Thursday, June 23, 2011
You will not find a green thumb on either one of my hands. Out of the 6 herbs I decided to grow in containers on my porch this summer, only 2 are still alive. Cilantro and thyme. Cilantro, for the most part, I know when & where to use it. (Now that I no longer hate it.) But thyme isn’t something I find myself needing to use as a fresh herb too often. So, when searching for a recipe to use the savoy cabbage I received in our CSA, I found an incredibly simple one with a short ingredient list and it just so happened to use the thyme I kept alive!
Growing up the only way I knew of eating cabbage was either in coleslaw, or… boiled. BLECH. Now, there’s nothing wrong with my mom’s cooking skills, but BOILED CABBAGE?! Still to this day the thought of it brings up exact sensory memories of the taste (bland), texture (soft and somewhat slimy almost), and smell (just.not.good) of boiled cabbage. The good news is, this preparation brings up nothing but good sensory experiences! I love that getting my vegetables in a CSA box every summer really challenges me to try different preparations of vegetables. The technique here isn’t like any way I’ve ever had cabbage, but it will definitely be enjoyed in this manner again! We love pretty much anything roasted, and this is no exception. It has the smoky, roasted flavor, and still retains plenty of crunch.
My mom has a pretty good garden growing on the farm in KY, I’m not sure if she planted cabbage, but if she did I am definitely passing this one along to her, and praying she never boils cabbage again!
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Roasted Savoy Cabbage with Raisins
Yield: 4 servings
Cook Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 1/2 hr
I halved this recipe exactly, and it was the perfect amount for the two of us. Because there was less volume, I didn't need to add it to the pan in 5 batches, two was sufficient. I also didn't need to cook it in the oven 30-40 minutes, as 20-25 was fine. Just a heads up, if like me, you most often cook for 2. 🙂
Also, I found it pretty much impossible to remove the thyme before serving, as it had completely broken up. It was fine to left in though, so no worries.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 large head Savoy cabbage (2 1/2 pounds), quartered and cored
2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Directions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
Soak raisins in very hot water to cover in a small bowl 30 minutes, replacing hot water once or twice as it becomes tepid.
Tear cabbage into large pieces.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet or pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add cabbage in 5 batches, adding some salt and pepper with each batch, stirring, and adding next batch as previous batch begins to wilt. (Some cabbage will brown.) Add butter and thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until all cabbage is wilted, about 3 minutes. Drain raisins and add to cabbage, then transfer skillet to oven and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until cabbage is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs before serving. (optional)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
As y’all already know, I like bourbon. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna get up on my soapbox again like I did in my Bourbon Ice Cream post. I’m just going to tell you about a cool product I came across. I actually get approached via email to review & write about products somewhat frequently. Often I just don’t have time, or I’m not interested in the product. But when I do find something I am really interested in, I love sharing it with other people. Whether it be a new restaurant, food item or flavor, or product, if I like it I want to tell the world! Also, I often tweet about things I’m eating or drinking, and on (a not so rare) occasion that includes bourbon. That’s probably how the guys over at Whiskey Disks found me. Companies will often follow me on Twitter, and the majority of the time I check out their twitter feed and go “Meh… Not interested.” and I don’t follow them back. But not the whiskey disk guys! They don’t fill their twitter feed with self promotion only, they often tweet humorous little ditties, and funny quotes. I like that. And, of course I was interested in their product.
I obviously enjoy bourbon in baked goods, and in a fabulous cocktail, but I don’t drink bourbon on it’s own too often. And if I do, it’s always been on the rocks, never neat. But as it were, Nathan & I were gifted with multiple bottles of bourbon (and Tennessee whiskey!) as wedding presents. Some we already know and love (Bulleit, pronounced bullet, like what you put in a gun), and some that were new to us. We kept saying we ought to do a side by side tasting to compare. Well, as it turned out I got the opportunity to review the whiskey disks, and figured it would be a great opportunity to do some sampling. We wanted to be able to taste & smell as many of the differences we could between the different varieties, and knew that taking them neat was the way to go.
I won’t go into all the details about how & why the whiskey disks works, as the guys explain it themselves so well. But basically, the concept is, when you add ice to liquor, the ice melts, thus diluting the drink. As I’ve mentioned in the past, bourbon, whiskey, or scotch, are all complex spirits. The complexity is brought on by the various grains, the distilling process, oak barrels used to age it, and more. (I’m FAR from a bourbon expert, just an enthusiast.) The cool thing about the whiskey disks is, they bring the temperature down (to about 50 degrees) without diluting the drink. “Keep it neat, but lose some heat” is what they say.
The whiskey disks are made entirely from start to finish in New Hampshire, using soapstone from Quebec, Canada. They are wonderfully smooth, and won’t scratch your glass. We thought they were just gorgeous in our glasses. (Yes, I picked out these glasses because they were the closest thing I could find to the round glasses Don Draper uses in Mad Men.)
I won’t go into specifics of each variety we sampled, as we weren’t being super scientific and taking notes. Just sipping and discussing. One thing was for sure, I definitely tasted more subtleties I’d never noticed before in the Bulleit, which helped me to notice the differences in the other new to us brands we tried. I’m really glad we used the whiskey disks! While they don’t chill it to the same degree as ice, I’ve learned that’s a good thing, it just takes some getting used to. If you already like to drink your bourbon or whiskey neat, then this would be great for you. I don’t think I’m advanced enough to ALWAYS want to drink my bourbon neat, but I certainly know whenever we get a new brand or variety, we’ll definitely be using the whiskey disks to be able to fully taste & sample it.
For more info on the Whiskey Disks, or to order your own, just go visit their website, whiskeydisks.com.
***I was provided my set of whiskey disks free of charge, but was not compensated for this post. The opinions here are entirely my own. I would NEVER write about a product I didn’t feel strongly about.***
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Actually, the real full name of this is *deepbreath* BBQ Chicken Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Black Bean & Corn Succotash, and Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing. But please, read on and you’ll discover this isn’t as complicated as the name implies!
This salad was a great meal to use up various ingredients I had on hand. In my first CSA box of the season it included a delicious head of bibb lettuce. All the fun social events that occur in the summer can lead to heavy eating for me. I decided the lettuce in my CSA was a sign I needed to eat more salads! Salads can be boring for me sometimes, so it’s important to try different variations to keep my interest in them. And as I mentioned in my Balsamic Vinaigrette post, a homemade dressing is not only impressive, it’s delicious, and definitely adds variety to your salads.
I was mainly inspired by the flavors of Panera’s BBQ Chicken Salad. I decided that the lonely sweet potato that had been sitting on my counter for a week, would be a great spin on this salad. I peeled, chopped, and roasted the sweet potatoes, and they were a filling, healthy starch to add to the salad. Along with frozen corn (it wasn’t quite in season yet when I made this mid-May), canned black beans, and chicken marinated in BBQ sauce then grilled, it made for a healthy meal that even satisfied Nathan hungry appetite!
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BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing
Yield: 2 servings with plenty of the dressing leftover
Obviously you should just use whatever veggies you have on hand. I only had corn, sweet potatoes, and black beans, but this salad would also be delicious with tomatoes, green peppers, red onion, or whatever you like!
I prepared the beans & corn like a succotash. I did all the prep for this salad (chopping, etc) in the morning, so I decided to let the frozen corn thaw all day in the fridge combined with the beans & some seasonings to just enhance the flavor. In the evening we roasted the sweet potatoes, and grilled the chicken. I threw together the dressing while those cooked. It came together really fast. Tossing the beans & corn in a succotash isn't completely necessary, you'll still get a delicious salad if you skip the succotash step!
Ingredients:
Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
1/4-1/2 cup of barbecue sauce to marinade (optional, but recommended)
Salad:
1 head bibb lettuce, washed & chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped
Succotash:
1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
1/2 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2-2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed (unless you plan to let this thaw & marinade all day like I did!)
salt & pepper to taste
Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise, light or regular
1/3 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or nonfat greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
Additional ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil or nonstick spray (to lightly coat the sweet potatoes before roasting)
extra BBQ sauce for drizzling on finished salad
Directions:
Succotash:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add beans & corn, season with salt & pepper. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Chicken:
Marinate chicken in BBQ sauce about 6 hours (optional). Preheat grill (we used the George Foreman), and cook chicken until done. Remove from heat and let "rest" for about 5-10 minutes. Chicken can even be made ahead of time & refrigerated.
Make dressing:
Combine all the ingredients together and whisk (or shake, if using a jar) vigorously to combine. You could also run this through a blender to make it even more smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Assemble lettuce, black bean & corn succotash, sweet potates, and top with chicken. Drizzle with additional BBQ sauce, followed by the Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Salted caramel is one of my absolute favorite flavors. In fact, we chose salted caramel gelato to serve at our wedding! I’m not sure why I love it so much, perhaps it’s the complexity of salty + sweet. I just know that I lose all resistance in the face of this flavor in any dessert! I originally made a batch of this salted caramel sauce because I needed it for another recipe (not sure if I’ll blog that, not crazy about the photos). I was halving the other recipe, but chose to make the full amount of caramel, for obvious reasons. Besides, anytime a recipe calls to boil sugar & water, I hate to halve it, because I always seem to have a hard time having enough liquid for the candy thermometer to even register.
This salted caramel sauce is the perfect consistancy for drizzling atop ice cream. Especially bourbon ice cream. But it also is an excellent topping for brownies & cheesecake. Or, you can go with my preferred method of consumption, and just eat it straight from the jar. It keeps really well refrigerated, as long as you try to hide it from yourself after each time you eat some. I have to put it way in the back, behind the pickles or something, or else every time I open the refrigerator I want to eat more!
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Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon grey sea salt or fleur de sel
Directions:
Add water to a 2-qt saucepan. Gently add the sugar to the center of the pot - it will mound, that's fine. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, uncover the pot and insert a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until the mixture registers 300 F and is just starting to develop some color, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat under the pot to medium and cook until the syrup is amber and registers 350 F on the thermometer, about another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. If it simmers before the syrup is ready, just take it off the heat and set aside.
Remove the caramel from the heat and add about 1/4 of the warm cream to the pot. It will bubble furiously so be careful. Once the bubbling subsides, add the remaining cream. When it stops bubbling, whisk gently to incorporate fully. Add the butter and the salt and whisk to combine.
Refrigerate up to 1 month.
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