not only is there no shelling involved here, but I think they impart an even sweeter flavor.Speaking of sweet flavor, you’re going to want to contrast that by garnishing with some sour cream or crème fraiche. If you can’t get or have that, then use a few drops of lemon juice or rice vinegar to balance the flavors.
As far as the mint goes though, I’d make every effort to obtain some, as I can’t imagine another herb pairing as well.Lastly, the Snoop Dogg reference in the title foreshadows a Snoop Dogg reference made during the garnishing portion of the video. For more information, ask your kids. I hope you give this lovely, spring soup a try soon. Enjoy!
I’ve wanted to turn our famous veggie burger recipe into a meatless meatballs recipe for a long time now, and figured there would be no more appropriate occasion than Earth Day to reveal the results. After all, as I joke about in the clip, eating mushrooms is about as close to literally consuming the earth as you can get.
Despite being completely free of meat, at least the animal kind, these “meatballs” were fantastic. Thanks to a thorough browning, the mushrooms provided more than enough savoriness, and the garlic, cheese, and parsley did the rest. As impressive as I thought the taste was, what really blew me away was how close the texture was to actual meatballs.
For me, the true test of any alternative meatless recipe is whether I would eat it again, based on taste and texture alone, and not just because it’s meatless. In this case, I would…many times over. No, I’m not giving up real meatballs, but for a delicious and vegetarian-friendly change of pace, these really were tremendous.
So, whether you're going to make these because you’re a vegetarian who has been searching for a meatless version, or you’re a hard-core meat eater who just can’t believe your ears and eyes, I hope you give these a try soon. Have a happy Earth Day, and as always, enjoy!
Ingredients for 16 small meatballs:
(recipe can easily be doubled!)
1 pound white mushrooms, chopped into very small pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt to sauté mushrooms
1 tbsp butter 1/2 cup minced onions
4 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup instant oatmeal
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
packed 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 ounce by weight, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, very finely grated on a microplane
(Note: it looks like a ton of cheese in the video, but it was only 1-oz. Because I used a microplane to grate it, it created a huge looking pile of cheese. It would be about 1/2 cup if you measure, but use weight for this ingredient!)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste pinch of dried oregano
2 eggs
3 cups of your favorite pasta sauce.
*Let mixture sit overnight in fridge. Bake meatballs for 12-15 at 450 degrees F., then simmer in sauce for 30-60 minutes before serving. View the complete recipe
Whenever I do ethnic recipes like this Greek tzatziki sauce, I’ll usually go online and listen to an audio dictionary or some YouTube videos to verify the pronunciation.Of course, just listening to it doesn’t mean I’ll actually be able to pronounce it that way. A western New York accent is a strange and unpredictable thing, but at least I know how far off I am.
This time things were a little different.I must have listened to a half-dozen examples, and they all were fairly unique. Everything from how I say it, TA-ZEE-KEY, to something that sounded a lot like CHA-CHEE-KEE, which, by the way, is my new favorite way to say it. Just for fun, maybe you all can leave your best phonetic spelling of “Tzatziki” in the comments section, and we’ll see what the consensus is.
Unlike the pronunciation, one thing that everyone will agree on is that this garlicky yogurt sauce is truly of one of the world’s great condiments. This is quite literally delicious on anything savory, and with grilling season upon us, you’ll want this one in your regular rotation. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Make about 3 cups of Tzatziki:
2 cups Greek yogurt
1 large cucumber, peeled, grated, tossed with 1/2 teaspoon of salt
No chance – but that doesn’t take anything away from this simple, delicious, and quite dip-able roasted parsnips recipe. As I mention in the video, I was inspired by some grilled parsnips that showed up as a side dish at a recent meal, and I wanted that same effect without having to go out to the backyard.
The combination of a very hot oven, the generous cooking time, and a pre-roast, lemon-olive oil soak gets you pretty close to grill marks country. Also, this method seems to mellow the root’s bold flavor, and while the outside remains pleasantly fibrous, the inside gets creamy and sweet.
One note about the use of lemonhere: As anyone who has ever tried to cook raw green beans in a tomato sauce will tell you, an acidic cooking liquid can toughen the surface of a vegetable. I learned whyin culinary school, but that was in 1984, and I’m kind of fuzzy on anything before the Clinton administration. I’m sure one of our resident scientists will chime in with a concise explanation.
Anyway, whether you’re looking for a new and exciting side dish, or something to dip into aioli besides potatoes, I hope you give this oven “grilled” parsnips recipe a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 servings:
2 pounds parsnips juice of one lemon 2 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper to taste *Aleppo pepper, to taste
*Aleppo pepper is my new favorite ground chili pepper! It’s a moderately hot and fruity pepper that’s said to have “cumin-like undertones,” as Wikipedia puts it. For more information, click here. Read More »
An abundance of fresh asparagus is one of spring’s great gifts to the kitchen, and there's no shortage of tasty ways to prepare this versatile vegetable. Just be sure to not let your fear of overcookingget in the way of the sweet, tender spears you deserve.
Nobody wants grey and mushy, but undercooked asparagus is tough and bitter, so be sure to check as you go. Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh asparagus. Simply click on the link in the caption to see the video, read the original post, and get the ingredients. Enjoy!
Before all you cardiologists out there start a petition drive to have my channel removed from YouTube, let me add the following disclaimer: These butter-soaked, bourbon-glazed carrots should be enjoyed no more than twice a year.
Okay, now that we got that out of the way, I can go ahead and tell you that this is, in my humble opinion, the greatest, special-occasion carrot side dish of all time. Sweet, savory, and oh so glossy.
And yes, as unreasonable as it sounds, you do need bourbon to make bourbon-glazed carrots. What happens if you just make this recipe and use water instead of the whiskey? You get glazed carrots. Close, but no cigar. By the way, in related news, bourbon also pairs very well with cigars. Anyway, if you’re looking for a stellar, and very shiny vegetable side dish for your Easter celebration, I hope you give these bourbon-glazed carrots a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6-8 Portions:
1 stick (4-oz) butter
2 or 3 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into equal-sized pieces
It’s not quite spring yet, but this young man’s fancy has already turned to love. No, not that kind; I’m talking about my love for this ultra-easy, and gorgeously colored, cream of asparagus soup recipe. For me, asparagus is one of those rare vegetables that shines brightest when enjoyed in soup form.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the fresh spears, and have posted many recipes featuring them, but for pure asparagus goodness, you just can’t beat a perfectly made bowl of soup. There are no tricks or secret techniques here; just make sure your onions are fully cooked before adding the asparagus, and other than not over-cooking it, there’s not a lot that can go wrong.
Testing the vegetable’s doneness by pressing them against the side of the pot should eliminate any guesswork, but if unsure, err on the side of slightly under vs. slightly over cooked. The other decision you’ll have to make is whether to strain or not. I recommend it, but totally understand if you don’t. The soup is great as is, but straining out the woodier fibers does give it a finer, more velvety texture.
Of course, the float of Parmesan and lemon cream on top is optional also, but pretend it isn’t. It adds a great visual element, and adds a little extra richness to the soup’s lean, green goodness. I hope you fall in love with this soup soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 1 1/2 quarts of soup:
2 tbsp butter 1 diced onion
2 pounds asparagus
salt to taste
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
cayenne to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg (I forgot to mention in video, but just add with other spices!)
It’s not often that I post a video for an alternative method on a classic recipe before I’ve actually shown the real deal, but that’s what we have with this incredible baked mushroom risotto.
I was playing around with a baked paella recipe, and began wondering what would happen if I used a similar method for doing risotto. As you’ll see, the beginning and the end of the recipe are pretty standard, but we’ve taken the middle 15 minutes and moved it into the oven, in an attempt to eliminate those dreaded “variables.”
The size, shape, and thickness of your pan, how fast you add the liquid, and how high your heat is are factors that can wildly affect the outcome when done on the stovetop. By using the oven for the majority of the cooking, we don’t have as many things to worry about.
Of course, you still need to finish this thing off yourself, and taste and test for doneness and seasoning, but that goes for any recipe. The goal is to have the rice come out of the oven between 80-90% cooked, so that all it takes is a final addition of liquid, and a few minutes of stirring to recreate that signature “sauce” that makes this dish so famous.
I used a variety of risotto rice called “Carnaroli,” which is known as "the king of rices.” Thanks to a higher starch content and slightly longer grain, Carnaroli produces a beautifully creamy sauce, while still maintaining a firm, toothsome texture. You should be able to find it fairly easily at those fancy grocery stores, but if not, it’s readily available online.
If you end up using Arborio rice, the most popular variety sold for risotto, I’d suggest checking this after 10 minutes in the oven, as I suspect it will cook slightly quicker than the Carnaroli. Besides, you can always cook it an extra few minutes at the end. As many of us have learned the hard way, you can’t un-cook something.
Besides being easier and more repeatable, this method produced a risotto that was identical in looks, taste, and texture to anything I can do on the stove. Having said that, I enjoy standing at the stove making risotto the traditional way, as it’s one of the best meditations ever, so it will be interesting to see which method I use the next time I’m craving the dish.
Anyway, whether you’ve always been afraid to try risotto, or you’ve mastered it and are just curious, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 portions:
3 tbsp butter
3 cups diced mushrooms
1/2 yellow onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
1 cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, plus more if desired
1/2 cup cream, plus a few tablespoons to finish
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (don’t use that fake crap)
I realized after watching the finished video for this raw kale salad that I used the words “tough” and “bitter” about a dozen times. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I used those words because kale is tough and bitter, but when properly prepared, those are valuable assets, not liabilities.
If you slice it thin, and toss it with other tasty treats, the kale mellows out, and serves as a perfect foil for other vegetation. The sweet, wet crunch of raw applecounters the bitterness, and the texture of the leaves elevated from opposite directions by juicy orange and crunchy nuts.It’s quite a scene.
I’m going to do a video for the orange cumin vinaigrette, but in the meantime, the ingredients are listed below. Feel free to copy my salad formula, but this is more of an idea video than an actual recipe. You know what you like, so whatever that is, add it to some raw kale, and see what happens. Enjoy!
