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  1. Pumpkin Pie Steel-Cut Oats

    September 6, 2011 by Mario

    Lately I’ve been cooking steel-cut oats for the family. I’ve read that they are better for you than the rolled-variety, more fiber, less processed and they are much tastier.

    I’ve been experimenting with different add-ins so that we don’t have to sweeten it with sugar. Cinnamon works really good, so do raisins, apples and bananas. It being close to Fall (not so much weather-wise here in central Texas) my mind tends to wander towards pumpkin pie, and I though it would be great to add pumpkin and spices to the oatmeal. Looks like I’m not original in my idea, I found the following recipe on Feeding My Tribe. I’ll give it a try this next weekend.

    Pumpkin Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal—in less than 10 minutes

    As I mentioned in a earlier post, we eat a lot of oatmeal and usually it is the steel-cut kind. But, that takes too long to cook in the morning, like 40 minutes, right? Not really, as I base mine on this easy and relatively fast recipe for 7 minute stove top steel-cut oatmeal. That is how I make oatmeal about 75% of the time now.

    Of course, you can always make your oatmeal ahead and just heat it up in the morning. But, it is simple to soak the oats overnight and then they cook in a jiffy. When I make oatmeal, it is enough to feed four elementary kids plus one adult. I usually end up with one or two extra servings of oatmeal and Emma and I have it the next morning since she LOVES oatmeal.

    You can use the basic recipe and then add dried fruit and spices to your preference, or add nothing and just enjoy the oaty goodness. I add the flax-seed to boost the Omega-3’s. Today’s breakfast was:

    Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Ingredients

    • 1 cup steel cut oats
    • 1 cup milk
    • 1 cup canned pumpkin
    • 1 dash sea salt
    • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
    • 2 Tbsp real maple syrup or honey (not HFCS stuff)
    • 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

    The night before (or at least 6 hours before), soak the oats in about 3-4 cups of plain water with about 2 Tbsp of whey, kefir, buttermilk, or lemon juice added.

    Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal in pot

    (Note: the whey, etc. is optional, it would work with just the water, but the whey helps to “pre-digest” the oats and allows your body to get more nutrients out of them).

    In the morning, drain oats in a fine-meshed sieve, rinse with water, and then drain again.

    Place the drained, soaked oats and all other ingredients in a pot, bring to slight boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Serve with cream if desired.

    The original recipe calls for pre-soaking to cut down on cooking time. But I don’t think it’s necessary, yeah, it may take 30 mins or so to cook, but it’s so hearty, that I usually make it on weekends and a long slow cooking time is just fine with me.

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  2. Molly Ringwald’s Whole Roasted Chicken

    February 10, 2011 by Mario

    Adapted from Molly Ringwald

    Found this recipe in my email inbox from Chow this morning. Sounds tasty, just thought I’d share.
    Adapted from Molly Ringwald

    This Go-To Dish by Brat Pack good girl Molly Ringwald, now grown-up author of Getting the Pretty Back, is a no-frills roasted chicken. Cooked in a scorching 500°F oven, Molly’s chicken was adapted from microwave queen Barbara Kafka’s simple recipe. Here Molly adds some lemons and onions to deepen the flavors of the pan sauce. Serve with a potato gratin or simple root vegetables.

    Game plan: Molly recommends making sure your oven is clean. At such high temperatures, a greasy oven can smoke out your kitchen.

    TIME/SERVINGS
    Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
    Makes: 6 to 8 servings

    INGREDIENTS
    1 medium yellow onion, halved and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
    2 medium lemons
    1 (4-1/2-pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry
    Salt
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Fresh thyme or other herbs (optional)
    3/4 cup dry vermouth

    INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Heat the oven to 500°F and arrange a rack in the lower third.
    2. Mound the onions in the center of a roasting pan. Slice one of the lemons into thin rounds and place on top of the onions. Slice the remaining lemon in half; set aside.
    3. Rub the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Season inside the cavity with salt and pepper, then place the reserved lemon halves and herbs, if using, inside. Place the chicken, breast side up, on top of the onions and lemon slices and tuck the wings back and underneath.
    4. Roast until the chicken is golden brown all over and the juices run clear from the legs when cut with a knife, about 45 minutes (or 10 minutes per pound).
    5. Insert the handle of a wooden spoon inside the cavity of the chicken, then lift and tilt it slightly to let the juices run back into the roasting pan. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or serving platter and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, transfer the sliced lemon rounds from the roasting pan to a serving plate; set aside.
    6. Place the roasting pan across two burners over medium heat, add the vermouth, and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer until reduced by half. Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to the plate with the lemon slices. Taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the chicken with the lemon rounds, onions, and sauce.

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  3. Albondigas Soup Recipe

    January 11, 2010 by Mario

    Albodingas Soup (credit: simplyrecipes.com)

    Found this recipe at SimplyRecipes.com. My mother used to make this soup when we were kids and I’ve always wanted to make it because I remember it being so good. Now I can cook it for my kids!

    If fresh mint is not available, you can use a couple teaspoons of dried mint from herbal mint tea. You can also vary the vegetables depending on what you have on hand. Spring peas in their pods instead of shucked peas, for example. Or you could add some chopped fresh zucchini or corn. My mother often puts a couple extra tablespoons of chopped fresh mint directly into the soup. Feel free to substitute ground turkey for the ground beef, we do it often.

    INGREDIENTS

    • 2 Tbsp olive oil
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 1 large garlic clove, minced
    • 3 quarts of chicken stock or beef stock OR water OR a mixture of both (we usually use half stock half water
    • as the meatballs will create their own stock)*
    • 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
    • 1/2 lb of string beans, strings and ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
    • 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
    • 1/3 cup of raw white rice
    • 1 pound ground beef
    • 1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves
    • 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
    • 1 raw egg
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    • A dash of cayenne (optional)
    • 1 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh peas
    • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crumbled, or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
    • Salt and pepper
    • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

    *If using prepared stock, be sure to use gluten-free stock if you are cooking gluten-free.

    METHOD

    1 Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot (5-qt) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add broth mixture and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add carrots and string beans.
    2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix rice into meat, adding mint leaves and parsley, salt and pepper. Mix in raw egg. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

    3 Add the meatballs to the simmering soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the peas towards the end of the 1/2 hour. Add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne, to taste.

    Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

    Serves 6-8.

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  4. Homemade Goat Cheese

    January 5, 2010 by Mario

    Found this recipe here. Another one I haver to try.

    Homemade Goat Cheese
    Tweaked from Over the Rainbeau, Living the Dream of Sustainable Farming

    Feel free to experiment with your herb(s) of choice and any other flavor combinations that float your boat. The sky’s the limit! Be careful not to drain your cheese for too long, as it may begin to dry out and lose that supple, smooth consistency you’re going after.

    Music Pairing: Don’t Stop, Fleetwood Mac

    Ingredients

    • 1 quart goat’s milk
    • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
    • 1/2 clove freshly grated garlic
    • a few pinches herbs de provence
    • freshly chopped parsley
    • coarse salt, to taste

    Method

    In a medium saucepan, slowly heat milk until it reaches 180 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let stand until milk starts to curdle, about 15-20 seconds. If milk does not curdle, add a little more lemon juice.

    Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Ladle milk into colander. Pull up and tie the four corners of cheesecloth together and hang on the handle of a wooden spoon, set over a stockpot or very deep bowl. Allow to drain until the consistency of slightly dry cottage cheese is reached, about 1-1.5 hours. Transfer to a bowl and fold in salt, herbs and garlic. Serve immediately atop warm crostinis. Can be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 1 week.

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  5. Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich

    December 1, 2009 by Mario

    Found here, had at Saigon Express on Main and always wanted to try.

    Banh-Mi Sandwich

    makes 2 sandwiches
    Ingredients
    Carrot Daikon pickle condiment:
    1/2 cup carrot matchsticks (or thin coins like I did)
    optional 1/2 cup white daikon radish matchsticks
    Generous pinch of salt
    1 TBS sugar
    2 TBS rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
    Marinade:
    1 TBS finely minced garlic
    1 TBS fish sauce
    1 TBS soy sauce
    1 tsp sugar
    1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
    2 TBS high heat cooking oil plus more as needed (divided)
    1 lb (500 g) sirloin, top round, or rib eye (as thinly sliced as possible)
    Sandwiches:
    1 shallot thinly sliced (or you can use some red onion)
    2 8 in hoagie rolls or baguette sections
    4 large pieces green lettuce
    10-15 leaves of cilantro, parsley, basil, or other fresh herbs

    Instructions
    Toss carrots and daikon with the salt, sugar, and vinegar. Let sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes. If not using immediately, add enough vinegar to cover veggies, stir, and store in glass jar or plastic container up to 1 month.

    In a bowl whisk together garlic, fish sauce, sor sauce, sugar, black pepper and 1 TBS of the oil. Add beef slices and mix well to coat each slice. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.

    Set a large frying pan or grill pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, pour in 1 TBS of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. You’ll be cooking the beef in batches, how many depends on how big your pan is.

    Add the beef slices, laying them flat and in a single layer. Fry 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on how thinly it’s sliced. Flip and fry other side 30 seconds to 1 minute. Edges of the beef should be just slightly charred, but cooking time should be kept to a minimum to avoid overcooking meat. Pour any juices left in the pan into a small bowl. Fry additional batches of meat slices the same way, adding a touch more oil if necessary, and reserving pan juices.

    Return pan to stovetop on high heat. Add a touch more cooking oil and when hot, add the sliced shallots. Fry for 30 seconds, until just softened, mopping up any remaining pan juices and caramelized bits during the frying.

    To assemble sandwiches, slice the hoagie rolls or baguettes in half lengthwise. Brush each side with some of the reserved pan juices. To each sandwich add a layer of lettuce, then grilled beef, carrot daikon pickle, grilled shallots, and finally sprinkle on the herbs.

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