Deep Fried...Something

Quinoa Risotto with Spinach and Parmesan (take 2)

This weekend brought another revisited recipe.  The only major change I made to this recipe was that I used my own homemade vegetable stock (link below, in ingredients).  The first time I made this recipe, I didn't post the ingredients or directions or a picture.  This time, I'll do all of that.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Risotto with Spinach and Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
• 2 1/4 cups vegetable stock or broth
• 2 cups chopped, stemmed spinach (or arugula)
• 1 small carrot, peeled and finely shredded
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Don't let the garlic brown.
2. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite but slightly hard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer.
3. Stir in the cheese and season with the salt and pepper. Serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional information (per serving):

Calories	147	Monounsaturated fat	1 g
Protein	8 g	Cholesterol	3 mg
Carbohydrate	23 g	Sodium	292 mg
Total fat	3 g	Fiber	2 g
Saturated fat	1 g

Spicy Beef Curry Stew (take 2)

I decided to try to make the Spicy Beef Curry Stew again today.  This time, I added more salt and pepper, garlic, chipotle, and curry powder.  It came out way better. 

Changes to ingredients:

• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, diced (instead of 1)
• 2 Tablespoons curry powder (instead of 1)
• 1½ Tablespoons garlic, minced (instead of 2 teaspoons)

I'm glad I made this one again, it was nice to see the notes I made last time actually improved the recipe. :)  See the link above for the whole recipe.

Note:
I put the sauce in a medium pot and brought it to a boil, then added 1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2-3 Tablespoons cold water.  A slightly thicker sauce was a nice improvement too!

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

Another great and easy recipe from the 101 cookbooks blog.  I stole their picture, but made mine a little different.  First, I used white quinoa instead of red.  Second, I used a mix of raspberries and blackberries.  Third, I used honey instead of agave nectar.  This is definitely a keeper recipe though, I'll certainly make it again.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
• 4 teaspoons organic agave nectar, such as Madhava brand

Directions:

1. Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
3. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes.
4. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans.
5. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Serves 4.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Salted Caramel Coulis

Sarah had mentioned a couple of things to me recently that she wanted to try.  The first was a simple but tasty buttermilk pancake recipe.  The second was salted caramel.  She had heard of it in cupcakes, cookies, etc.  When I saw this recipe for Salted Caramel Coulis pop up on the internet, I figured it was a match made in heaven.  Enjoy!

Buttermilk Pancakes with Salted Caramel Coulis

Ingredients:
For the pancakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• Choice of berries, sliced bananas, raisins or chopped toasted nuts (optional)
• Oil for griddle

For the coulis:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt

Directions:
For the pancakes:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
2. Lightly beat the eggs with the buttermilk, milk and melted butter.
3. Just before you are ready to make the pancakes, add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once, stirring just long enough to blend. The batter should be slightly lumpy.
4. If you want to add fruit or nuts, stir them in now, or you may sprinkle them on the pancakes while they are on the griddle.
5. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or heavy skillet over medium-high heat (375 degrees on an electric griddle).
6. Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the griddle or skillet, spacing the pancakes apart so they do not run together. When bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes and the undersides are lightly browned, turn and cook for about 2 minutes longer, until lightly browned on the bottom.
7. Serve immediately on warmed plates with coulis on top. Serves 4 (yields about 24 four-inch pancakes.)

For the coulis:

1. Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
2. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes.
3. Add heavy whipping cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in unsalted butter and fleur de sel or coarse salt. Transfer caramel to small pitcher or bowl. Cool.

Notes:
Coulis can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Stir over low heat just until warm enough to pour before using.  I cut the pancake recipe in half but made the full coulis recipe.

Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon

This is one of my favorite salmon recipes.  It sounds like a strange combination of ingredients, but it comes out great every time.

Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon

From: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Serves: 4

Start to finish: 25 minutes

This recipe will work with both skin-on and skinless fillets. Do not substitute salmon steaks. If you have extra glaze, drizzle it over plain rice or steamed vegetables, or pass it separately at the table.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 salmon fillets (6 ounces each), 1.25 inches thick
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted 

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Bring the maple syrup and soy sauce to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture is syrupy and measures roughly 1/2 cup, about 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, remove any bones from the salmon. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper, and lay it skin-side down in a lightly-oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish (space fillets about 1 inch apart). Bake for 5 minutes.
3. Using a pastry brush, spread a thick layer of the maple-soy glaze over the tops and sides of the salmon. Continue to bake until all but the very center of the fish has turned from translucent to opaque, about 5 minutes longer.
4. Brush the fillets with another layer of glaze and sprinkle with the sesame seeds before serving.

Notes:

Do not substitute imitation maple syrup.  It's cheaper, but this recipe is MUCH better with real maple syrup.  I almost always double the amounts for the sauce, it's in high demand!

Korean-style Grilled Flank Steak

Last year around this time, I sent out an e-mail to my family asking them to send me recipes to compile into a cookbook.  My grandpa responded with a gift subscription to Gourmet magazine.  Most of the recipes in there most of the time are way too involved for my tastes, but they have a "Quick Recipes" section each month with recipes that generally take 30 minutes or less.  This recipe came from the July 2007 issue, and is one of my favorites.

Picture by Sarah

Korean-style Grilled Flank Steak

Serves 4
Active time: 25 minutes
Start to Finish: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons Sriracha (rooster sauce)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 to 1 1/4 pound flank steak
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 tablesppons toasted sesame seeds
• white rice
• soft leaf lettuce

Directions:

1. Stir together soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, Sriracha, sugar, and sesame oil.
2. Heat grill.  Oil grill rack, then grill steak over medium-high heat, covered, turning over once, 6-8 minutes for medium-rare. 
3. Transfer steak to a cutting board and drizzle with 2 tablespoons sauce, then let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes.  Thinly slice steak across the grain.  Serve with remaining sauce, scallions, and sesame seeds.

Cheesy Butternut Bake

Today's recipe comes courtesy of the Hungry Girl web site.  Sarah sent me an e-mail with this recipe early in the week, after getting wind of it from her friend Alison.  Even though neither one of us had really had butternut squash before, I decided to give it a shot this weekend, and I wasn't disappointed at all.  Another great healthy recipe that is surprisingly easy to make.  I used a food processor instead of a blender, and I doubled the recipe because of the size of the casserole dish I had available (also, because I bought twice as much squash as I needed and I have no idea what else to do with it).

HG's Cheesy Butternut Bake

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cubed butternut squash
• 2 wedges The Laughing Cow cheese, Light Original Swiss, room temperature (I used Garlic & Herb)
• 3/4 cup diced onions
• 1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place squash in large microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and microwave for 6 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, uncover and drain water. Set aside.
3. Place onions in a small microwave-safe dish with 2 tbsp. water. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, uncover and drain any excess water. Set aside.
4. Place squash and all other ingredients except for the onions in a blender. (Make sure squash cubes are not still piping hot.) Pulse until thoroughly mixed (but not liquefied). Remove blender from the base, and then stir in the onions.
5. Transfer squash mixture to a small casserole dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Place in the oven, and bake for 35 - 40 minutes (until edges begin to brown). Then serve with a spoon as you would mashed potatoes! Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Stock

I've noticed that several of the recipes I've made recently and several that I've browsed online have used vegetable stock as an ingredient.  Rather than buying it at the store, I decided to try to make my own today.  I looked around and found a wide variety of recipes.  Some were simpler than others, but roasting the vegetables before boiling them sounded really good to me, so I went for it.  Here's what I started with:

Roasted Vegetable Stock

Ingredients:
On the cutting board: 3 onions, 2 potatoes, 16 ounces white mushrooms, 6 carrots, 6 green onions, 1 leek, 1 ear of corn, 3 tomatoes, and 2 heads of garlic.
Also used but not pictured: 1 bunch of celery, ~1 Tablespoon peppercorns, 3 bay leaves, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, and fresh basil.

Directions:
Place oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.  Scrub all vegetables thoroughly.  Do not peel carrots or potatoes!  Chop onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, leek (white and green parts), green onion (white and green parts), tomatoes, celery, and garlic into large pieces.  Place all vegetables except for corn into roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Roast for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  If desired, place corn directly on oven rack and roast for 30-45 minutes.  Remove vegetables from oven.  Chop corn into 3-4 pieces.  Place all ingredients in large stockpot.  Add water until all vegetables are covered, plus a little extra.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Strain out all vegetables and spices.  For easy storage, fill 1 quart Ziploc™ bags with stock and place in freezer until ready to use.  Makes ~8 cups.

Notes:
There is no salt in this recipe.  I plan on adding salt when I use this in recipes.  Feel free to experiment with different vegetables, but stay away from the following: cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.  These vegetables will overwhelm the flavor of the stock.

Nothing new?!?

I haven't really cooked anything this week.  I've been exhausted from reserve duty last weekend, and we didn't go grocery shopping last weekend either.  Both problems will be fixed this weekend, and I'll be posting more regularly again.