Tropical Salad with Cilantro-Mint Dressing

I know I need to get better at making meals that both the kids and I like to eat... this would not be on that list, to be sure. The funny, and slightly pathetic thing, is that I already did eat with my kids (we all enjoyed delicious pigs in a blanket about an hour ago). Now I just sat down to eat this. You see, there are actually some advantages to being pregnant, one of which is being able to rationalize this behavior.

This salad will be right up your alley if you like the freshness of mint and cilantro together. I know many people don't have mint in their fridge very often, but I would like to take this moment to encourage you to plant mint in your garden/yard this spring. I like to add mint to my iced tea, lemonade, fruit salads, and lettuce salads, especially in the summer. It is a great garnish for a variety of thai curries. My mom also likes to make mint tea by steeping mint in a little hot water. You should probably plant your mint in an obscure area of the yard or garden because it spreads larger every year and it can take an area over (yes it comes back every year and may even live year round if you have a mild winter). It seems to be the herbs in this dressing that make this salad stand out, as well as make the mango and veggies "work" together.

If you aren't going to enjoy a pig in a blanket as your "starter" to this meal, you could certainly add some protein to this such as a portion of cooked chicken, canned tuna or salmon, or even some grilled shrimp to make a complete meal.

Finally, the serving size for the salad is one... but as you can see it would be pretty simple to double or quadruple the recipe if you have friends.

2-3 c. mixed baby lettuce or other torn lettuce leaves (red, boston/bibb, or green would work fine)

1/2 avocado, cut into chunks

1/2 ripe mango, cut into chunks

1/2 c. english cucumber, cut into chunks

3-5 cherry tomatoes, halved (or small tomato cut into chunks)

Dressing:

1 lime, juiced

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

2-3 T cilantro, chopped

1/2 T mint, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Carnitas a casa

In my former life I lived in Chicago in the middle of Bucktown, a city neighborhood just north and west of downtown. Bucktown was pretty well gentrified by the time we moved in, but vestiges of its former working class/immigrant vibe still remained and made it the interesting neighborhood it was. One of those was a Latino grocery store called Carnicerias Guanajuato, which housed inside of it an absolute gem of a taco stand. If better tacos existed in Chicago, I never found them. For just a few dollars, you could get two or three tacos de carnitas, a braised crispy pork taco made up of various pork "parts." Authentic carnitas can be made up of the whole pig pretty much -- shoulder and rib meat, cheeks, liver, and skin and are often slow cooked in lard seasoned with a bunch of stuff, including orange rind. The meat is served on two smallish corn tortillas, then topped with chopped cilantro and onion and served with lime wedges, salt and a simple salsa verde or rojo. The combination of various textures and flavors within the meat make an authentic taco de carnitas really special and the accompaniments add a freshness and zest... its just awesome. Great, now I just drooled on my sweater.

If you live in Chicago, you shouldn't make your own carnitas at home -- just go to the Guanajuato market and eat them there (its on Ashland just north of Division). You can also buy the meat to go from their meat department, already cooked and ready to go. If you don't live in Chicago there is a decent substitute that you can make at home which is really easy and actually still pretty awesome too. It also does not involve cooking any pork cheeks or liver if that makes you queasy. Or vats of lard, if that also makes you queasy.

Tacos de Carnitas*

serves 4-6

4 lb. bone in pork shoulder, cut into large cubes

1 qt. beef stock

1 large bottle of store bought salsa (I use Pace or something similar, medium or hot depending on your preference)

water

salt

accompaniments:

lime wedges

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

about 1/2 c. chopped cilantro

good salsa verde or salsa casera (our favorite is the Herdez brand, which comes in small cans)

salt

corn or flour tortillas**

*This recipe is adapted from one I found some time ago on a favorite food blog of mine, Simply Recipes.

** After buying a lot of poor to average corn tortillas from gringo grocery stores I have concluded that I am better off making these with flour. By all means, if you can find decent, i.e. fresh that day, corn tortillas then do that. I know el Rey in Milwaukee has good corn ones that are often warm on the shelf when you buy them. I have not found a decent Latino market in the Twin Cities yet.

In a large dutch oven, combine pork, salsa, about 1/2 T salt and beef broth. Add enough water to cover the meat and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook on the stove top for at least three hours, until meat is fork tender and pulls apart easily.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet or other large roasting pan by covering with foil for easier clean up. Remove the meat from liquid, shred into bite size chunks, and spread out on cookie sheet, making sure not to crowd the meat too much. Roast meat for 10-15 minutes (check after 10) until crispy and browned.

To assemble tacos, first warm the tortillas in one of a few ways. The best way I've found is to heat them directly on a gas burner by setting the flame to medium and flipping them quickly to just toast on both sides. You can also warm them in a lightly greased skillet, or worst case scenario microwave them 1-2 at a time for about 10 seconds each. Keep the prepared tortillas warm on a covered plate or other basket.

Place a small amount of meat on each tortilla, and then top with chopped onion and cilantro, a shake of salt, a squeeze of lime, and a dollop of salsa. Buen Provecho!

Roasted Salad Nicoise

I should first confess that I am writing this under some duress. I thought Harris was napping, but as it turns out, I can now hear him yelling from his crib for me to "come see his trick!" I can only assume that his trick is not him laying peacefully in his bed and it actually might involve something gymnastic in nature. So I should hurry.

Anyway, to me a salad nicoise is a great entree salad because it has the rare combination of being healthy (all "good fats" - olive oil and tuna, also rich in omega threes) and is filling at the same time. If you manage to have moderate intake of bread and red wine along with it (both very French and perfect accompaniments if you ask me), you have succeeded! I have modified this salad from ones I have seen in cookbooks in a few ways. First: the tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes are roasted in salt, pepper and olive oil over a high heat to carmelize them and draw out additional flavors. In a classic or typical preparation, the potatoes and green beans are boiled or steamed and in my opinion can be a bit boring. Especially in winter, I think the smaller grape tomatoes taste better with a little high heat roasting. Next: I use good tuna packed in olive oil. This is much tastier than tuna packed in olive oil in my opinion (thank you for the tip Mom!) Finally, I also toss the greens in dressing before assembling the salad, which lets you get that good dressing onto the lettuce, which needs flavor, rather than the accompaniments, which are already well seasoned.

So I guess this salad is definitely not a "authentic" preparation, but I like these little changes. I think its actually an improvement over the very average nicoise I had at a cafe right outside the Eiffel Tower, but to be honest that wouldn't take much. Feel free to make your own additions or double the portions if you are serving to friends!

Roasted Salad Nicoise (serves 2)

1/2 medium head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

1 can tuna packed in olive oil, mostly drained of olive oil but not rinsed

10-12 grape tomatoes

Approx. 1 cup green beans

10-12 small red potatoes (halved or quartered if necessary so each potato is in approximate bite size piece)

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced in halves or quarters

nicoise or kalamata olives

optional: capers, anchovy fillets, or red onion slices

2-4 T olive oil (divided) and salt and pepper (for roasting vegetables)

Dressing:

2 T. lemon juice

4 T. olive oil

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1-2 T grated parmesan cheese (0ptional)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, toss potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper until well coated. Pour onto one end of a cookie sheet. Then toss green beans in the same bowl with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a separate section on the same cookie sheet. Roast these vegetables in the oven for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, similarly toss grape tomatoes in the bowl with a little more olive oil and salt and pepper. When the potatoes and green beans are almost done (they will have browned with a nice crust), remove the hot cookie sheet and add the tomatoes to the cookie sheet and keep separate from the other veggies if possible. Continue to cook in the oven for just a few minutes more, until tomatoes have softened just a bit (maybe two or three minutes). If you overcook them they will burst and juice out onto the cookie sheet. When vegetables are done, set pan aside to cool.

Meanwhile, mix all dressing ingredients well in a covered jar and shake well. Toss greens with the salad dressing (you may not need all the dressing, so start by tossing greens with half and add more if necessary) and arrange the dressed lettuce on two separate plates or large shallow bowls if possible. Assemble remaining ingredients on top of the lettuce (tuna, green beans, tomatoes, olives, potatoes and eggs, and capers, anchovies or red onion if desired). Finish the salad with fresh cracked pepper and coarse sea salt and serve with a baguette. Bon appetit!

Egg Salad with Bacon and Basil: Its Not Just for Lunch Anymore

This morning, I was not in the mood for any of my standard breakfasts, which vary from a yogurt and handful of granola to a fried egg on toast. Perhaps it was the fact that I got the most inspiring cookbook in the mail yesterday, Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan, and I can't wait to start getting into it (thanks Meg!). No, this recipe isn't from that cookbook or even based on that cookbook, but reading it over coffee this morning definitely made me want to eat something delicious. So I started thinking and quickly came up with this one... and took a picture before I started digging in, because I thought it might be something worth sharing. Turns out I was right. There is a lot of wisdom to the fact that if you add bacon to something, it gets markedly better, and this was no exception. It got put together pretty fast and was definitely better (although not as healthy) as my standard breakfasts usually are.

2 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped/mashed

2 pieces of cooked bacon, chopped

2 basil leaves, chopped

2 tsp. lemon zest

2 T mayonnaise

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients well and serve in between slices of toast. Makes two sandwiches.

I think that's the quickest recipe I've ever posted! I didn't exactly measure but I am pretty confident that all the measurements are right -- isn't it funny that everything is in twos? Okay, I admit, I did cook three pieces of bacon and that third piece still managed to make it into my mouth but not into the egg salad.

What I loved about this, simply, was the lemon, basil and bacon. I feel like lemon and mayo should just always be together -- on a sandwich at least. It gives mayo a freshness and zip and I just love. Basil also added a nice freshness -- and I suppose another herb you might have on hand would work great too (parsley, chives, or cilantro would all be nice I would think). And do I even need to explain the bacon thing? Salty, crispy, and so... breakfasty. Makes this egg salad a "breakfast egg salad".

Stay tuned for more recipes from my new cookbook! I am hoping to get into it this weekend and will share whatever I make. I mean, I'll share my experience... not the actual food. That's for me.

Dumpling Soup - A Modest Return to Blogging

Today I attempt a return to blog land by posting about a last minute lunch that turned out to be a good surprise. I can't count the number of times I have a plan in mind for my kids lunch but don't have anything ready for myself. What started out as a lunch where I was almost ready to join in eating kid food ended in enjoying spicy dumpling soup. I had frozen potsickers in the freezer, as well as green onions, cilantro, carrots (which were all a little wilted but who cares when you are making a soup!), and Trader Joe's asian dipping sauce in the fridge. In the pantry I had chicken bullion cubes and srirhacha hot sauce. They combined to make an asian broth with notes of ginger, onion, and heat and a fresh element brought by the grated carrots and chopped cilantro. The potstickers gave the soup some substance and were flavored nicely by the broth.

Last Minute Dumpling Soup

4-6 potstickers, depending on hunger

2-3 c. prepared chicken broth or stock

1 chopped green onion

2 T chopped cilantro

1 carrot, grated

2 T asian dipping sauce (any brand is fine but use one that has ginger in it for best flavor in broth)

Srirhacha to taste

Boil potstickers in hot water according to package directions. My package said to boil until they float to the top, and this only took about 5 minutes. Remove dumplings to large soup bowl, reserving cooking water. Reserve approximate amount of water to make broth and return to boil with the bullion cube/s. (or just dump water and add your stock to pot, if you are using liquid stock). When broth is boiling, add chopped green onion, grated carrot, asian dipping sauce, and chopped cilantro. Allow to heat together for just a minute, and then pour hot broth over dumplings in bowl, making sure to get all the bits of carrot and green herbs into the bowl too. Finish with srirhacha hot sauce and enjoy.

I was not expecting much from my lunch today, but this was so tasty I would happily serve as a starter for dinner or as a lunch with a friend. It was so easy to prepare and came out tasting great!

Kid Stuff

I haven't really written before about food I cook for my kids, and that is probably, unfortunately, because it isn't that interesting. It is very gratifying to make a meal that my kids love -- but unfortunately it is often something that is either out of a box, bag, or can, and doesn't involve any real skill on my part. I get that kids like simple flavors, etc., but I wish there was more variety to their favorites, and that they liked more natural foods (other than fresh fruit, which they generally love). I have somehow trained Lucy to say, on occasion "thank you very much for the lovely dinner" which is always nice to hear -- and I would love to hear it even more, and not just when I make Spiderman Macaroni and Cheese, Sponge Bob Macaroni and Cheese, or Scooby Doo Macaroni and Cheese (current top three meals in my house).

And so, this post is going to pose a few questions for you... 1)is anyone out there actually reading this? and 2)if the answer to that question is yes, do you have any tips, as a parent or just a food lover, for meal ideas for kids, namely, a three and a half year old and 15 month old? Here are a few goals: a balanced meal, focus on natural foods as much as possible, and have it actually taste good.

If I get any responses, I'll create a master list, including some of my favorites, that I/you can bookmark and hopefully use for meal ideas.

Well, to echo the great W., “Mission Accomplished.” Last week, despite the odds I managed to cook at home every night for seven nights straight! Yes, seven! Even though I started this challenge with meals planned for Monday through Thursday, we actually cooked at home the previous Sunday night as well as the next Friday and Saturday, which is almost certainly a personal best. To be fair, Tom cooked Friday night (an awesome meal… I have asked him to write a guest post to share it, but I may have to post a picture just to show you). It felt great to cook at home all those nights in a row, and it also felt great to go out for sushi last night and get take out pizza tonight. I fell off the wagon bigtime!

I wanted to share the favorite meal of the week, which was lemon chicken thighs with parmesan roasted broccoli. The lemon chicken is from American Masala by Chef Suvir Saran. I got this book last year from Tom, and while many of the recipes in the book have an Indian bend, this one does not. This recipe is not only one of my favorite recipes tried from the book, but is one of the best ways I have ever cooked chicken at home. I was compelled to cook it from the picture accompanying the recipe, so I hope my picture here might do the same. Chicken thighs are my favorite cut of chicken, especially bone-in and skin-on. This chicken is really unique tasting – it has a lot of acidity from the lemon and balsamic vinegar, but the addition of sugar and butter rounds that out, adds sweetness, and makes for a really balanced flavor. I have a real weakness for lemon, I just love it in pretty much everything, and the lemon flavor stands out a lot in this one.

The parmesan roasted broccoli is new to me – it is from Ina Garten’s latest cookbook Back to Basics. Surprise, surprise, it also features a considerable amount of lemon zest and lemon juice. I actually thought the dishes worked together despite the major lemon action… and Tom says he agrees (I was holding a chef’s knife at the time we discussed this issue, however). The broccoli is really outstanding, also one of the best preparations of broccoli I have ever made at home.

Lemon Chicken Thighs

8 chicken thighs
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 lemons, zested, 1 juiced, and the other cut into wedges
1 T plus one tsp. kosher salt
2-½ tsp. ground pepper
2 T sugar
2 T canola oil
4 T unsalted butter

Prick the chicken pieces all over with a fork and set aside. Whisk the balsamic vinegar with half of the lemon zest, salt, and 2 tsp. of the ground pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes up to overnight. Mix the sugar with the remaining lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter, and place chicken skin-side-down in the pan along with the remaining marinade. Cook until the chicken is browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes, and then flip each piece over and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle some of the lemon sugar and remaining ½ tsp. of ground pepper over the chicken and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken is completely cooked through and a thermometer interested into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, about 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from oven and scatter the butter pieces and lemon juice over it. Serve once the butter is melted, with some of the pan sauce drizzled over the chicken and rice, with lemon wedges on the side.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

4 to 5 pounds broccoli

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Good olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

The chicken recipe actually calls for the chicken to be roasted at 400 degrees, but given that I was cooking the chicken at the same time as the broccoli I adjust the temp and cooked both dishes at 425. I prepared jasmine rice to serve as an accompaniment, and it was a perfect side for the chicken, since the rice soaked up some of the delicious pan juices of the chicken… that sauce is just awesome.