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.

Pasta e Fagioli with Simple Green Salad

Soup, salad, and bread. Is this the Olive Garden? Not exactly but it was pretty tasty (Full disclosure: I am not ashamed to admit, I love Olive Garden. Its one of my favorite chains.) Anyway for dinner Monday night, I went fairly simple with a soup that I put together on Sunday afternoon, served with a simple green salad and some tasty french bread. The soup is actually from a package - one of those bagged numbers in the same section as the dried beans that comes with a spice packet and recipe on the back. All I had to do was add some other components: chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic; a can of tomatoes; broth and water. The spice packet had a bunch of dried Italian spices plus dehydrated spinach. It was obviously simple to use but it really wouldn't have been much harder to add my own spices. It was nice to get all the different kinds of beans in one bag and not have to buy all of them. My mom makes a really good lentil soup from a package like this and she usually adds italian sausage to it to make it even heartier. That would have worked well here too. The beans and small noodles, plus a lot of veggies and good seasoning, was a nice, hearty combination that was filling and comforting.

For the salad, I stayed very simple also and just mixed a half a chopped avocado with some red leaf lettuce and romaine that I had in the crisper. I used leftover caesar dressing from Ina Garten's recipe that I already had in the fridge from another day. Here is the recipe for that:

1 extra-large egg yolk at room temperature*
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
8 to 10 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mild olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the egg yolks, mustard, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube (as though you were making mayonnaise), until thick. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and pulse 3 times.

I usually cut this recipe in half when I make it for just "every day" use, i.e. not for a big dinner party or anything. It makes a lot. It is a pretty awesome recipe though - has a ton of flavor, very lemony and creamy.

*I actually make it with mayo now instead of the egg yolk (one T of mayo in place of the egg yolk). That way I am comfortable with it keeping in the fridge for a week or so without going bad on me.

I think the key, at least for me, to having success with eating at home regularly is to usually rely on menus that are fairly simple, and to not be afraid to use things like a soup mix, rather than making everything from scratch. So... day one, done. Tonight its pad thai (from a box mix, I am afraid... but it is a really good box.) Stay tuned, reader(s). All three of you.

Ambitious Week

One of the more rewarding things I do as a stay at home mom is to plan the week's meals ahead of time, and then actually follow through with the plan. For various reasons (cravings for other things, laziness, and/or "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids") this goal is not always met. I had a great idea that if I blog about my meal plan, and then have to report on whether it actually happens, I might have more success. So this morning, I will fill you in on the plan for the next four nightly meals (nothing planned for Friday), and then will report on whether those meals are actually made. They are mostly designed for Tom and I, but the kids will eat some component of them. So here are the four meals:

Monday: Pasta e Fagioli soup and french bread with green salad

Tuesday: Pad Thai with ground pork and chicken potstickers

Wednesday: Balsamic-Lemon Chicken Thighs and roasted brocolli

Thursday: Tacos de Carnitas with rice and beans

So here goes! More to follow...

Fish Fry, hey

On Friday night, we attempted to recreate a classic Wisconsin fish fry from home. Minneapolis is a strange strange land and, like our forbearers who settled in America from distant places and brought with them the foodways of their home, it brings one great comfort to eat the foods of the motherland. (I jest… they’re not very different of course, and most Americans probably believe Minneapolis is a city in Wisconsin, or vice versa, or don’t know the two exist at all. And furthermore, Minnesota is known for a damn fine fish fry in its own right.) But a Wisconsin fish fry has some unique attributes that set it apart. For me it signifies so much… a great start to a weekend -- a crowded bar, a reasonable and tasty meal, good conversation and energy. But more than that, it is a meal that is so grounded in the place where I am… it is really “home” in the best sense of the word.

To begin, a cocktail. The classic cocktail to drink before a Wisconsin fish fry has to be an Old Fashioned. I think this is pretty much a regional drink – although I know it has been around forever and is served all over the country. For you time travelers and Bravo fans, I hear it is the cocktail of choice for Don Draper of Mad Men. This drink is a standard order in Wisconsin bars, certainly in Sheboygan County. I think the typical preparation is brandy, but it is also prepared with whiskey or bourbon. In our house we go whiskey, Kessler’s of course (my dad tells me my grandfathers would be proud – both loyal to Kessler’s themselves). In our house, it’s also prepared with 1-2 people under the age of four grabbing at your pants leg and demanding something usually unreasonable, but this is not typical of most Wisconsin taverns. Then for your mixer you can choose from either sweet, sour, or press. Sweet is mixed with a sprite/7-up soda, and sour is with sour mix, something like Squirt. Press is a mix of the two sodas. Tom and I prefer a Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet. Tonight’s fish fry featured old fashioneds made from scratch… although I have always been guilty of making them with bottled mix in the past. This, I recently learned, is,a la My Cousin Vinny, sort of like a southerner making instant grits. Thank you, Mandi, for the old fashioned recipe (which I am sorry I had to slightly modify based on ingredients in my fridge):

For each drink…

In the bottom of a tub, muddle:

1 tsp sugar

1 maraschino cherry (I confess I did not have)

1 orange slice (dangit I don’t have this either, so I’ll use lemon)

3-4 shakes of bitters (ok, at least I have this)

Then add:

Da booze. (one or two shots)

Mix again, then add ice; then add your mixer(s), about 4-6 oz depending on how aggressive you want to be. Garnish with… cherry, or orange, or olives, or pickled mushrooms.

I have to say – they were damned good and I don’t know that we really missed the cherry. It was sweet enough and had good color.

Next, appetizers. For this we turned to a Benson family favorite, Grandma Dip. The origins of grandma dip are from Tom’s Grandma B, who apparently acquired this recipe from her Elkhart Lake bridge group. Other people in Elkhart also call it Grandma dip, or I think Bridge dip, depending on who your grandma is. In Tom's family, it is typically eaten while the group huddles in the kitchen around the bowl it was actually made in – since it didn’t last long enough to make it out of the kitchen or into any sort of serving bowl. Someone usually ends up cleaning the sides of the bowl with a chip or their finger, if there aren’t any chips left.

Grandma Dip

one package cream cheese, softened (8 oz)

one beef boullion cube, dissolved in as little water as possible

1-2 tsp. grated onion

worcestershire sauce, 4-5 shakes

potato chips or cut veggies for serving

Bring cream cheese to room temperature for best mixing. Add boullion to cream cheese until mixture stirs easily and is soft - you may not need to add all the liquid. Add grated onion and worcestershire sauce and taste. Adjust seasonings by adding more onion, worcestershire or boullion as necessary.

And now, onto the main event. A Wisconsin fish fry is always served with certain accompaniments: a potato – fries, baked, broasted, or potato pancakes (in Milwaukee potato pancakes are usually offered, but they are not standard in other parts of the state), coleslaw, bread (usually dark rye or a soft roll), and often applesauce.

As for the fish, typical options are usually cod, haddock, perch, bluegill, or walleye. You can usually have it battered and deep fried or breaded/seasoned and pan fried. I think restaurants usually also offer it baked or broiled but I honestly never pay much attention to that. Tonight we had walleye, coated in a flour based seasoning and pan fried, with potato pancakes, applesauce, and coleslaw. I elected not to make my own coating, but instead bought a store bought seasoning/coating.

Pan-fried Walleye (serves 2)

2 walleye fillets, washed under cold water and patted dry

1 egg, beaten and mixed with ½ c. water

½ c. store bought fish coating, or ½ c. flour seasoned to your liking with: salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, onion powder and/or garlic powder

Olive oil and butter for frying

Dip fish fillets in egg wash, and then roll/coat in fish seasoning. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes to allow for coating to adhere to fish.

Four enough vegetable oil into a heavy skilled to cover ¼ of fillet while frying and heat oil and butter to medium heat (350-360 degrees). Fry until golden brown – about 3-5 inutes each side. Turn fish only once. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Potato Pancakes

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded/grated and salted to drain

½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

1 T milk

3-4 T milk

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste (watch out to not over salt because you will have salted the potatoes to dry them out)

Olive oil and butter for frying

Mix all ingredients above from potatoes to salt until well incorporated. Heat butter and oil together in a frying pan over medium heat until just smoking. Add batter to pan to fry three to four cakes at a time (about 2-3 inches around). Cook 3-4 minutes a side and transfer to cookie sheet to keep warm in the oven while you cook the second batch. Made about 7-8 potato pancakes, probably enough for 4 servings.

Coleslaw

10 oz package shredded coleslaw mix

½ c. mayo

1 T greek yogurt

1 T dijon mustard

2 T white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

½ ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Tartar sauce

¼ c. mayo

Juice of one half lemon

2 small dill pickles, finely chopped

1 tsp chopped dill

1 T pickle juice

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least ½ hour before serving.

This meal was a real pleasure -- and really not hard to make when you take a few shortcuts for convenience. We especially loved the potato pancakes, they were crispy without being too greasy and had a nice density to them. It was fun to make and a joy to eat, which is what cooking is really supposed to be all about.

"That was a pretty. good. day. ... Why couldn't I have that day over and over and over?"

 

Breakfast Saves the Day

A few Saturdays ago, things were starting out a little rough... whiny kids, rainy weather, so much to do and so little time. On top of that, a brief look in the fridge revealed there was only one egg left for Tom and I, Lucy having already devoured two herself for breakfast (she likes them scrambled with cheese and some sort of meat, a true Wisconsin girl). I took one for the team and made Tom this sandwich with the remaining egg, and I have to say it put him in a good mood almost instantly.

1 egg, softly boiled, peeled and sliced (to make a perfect soft boiled egg, boil an egg for exactly 5:45, remove from hot water and cool in a water bath; when cool enough to handle, peel shell)
one slice of sharp cheddar, shredded or grated
1 slice of bacon, fried until crispy (okay, so I made two and ate the other one myself)
1 english muffin, toasted to your liking

Assemble sandwich in this order: muffin, sliced egg, salt/pepper, cheese, and bacon.  Or any way you want, really.  It will be good no matter what.

The Perfect Bite

Is there anything better than the perfect bite?  Just the right combination of flavors and textures, it hits your mouth like a little firework and makes you want to smile while you're in the middle of eating it.  I think a perfect bite can come in infinite shapes and sizes.  It might be a juicy burger with all the fixings in just the right place, or a little bit of fried egg, bacon and hashbrown on one fork.  One that came to mind tonight while was making dinner is pictured here.  It is simply avocado, lemon, salt and pepper.  (One of the advantages of cooking is getting to taste the goods while you go.   In my family it is known as a "schnibble" (spelling made up by me...  this may be the first time this word was ever written), named by my dad for a little bite of a brat or other piece of meat eaten while still on the grill.  If you were lucky, as a kid, you would get one of these while he was grilling out.)  Anyway, I schnibbled (verb form) on this while making a salad tonight and it was so tasty.  My camera isn't nice enough to see that there was a nice sprinkling of lime and some crunchy sea salt and cracked pepper on there.  The avocado is so creamy, and combined with the tart lemon juice, it is one nice little bite.  The perfect bite doesn't need to be complicated or high brow at all... it simply needs to leave you wishing you had just one more, just like it.  

Tropical Salad with Grilled Salmon and Mango Curry Vinaigrette

First of all, dear reader(s), I would like to apologize for the delay in writing.  It turns out Moveable Feast is going to have to be more moveable than I originally thought... we recently found out our family will be "relocating" (this is the fancy corporate term) to Minneapolis for a job promotion for my husband Tom.  I have been pretty busy getting prepared for this, and, since we are really in the thick of it right now, that may be the case for some time.  I have missed writing and am going to try to update, even if it is just small things here and there.  You still have to eat, right?

This salad was something I put together a few weeks ago when I found some decent salmon in the grocery store and also had a mango on hand.  It is very loosely based on a recipe from Colorado Collage, a Denver Junior League cookbook I got as a present from a friend several years ago that I just love.  The salads in the cookbook are especially great.  I will have to approximate how I made it, but here goes:

Tropical Salad with Grilled Salmon and Mango Curry Vinaigrette 

Serves 2

Salad:

4-5 cups mixed greens

2 salmon fillets, roasted (recipe follows)

1 mango, roughly chopped

1 avocado, roughly chopped

1 c. grape or cherry tomatoes, roasted (recipe follows)

one quarter red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c. chopped hothouse cucumber

1/4 c. chopped cilantro, for garnish

Vinaigrette:

1/4 c. mayo

3-4 drops hot sauce

2 T curry powder

1 clove garlic

2 sprigs cilantro

1/4 c. mango nectar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

salt to taste

Blend all in a food processor or blender until well mixed.  Chill at least 1/2 hour before serving.  Will keep about 1 week in fridge.

Roasted salmon: 

(Taken from Barefoot Contessa; her "idiot proof" way to make medium rare salmon)

Preheat oven to 450.  

Heat an oven proof skillet over high heat for 4 minutes.  Coat both sides of fillets liberally with olive oil, and season tops (i.e. opposite of skin) with salt and pepper.  When pan is hot, sear salmon, seasoned sides down, for 2 minutes until nice and brown.  This will give them a nice crust.  Flip the fillets, then place the whole pan in the oven for 5-7 minutes and finish baking salmon.

Roasted tomatoes:

If I have tomatoes on a salad in the winter, I usually like to prepare them this way if I have time.  Roasting them brings out the natural sugar in the tomatoes and sweetens them up.  This is nice in the winter when tomatoes can be flavorless.  Cherry or grape tomatoes are good for this because you can roast them whole, and while they will likely split open during cooking, they generally stay in one piece.  When the tomatoes are cooked for just a few minutes in a hot oven, they develop a really nice flavor.

In a small roasting pan, toss tomatoes, 1-2 T olive oil, coarse sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper to taste.  Cook in 450 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, checking and shaking pan after a few minutes.  Tomatoes are done when they are sizzling in the roasting pan and may have split or burst open just a bit.  Allow to cool a few minutes before placing on salad greens.

To assemble salad, divide greens evenly on two plates or bowls.  Assemble each plate with the vegetables and finally with the salmon and chopped cilantro garnish.  Drizzle with vinaigrette and enjoy.  For a complete meal, serve with a nice rose' wine and some warm french bread.

Now that I am writing this out, it sounds like a finicky meal, but it really isn't too time consuming at all to prepare.  Also you could easily change up the vinaigrette if you don't have mango nectar on hand. I randomly had a can in my pantry that I bought for something else. If I didn't have it I probably would have just used lime or lemon juice, or even champagne or white wine vinegar. Any vinaigrette with a little curry powder and mayo added would be really good I would think. It is good because while it is a pretty healthy salad it also has tons of flavor and is just beautiful on the table.

Chicken Pot Pie Gone Awry

There should be a cooking show where the host has to make everything while holding a slightly whiny baby in a Baby Bjorn the whole time.  Let's see how simple it is then, hey Tyler?

One a related note, I am currently baking a chicken pot pie that I made almost from scratch (no homemade pie crust here).  I did not follow any specific recipe - instead I followed about 10 and tried to combine them... which I think was not my best idea.  I will let you know how it turns out!  Worst case scenario there is leftover pasta in the fridge...

Greek Yogurt: One of many things Greeks are the best at

Greek yogurt is a whole different animal than regular yogurt, and is really so much more special and tasty it deserves its own post.  It is a thick, rich, tart/sour and creamy concoction that is very versatile and can be used both in savory and sweet ways.  It does have a few downsides... its a bit pricey and the full fat is pretty high in fat.  So I don't end up buying it too much but when I do I always wish I had more.  

My mom loves to eat it with fresh fruit, granola, and a dollop of honey.  The other day I stirred a few shakes of cinnamon and a little bit of honey into it before dipping the strawberries in it, and it was made for a great sweet treat.  It makes regular yogurt seem pretty boring.  

Another way I like to use greek yogurt is to make a quick tzatziki - I add some chopped cucumber, a little lemon juice and olive oil, some chopped mint or parsley, and salt and pepper - you can have with grilled lamb or chicken, or on its own as a little salad (if you eat it on its own I would add more cucumbers).

I hear the fat free version of the Fage brand is almost as good as the full fat... does anyone have any thoughts on that?  Any other ways you like to eat greek yogurt?

Pig, Part One: A Wonderful, Magical Animal

Does that look as good as it tasted?  I don't think so.  It was delish though, I swear.  It was so good I started eating it before I remembered to take a picture.

Right now I am rockin' to George Michael while Tom does the dishes, Lucy is sitting in the bath and Harris is sleeping.  Yes, it is an awesome Friday night.  Oh dear god, what happened to my life.  I used to be cool.  

Anyway, let's not get too depressed, you can still eat delicious pork chops into your thirties.  This recipe is old school, out of the book of Tom's Grandma Charles.  To summarize, gravy = good stuff.  I like to make my own gravy, but this meal is is great because it is so convenient, hence the jars of gravy.  If you are daring, or have some extra time, make your own.  You can do it!

Grandma's Pork Chops

Serves 4

4 center cut pork chops, bone in

one sleeve saltine crackers, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 eggs

2 T milk

3-4 T canola oil

5 T butter, divided

2 8 oz packages mushrooms, sliced

2 sm. jars pork gravy

3 T butter, cut into small dots

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Scramble egg and milk mixture in one shallow bowl, and crushed saltines with salt and pepper in another.  Dip pork chops in egg mixture and then coat in saltines until they are fully covered in saltine mixture.

Pre-heat a non-stick skillet to medium high heat and add the canola oil.  When it is nice and hot add the chops and brown on both sides.  Remove chops to a baking dish.  Clean skillet of all brown bits and return to heat over medium flame.  Add 3 T butter and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are soft and browned, about 10 minutes.  Add gravy, stir to combine, and pour over chops. Dot remaining 2 T butter on top, cover with foil.  Bake, covered, for 2 hours.  

I recommend serving with mashed potatoes, because you have lots of delicious gravy to soak up.  We also served with one package of sauteed spinach, sauteed with a little olive oil and s+p.   

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

I decided to spend a part of my afternoon ignoring the fact that Lucy isn't napping, and am making soup instead.  I thought it was a great plan at the time.  It did pretty much backfire on me, but that's for another blog.  Anyway this soup is full of Thai flavors and was adapted from a recipe I got from my friend Victor Littig, who until recently was the chef at Lake Street Cafe in Elkhart Lake.  I had this soup there on a cold winter night in December - and its perfect to enjoy right now too, since we are currently entering the Frigid Blast of 2009, according to the weather people.  It is aromatic and tasty and the lentils give it a protein boost so it is probably good for a light meal.  I will post a pic of it tonight after we have it for dinner!

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

2 medium red onions, chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, sliced thin

10 cloves garlic, minced

1 thai bird chili, minced

3 T olive oil

1 c. red lentils

1 14 oz can coconut milk

14 oz water

2-3 kaffir lime leaves (can be omitted if you don't have)

1/2 to 1 tsp. salt

juice of one lime

3 scallions, chopped

1/2 c. cilantro leaves, chopped

Saute the onions, lemongrass, garlic and chili over medium low heat in about 3 T olive oil (eyeball it, as Rachael Ray would say) (sorry Tom for the Rachael Ray reference, but at least I didn't say EVOO). After about 10-15 minutes, the lemongrass and everything will get soft, which is what you want.  What you don't want is to burn the garlic, so keep that flame down.  Garlic gets bitter if burnt.

Add the lentils, water, coconut milk and lime leaves and bring to a boil.  Then lower heat and simmer until lentils are soft, about 25 or 30 minutes.  Then add salt to taste when the lentils are soft.  Don't salt before cooking the lentils - I have heard that will toughen lentils.

Right before serving, add a squeeze of lime juice and chopped cilantro and scallions to the bowl.  The soup has a little heat to it but die hards may want to add a squirt of Sriracha hot sauce.  

Edited to add: Photo of soup above; Note re: chili.  The chili pepper I used, which was a skinny green one, ribs and seeds and all, had no heat.  I will use something different next time.  Also, be sure to saute the aromatics for a while before adding the lentils.  The lemongrass stalks will be a bit crunchy otherwise!

First. Post. Ever.

Here we go... New Years Resolution number one is underway.  Does this mean I can forgo the other one, getting in shape?

I have talked and talked for a long time about starting a page about food.  I love to eat and read about cooking, dining, and to some extent, nutrition and the agricultural industry.  I know there are a lot of great food blogs and pages out there, and I am not sure I can reach that level of greatness.  But my goal is simply to share various food experiences - the sublime to the ordinary.  As a stay at home mom of two, we have plenty of ordinary... I probably shouldn't tell you that today I had a hot dog and shells and cheese for lunch.  But we also seek out, and occasionally find, the extraordinary.  The unforgettable... perfect tacos de carnitas, with a greasy and crispy filling of delicious pork, spicy green salsa, a sprinkling of salt, some chopped cilantro and onions, and a squeeze of lime... spicy fish curry with a broth of coconut milk flavored with fish sauce, thai chilis, onions ladled on top of perfect sticky jasmine rice...or garlicky pan seared chicken thighs simmered in a sauce of white wine, green olives, and crushed red pepper.  These are a few of my favorite things to make at home, and hopefully, as the posts progress, I'll have a chance to share these recipes and many others with you.  To the extent that we can actually get out of the house to eat at restaurants, I will share that too.  

The title of my blog comes from a favorite Hemingway book, where he writes about living, and to some extent eating, as a young writer in Paris.  I live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  So don't get any awesome ideas about that.  But Hemingway was definitely passionate about describing flavors, textures, and emotions surrounding some of his favorite foods.  We do have that in common.