Category: recipe

Salad Greens with Sweet Potato and Gorgonzola

As often is the case, I look through the fridge to find discover what I'm going to cook. I discovered a bag of mixed salad greens that wouldn't last remain fresh much longer and an abundance of sweet potatoes. I remembered one of Martha Rose Shulman's recipes for baby salad greens with sweet potato croutons. It was a good starting point.

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced in 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, medium dice
  • 1/4 medium onion, medium dice
  • 1/2 bag (5 oz.) salad greens or a mixture of greens your favorite salad greens
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp Chipotle pepper powder
  • 1/3-1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 oz. Gorgonzola cheese crumbled
  • 1-2 Tbs Dijon mustard or Dijon Honey Mustard
  • 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbs lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Putting it all together

  1. Place diced sweet potato in a covered microwavable container with 2 Tbs water and microwave until just tender, usually about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a saute pan and add the sweet potato. Sprinkle with Chipotle powder. Saute over medium-high heat until lightly toasted on all sides, 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool.
  3. In the same pan, toast the walnuts over low heat. Toss or stir frequently. Monitor closely to avoid burning.
  4. Trim, wash and dry the salad greens if required.
  5. Add the greens to a bowl along with onion and red bell peper, sweet potato, walnuts, and cheese.
  6. In a small bowl, mix the mustard, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper until well blended. Taste for seasoning and balance, adding additional lime juice or vinegar if more tartness is desired.
  7. Add the dressing to the salad and toss gently.

This is a substantial salad and could easily be a main course for lunch along with a rustic bread.

Turkey and Pumpkin Chili

With lots of leftover roast turkey, I went looking for a turkey chili recipe and discovered this one at AllRecipes.Com:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pumpkin-turkey-chili/Detail.aspx

It was a good starting point for an after Thanksgiving meal using leftover turkey. Obviously you could use ground turkey in place of the leftover roast turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 roasted turkey thigh, de-boned and chunked. This should produce about 1-1/2 cups of dark meet.
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
  • 1 15 oz can tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz can dark red beans
  • 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin
  • 1/2 to 1  cup chick broth
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • salt to taste
  • 2 oz grated cheese (cheddar or jack)
  • 3 chopped scallions
  • Sour cream

Putting it all together

  1. Add olive oil to a pot and heat over medium heat
  2. Add chopped vegetables (onion, pepper, and garlic). Saute until softened
  3. Add turkey. If using ground turkey, cook about 5 minutes or until the turkey is nearly cooked through.
  4. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, an beans.
  5. Add enough chicken stock to reach desired consistency.
  6. Add chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, cocoa power, oregano.
  7. Add salt to taste
  8. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
  9. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serves 5-6.

Condiments

Serve with chopped scallions, grated cheese, and sour cream.

Corn Bread

I've been making a corn bread lately that meets family approval, so thought I would share it. This is the basic recipe that can be enhanced with a variety of additions....

Ingredients

  • 1 cup course yellow corn meal
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 to 1 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Putting it all together

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to insure they are well mixed.
  3. Add the egg, olive oil and 3/4 cup milk.
  4. Whisk the ingredients together until blended. Add more milk if required to
  5. Add 1 Tbs olive oil to a cast iron skillet (or oven proof skillet/dish).
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Allow to cool for five minutes before cutting.

Serves 5-6.

Variations

To the above recipe, a number of ingredients can be added. Use your imagination...

  • 1/2 cup roasted corn
  • 1/2 cup sauteed (red) bell pepper
  • 1/2 to 1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper
  • 1/2 cup crumbled crisp bacon

Spaghetti Squash

I usually use Italian seasoning when I do spaghetti squash, but decided to do an Asian style this time.

Ingredients

  • 1 spaghetti squash
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tsp fresh ginger minced or grated
  • 1/2 cup onion chopped
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach
  • Juice from 1/2 lime (about 2 Tbs)
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Putting it all together

  1. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds
  2. Place the squash in a microwavable dish and add one Tbs of water. Cover with plastic wrap.
  3. Microwave the squash until the flesh is tender, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
  4. Add 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter to a pan skillet and allow the butter to melt.
  5. Add the garlic, ginger, onion and red pepper to the skillet and saute until softened
  6. While the chopped vegetables are cooking, use a fork to scape out the flesh of the squash. It should scrape out easily in what resembles strands of spaghetti or fine pasta.
  7. Add the squash to the skillet and mix with the sauteed vegetables.
  8. Add the spinach to the skillet and continue to cook until the spinach has begun to wilt and the vegetables are thoroughly mixed.
  9. Remove the mixture from heat.
  10. Add the lime juice.
  11. Add 1 tsp of sesame seed oil.
  12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 3-4 depending on the size of the squash.

Grilled rainbow trout

I like trout and buy it whenever I see it in the fish shop. My favorite recipe is simple. Stuff it with herbs and a bit of citrus and grill it...

Ingredients

  • 2 whole rainbow trout, cleaned
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon or lime
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Fresh herbs (You can use a variety here. I use lavender, sage, oregano, and parsley.

Putting it all together

  1. Drizzle the oil over the outside of the trout and rub over the skin on both sides.
  2. Season the trout with salt and pepper on outside and inside of the cavity
  3. Slice the lemon or lime into thin slices and stuff two to three slices into the cavity of each fish.
  4. Place your desired combination of fresh herbs into the cavity of each trout. I generally pack as much as possible into the cavity. The herbs will be discarded after cooking, so they don't need to be chopped.
  5. Place the trout over a medium hot, well-oiled grill
  6. Cook the trout about 4-5 minutes on each side.
  7. Remove from the grill.
  8. Remove the herbs and lemon or lime from the cavity. Some appreciate the head being removed. It's easy to do at this point, though I find it more interesting to serve it with the head.

Serves 2

If you are grilling out doors, it's easy to serve this with grilled vegetables. I grilled sweet corn and romaine lettuce last night. I drizzled both with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper before grilling. I like both the corn and lettuce lightly charred.

“Nancy likes them” chickpeas and chorizo

If its almost good enough for Nancy, it's almost good enough to share! This dish was inspired by a Mark Bitten recipe in the New York Times. Adding sherry or lemon juice would be a nice addition. Certainly other greens could be substituted for the Romaine lettuce. (Bitten used spinach.) I've never been a big fan of bread crumbs, but Bitten used them.

This was a last minute (actually about 20 minutes) dish to take to a pot-luck dinner. I was in a hurry and didn't have his recipe at hand, so I used ingredients I had on hand. Not a big fan of chickpeas, this turned out to be "almost good" according to Nancy...

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbs olive oil
  • 3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 29 oz can of chickpeas
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 pound chorizo sausage, diced
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/3-1/2 cup cilantro, sliced (to taste)
  • 1/2 head of Romaine lettuce
  • salt and pepper to taste

Putting it all together

  1. Rinse, drain, and dry the chickpeas
  2. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to a large, heated skillet
  3. Add the chickpeas and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally,  until they begin to lightly color. As they are ready, they will begin to pop slightly and achieve a slightly crunchy texture.
  4. While the chickpeas are cooking, roughly chop the lettuce and dice all the vegetables and chorizo into a medium dice.
  5. Remove the chickpeas to a bowl.
  6. Add 2 Tbs of olive oil, the onion, pepper, and chorizo to the skillet. Cook until the onion and pepper are soft and the sausage is lightly browned.
  7. Add the lettuce and chickpeas to the skillet and cook until the lettuce is slightly wilted.
  8. Taste for seasoning
  9. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro
  10. Serve hot or at room temperature

Jicama slaw

When shopping in a different grocery store, I often see produce that I pass by in other stores.  I saw some Jicama over the weekend and decided it would be good in a salad....

Ingredients

  • 1 jicama, peeled and julienned, or cut into thin match sticks
  • 3/4 cup Napa cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
  • 1/2 sweet onion thinly sliced
  • 1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/3-1/2 cup cilantro, sliced (to taste)

Dressing

  • 2 canned chipotle peppers with sauce, finely chopped
  • 2 tbs honey
  • Juice from 1 1/2 to 2 limes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/4 -1/3 cup olive oil

Putting it all together

  1. Chop all the vegetables and combine in a bowl large enough to easily toss with the dressing.
  2. Wisk the dressing in a small bowl just to combine.
  3. Pour dressing over the vegetables and mix until thoroughly combined.
  4. Taste and adjust for seasoning, adding more lime, chipotle peppers, or salt.