Food Fails

So, I had planned to make a meal this evening that was nothing special, but it involved making some brown rice. So I went ahead and got it in the pot and set the timer for 35 minutes, so I could go in the other room and do some reading. Usually it takes a bit longer than that, but I figured I could check on it then. Well... apparently I had the heat a little to high because right in the middle of a paragraph I started to smell burning. "OH CRAP!" Well, there was no fire, but the rice was definitely burnt. And in case you don't know, that's an awful stench. Despite the cold, I have my window open to air the place out.

Yeah, poor timing, etc. on my part. But I thought this snafu was a nice lead into a post I've been thinking about for a while: Food Fails. I've had quite a few of them. They're always so disappointing, especially when I had high hopes for the dish and put in more effort than boiling water and pouring rice into the water. Here are just four of my recent fails...

Food Fail 1: Savory Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash

I love acorn squash roasted after being tossed with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and rosemary (and then sprinkled generously with blue cheese). Admittedly, I hadn't made this before, but it was similar to a stuffed portabella recipe I had made, and thought it would be good. First I cut the squash in half, cleaned it, tossed it in some olive oil, salt and pepper, and balsamic vinegar, and roasted the two pieces for 25 minutes (face down) at 400°. Then I turned them over and let them bake for another 10 minutes at 375°. In the meantime I made the stuffing, which consisted of diced garlic, diced shallot, chopped spinach, chopped walnuts, sliced crimini mushrooms, and gorgonzola cheese. I sauteed the filling (before adding the cheese) for a bit to try and cook down the garlic and shallot. I should have tasted the stuffing before adding it, but... well, this is a failure story. Once I stuffed the two pieces of squash, I sprinkled some more gorgonzola on top and put them in the oven on 375° for 15 minutes. Verdict: way too much garlic and shallot, which tasted raw and overwhelming, and the squash wasn't entirely cooked through... though I had managed to stick a fork in it easily before stuffing it... that spot must have been cooked through. I imagine if I cooked the filling a bit more and mixed the filling, maybe with some breadcrumbs or rice it would have been ok. So I may try this again with those alterations (and make sure the squash is cooked through before stuffing it).

This is how I normally make acorn squash and how I will continue to... 

Food Fail 2: Cabbage and Bacon Sauté

Seems pretty straight forward right? I mean I had a huge head of cabbage and though I typically love it raw dressed in a simple vinaigrette and salt and pepper, I wanted to try something new. I cut up a couple pieces of applewood smoked bacon and let it render, then I added some chopped garlic, the sliced cabbage, and about a 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper and let it all cook down. I thought it would have a nice smoky, sweet, slightly acidic thing that would go well with pork or roasted chicken. Nope... Boring...  It wasn't terrible, but it was just totally meh. I guess I could have used some paprika or even dried mustard to give it a kick, but I think I'll just try and stick with my usual way of making cabbage for now... or until I find a recipe I want to try... where it's not total improv on my part.


Food Fail 3: Pesto Spaghetti Squash Bake

Yes, another squash... perhaps that's where I need to not experiment. I've made spaghetti squash numerous times and it always turned out pretty good. I had some pesto, ricotta, and some mozzarella cheese so I went for it. Cooked the squash, tossed it with the pesto and ricotta, sprinkled the top with mozz and parm, and baked it for about 25 minutes. Yuck... The textures were just off... and unlike pasta the squash doesn't absorb any of the pesto oil so it was pretty oily and just plain bleck. I guess I should mention, too, that it was then I had realized I've lost my taste for pesto. I used to love it, but for whatever reason it's something I have no interest in eating any time soon (or maybe even again).

Food Fail 4: Sauteed Chicken with Drunken Wild Mushrooms

This was perhaps one of my biggest disappointments. The recipe was basically an altered chicken Marsala recipe, but I used dried mushrooms and a dry white wine. When re-hydrating the mushrooms I cooked them in part chicken broth and part white wine. Despite my efforts I somehow over cooked the chicken and undercooked the mushrooms... it didn't taste bad, but the dryness of the chicken and the chewyness of the mushrooms left the dish... off. And it left me throwing out the leftovers. This is one I would try again, but I think I would just pay closer attention to the timing, etc. so I didn't over or under cook any of it.

So, though my grandma (and others) called me a good little cook, there is plenty of trial and error. Now to find a way to remove that burnt odor from my apartment...

Patty Who?

Or... Mediterranean Turkey Patties with yogurt sauce and roast veggies

 

I used to make these all the time, but I haven't made them in while and I was craving them. I think I found the original recipe in a magazine, which included bulgur wheat, but I've made some alterations and actually find I like my recipe better.

Patties:
1-1.5 lbs ground turkey
1 T fresh minced garlic
2 Ts chopped green onion
1 T fresh lemon zest
2 tsps ground cumin
Salt and pepper

Making the patties is pretty straight forward: put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix them together well, and make them into patties. I cook mine in a nonstick fry pan on medium heat, until cooked through.

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used nonfat)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp fresh minced garlic
pinch of salt

 The sauce is best made ahead of time so that the flavors can meld together before serving.  Greek yogurt isn't totally necessary, it's just what I always have on hand. If you want to make a salad you could easily make a yogurt dressing with regular yogurt (which is thinner) and add water or even a little bit of lemon juice to make it more "saucy."

There are varying sides that would be a good mate to these--chickpeas and tomato salad is just one suggestion. I made some roasted veggies (red onions, carrots, and mushrooms) to go along with them which I tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil, about a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a good bit of dried oregano.  

The great thing about this recipe is that the patties are pretty versatile. I tend to eat them either as part of a salad or just on top of some romaine lettuce (like in the top photo), but they could easily be made into burgers or sliders, or even meatballs. Also I use the 93% fat free turkey, but you could use the 99%. If you do, I'd probably make sure you don't overcook them at all since it's likely they'd dry out really quickly.

The turkey patties may seem a bit boring, but honestly this is one of my favorite meals. They're easy and have a fresh and healthy, but fulfilling flavor. Let me know if you try them!

Sí Cervezas y Carnitas!

Pork carnitas is perhaps one of my favorite Mexican dishes. There are numerous recipes out there for carnitas, and my old standby has always involved using the slow-cooker, which, I have to say, makes it a super easy dish to make. But I recently came across one where a dutch oven (and the actual oven) is used and I decided to try it.

The basic recipe I used, with a few minor adjustments of my own, was found here.  
If you've never made carnitas before, or don't know what it is, basically, it's just spice rubbed pork (usually loin or butt), which is cooked with some liquid until it's tender and easily pulls apart. 

One of the most appealing things about this recipe was that the pork was seared (on the stove top) on each side first, which usually seals in the juices and flavor. It can also give the pork a nice crust on the outside adding texture.

The pork searing in the pan.

After the pork is seared, you remove it from the pot and deglaze the pan with liquid (and then add the pork back in and cook it in the oven for a couple hours). This recipe was also a little different than my usual because it has beer in it (mmm... beer) along with fresh orange juice. I usually make mine with pineapple juice, chicken broth/stock, and fresh orange juice. My favorite beer to have with Mexican (and perhaps my favorite beer) is Negra Modelo, so that's what I choose to use for the beer in the recipe. 
 
Her recipe calls for 12 oz of beer, but I split it with chicken broth (6 oz of beer and 6 oz of broth)... that way I had something to sip on while I was cooking. ;) Also, though her recipe didn't call for it, I added about 3 whole garlic cloves, a roughly chopped onion, and a bay leaf to the pot for a little more flavor.

It was one tasty orange--I almost regretted sacrificing it for its juice.

The recipe says to cook the pork for a half an hour with the lid on at 350°. And then without the lid for an hour and a half--turning the pork every half hour. I didn't have quite as much pork as her recipe called for (3 lbs, I had 1.75). So I cut the total time to just under 1.5 hours, and turned the pork every 20 minutes.

When I took it out of the oven to pull-apart, I struggled a bit. It didn't seem to be as tender as when I cook it in the slow cooker, but I admit, I cut some of the fat off of the pork before cooking it even though her recipe said not to... so that may be partly why (there was not enough fat to melt into the meat and make it more tender).

However, the flavor and texture were still out-of-this-world!

Though usually served as tacos--I figured I could forgo the tortillas and served the carnitas with shredded lettuce, fresh chopped grape tomatoes, diced avocado, salsa verde, sour cream, and lime wedges.

I have to say it was really freaking good. It was one of those things I was so happy to have leftovers from. My taste-tester and friend, Andrea, was even quoted as saying, "the flavor is outrageous!" Well... she might not have said that exactly, but it was close.

So, sooooooo good.

One of the appealing aspects of this recipe was that it is an all-in-one-pot dish, which is usually why I prefer using the slow-cooker. But I am thinking that the next time I try this I could just go through with all the steps (searing the pork and deglazing the pan with beer, etc.), but instead of popping it in the oven, I could just put everything in the crock pot and set it on high for 3 hours. It might make the pork fall apart a little easier, and since my kitchen is relatively small, keep my kitchen from getting to be 100°.  Either way, I'll be making this again.

Tiny Tasty Tomatoes

(or Oven Roasted/Dried Grape Tomatoes)

For the most part, I'm not really a huge fan of sun dried tomatoes, but I have found that sometimes I like roasted or grilled (and marinated) tomatoes. I like to have them with salads or even on a cheese plate.

Recently I found myself with an overabundance of grape tomatoes so I thought I'd give making some of my own a shot. After perusing the web and looking through some of my cookbooks, I came up with my own recipe....

1 lb of grape tomatoes (each sliced lengthwise)
1-2 Tb dried or fresh herbs (or a combo, which is what I did)--I used rosemary,
             basil, oregano, and some parsley
1-2 Tb good olive oil
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
Heavy pinch (or two) of sea salt

I chopped (or crushed if they were dry) the herbs and garlic. I thought that by cutting each of the tomatoes in half, length-wise it would make it easier for the juices to evaporate out of them and also make them look pretty when they were done. I mixed all the ingredients in a bowl to make sure the tomatoes were well marinated. And turned them out on to a baking sheet... making sure there was only a single layer.

To be honest, the tomatoes looked very tasty and perfectly edible before even putting them in the oven. I could see using this recipe (without roasting the tomatoes) on a hot summer day either as a salad on their own (or with fresh mozzarella pearls) or added to fresh cooked pasta with some grated Parmesan Reggiano.... just some ideas I had.

Add these little babies to freshly cooked pasta with some grated parm... yum!

However, I decided to go with my initial plan and popped them in the oven to roast on 400° for about 15 minutes (my house smelled fantastic after making these). After that, I took them out, shook the pan a bit and then put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes, but this time I lowered the temperature to 300° more to let them dry out some more. Sadly, I think that was a little too hot because many of them seemed to be a little too "dried" (aka a little burnt). Next time I'll probably try lowering it to 250° or 200° and keep them in the oven for 20-30 minutes after the initial roasting, nevertheless they were still really very tasty.

I enjoyed these guys for the next couple of days. As I mentioned before, they were perfect on a salad and great with a cheese plate, but I think they could also add a little something to almost any dish that calls for chopped tomatoes.

There are several recipes out there that just oven dry the tomatoes (no roasting) and those usually bake the tomatoes for up to six hours (for regular tomatoes though, not grape ones) on 225° and other recipes that roast the tomatoes for 20 minutes at 450° and that's it. My goal was to try and get somewhere in between the roasted and dried. They may not have come out perfectly, but they were still pretty yummy.

Warm Comfort

Though I'm trying to stick to making mostly healthful foods, winter time and the cold temperature often makes me crave comfort foods. A little while back I had a real hankering for homemade mac and cheese. I knew that if I made anything else it probably wouldn't be as satisfying and then I'd just end up eating more of whatever else, so I decided to just make some and try my hand at making a lighter, healthier version.

I started with about 1/2 lb of Barilla Plus elbow macaroni--Barilla Plus is high in protein and fiber and also has some omega-3. The taste and texture of their Plus line is almost identical to regular semolina pasta, so its totally worth using that instead.

For the sauce I first melted a pat of butter (approximately a tablespoon) in a small sauce nonstick pan and then added a teaspoon of dry mustard, half a teaspoon of sweet paprika, half a cup of light sour cream, half a cup of 1% milk, salt, pepper, and just under a tablespoon of corn starch to thicken it and stirred it together on low-medium heat until it was warmed through and well combined.

Once the pasta was done cooking, I drained it and put it back in the pot I cooked it in. Then I added the warm sauce,  3/4 cup of shredded 2% cheddar and about 1/4 cup of shredded regular extra sharp cheddar. Mixed it briefly the pasta, cheese, and sauce together until the pasta was coated.

First the sauce..

Then the cheese...

At this point, I probably could have just eaten the pasta, but I like the homemade stuff, where it's baked in the oven with some breadcrumbs (or cherry tomatoes, which I sometimes use) on top. So I sprayed a casserole dish with cooking spray and then poured the mac and cheese mixture in the bowl and sprinkled a mixture of parsley, garlic powder, a little bit of olive oil, and bread crumbs on top.

Before it went into the oven

I stuck it in the oven on 350° for about a half an hour (or once the top was mostly brown) and then took it out.

It turned out pretty darn yummy for a lighter version. I invited my friend, Andrea, over for some, and she said one reason she liked it was because it wasn't greasy or very heavy, but still had a lot of flavor and good texture. I agreed with her, but I think I could have used about a 1/2 cup more of milk because it was a little drier than I usually prefer my mac and cheese. Nevertheless, it definitely satisfied my comfort food craving and I will probably make it again at some point (maybe with the addition of some veggies like cauliflower or broccoli to make it even healthier).

Here's the breakdown of ingredients for my recipe, it makes about 4 servings:

Mac:
.5 lb (or half a box) of Barilla Plus elbows (cook as directed)*

Sauce:
1 Tb butter
1 tsp dried mustard
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 cup of light or fat free sour cream
1 cup of light or fat free milk (if you want it drier you can use less)
scant Tb of corn starch (flour can be used as well, but use more if you do)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Cheese:
3/4 cup shredded sharp 2% cheddar
1/4 cup shredded sharp regular cheddar

Crust:
1/2 cup of dried bread crumbs**
1 tsp olive oil (melted butter or other fat could be used)
1 to 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder

*any other pasta could be easily used including gluten free
**corn flakes or gluten free bread crumbs could also be used, and/or you could also place halved grape or cherry tomatoes on top and they will roast slightly adding nice acidity and flavor

Of course, if you aren't looking for a lighter version, you can make this with all the full-fat dairy you please. Additionally, you can use other cheeses instead of just cheddar. Consider experimenting with gruyere or other swiss (though I find some of those a bit too sharp, so I would probably balance them out with cheddar).

Poulet de Jacques Pepin

One of my favorite celebrity chefs (if not, the favorite since there aren't really any from the Food Network I like) is Jacques Pepin. I have learned a lot from watching his cooking (for one that you can wash mushrooms--he explained if you're going to cook them right away it's fine to rinse them). He used to have a show on PBS on Saturdays called the Essential Pepin, which they still run occasionally. Anytime I've watched any of his shows they've always been both educational and enjoyable.

My sister recently gave me some of his cookbooks (Thanks Lisa!), and there are several recipes he has that I look forward to trying at some point--but most of them seem to involve some planning ahead of time on my part--something I'm not always great at when making a meal. However, the other night when I was trying to decide what to do with a full (bone-in) chicken breast, I flipped through one of his books and happened upon...

So even though I didn't have a full chicken, the recipe was perfect, I had all the ingredients for the Dijon crust and I figured I'd just alter the cook time a little.

"Mustard Crust" ingredients...

Since I was dealing with raw chicken I didn't really get the chance to take a lot of photos of the process, but I will say, other than it being a little messy it was super easy and pretty quick to make. The prep time was probably a total of 10 minutes and the cook time was 35 minutes (it's seared skin-side up in a heavy pan for five minutes, then cooked in the oven on high heat for 30 minutes).

This is what Pepin's looks like in his book:

Pepin's final product

Mine

So it doesn't look quite as good as his, but I have to say it came out cooked perfectly and tasted delicious! I will definitely make this again, and perhaps with the whole chicken if I have company coming over for dinner.

I served the chicken with some brown rice (which crumbled smoked sea salt kale chips on top) and sauteed cabbage with bacon.

It was a very tasty dinner.

This recipe was from Pepin's More Fast Food My Way.

Chips! (...not really)

I love snacks. So much so I can't really have them in my house. If I buy something like potato chips or pretzels or other starchy (non-vegetable) snack, it's almost always a guarantee that bag of snacks will become a meal instead of a snack. Therefore, I almost never allow myself to buy them (at least not in a size other than actual snack size).

So in an effort to have something healthy, but salty and crunchy, as a snack I decided to make kale chips (also because I had kale that was starting to wilt and I didn't feel like a juice).

Kale chips are beyond easy to make.

After ripping it into medium-sized pieces (once the stems were removed, that is), I washed and dried (well) the kale:

 

While the kale was drying, I poured about 2 tablespoons of good olive oil into a bowl and added about 2 teaspoons of smoked sea salt. And I heated the oven to 275°.

Then I added the dry kale and tossed it all to be sure the kale was well coated (but not saturated).

I lined a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up since sometimes the kale can stick to the pan. And then laid the kale in a single layer on the sheet.

After 20 minutes in the oven, the kale was crispy and salty. (Hint: if you make these you can check the texture with your hands--the kale won't be hot, but the pan will--if it's still a little soft, put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes)

These are best stored in something not air tight, in order to keep them crisp. I tend to keep them in a storage container with the top off or with it laid on it (and not closed). If, however, you have stored them in a way that they soften, you can just throw them on a cookie sheet again and stick them in the oven on 200° for about 10 minutes.

Now there's some healthy (and pretty tasty) chips!

I admit, these don't exactly serve as the best substitute for potato or tortilla chips (for one they aren't "dippable"), but they are a nice salty, crunchy snack. If you wanted to you could use a flavored oil (pepper or truffle comes to mind) and seasoned salt (I used smoked sea salt and it was tasty) to add some more flavor.