Valentine's Day/Mardi Gras MashUp

This year we decided to take advantage of the calendar and have a little fun with our Valentine's Day dinner. Since both the Hallmark designated day of love (too sarcastic?) and Mardi Gras fell in the same week, we thought doing a MashUp of the two might be fun. It should be noted that we never, and I mean never, go out to eat on Valentine's Day. Most restaurant chefs (if they were being honest) would tell you that it is literally impossible to produce their best food when they are crushed by the types of crowds that populate restaurants on that oh so special day of love (sheesh, I just can't seem to help myself). So, for us, a home cooked meal it is.

Those of you that have read this blog in the past know that I am the luckiest guy in the world to be married to Cynthia who, among her many talents, is an excellent cook who pays attention to not only the palate but the presentation. This particular meal, served in five courses, was romantic, spicy, fun, soul satisfying and delicious. My compliments to the cook!


First Course: Quick Fried Okra Spears

This simple starter is made by dipping the okra in butter milk and hot sauce and then dredging it in spiced corn meal. Fry for about 45 seconds and lightly salt. Yum.

Second Course: Fried Catfish Filet with a Homemade BBQ Sauce served on a Maytag Blue Cheese Slaw

I lived in Alabama for a few years a long time ago. One of the things I took away from that time was a love of fried catfish. The homemade BBQ sauce and the blue cheese slaw are a nod to a dish from one of our favorite restaurants in Las Vegas, Rosemary's, which served it with shrimp. I think I may like this version even better.

Third Course: Citrus Salad with Local Greens

After two fried courses, a palate cleanser was in order. The blood oranges, pink grapefruit and mandarin oranges offset perfectly with the greens from our winter garden and my house made vinaigrette.

Fourth Course: Shrimp and Grits with a Spicy Bacon, Sausage and Mushroom Gravy

Shrimp and grits is a classic southern/cajun dish. In this version, the shrimp were poached in butter and garlic and the gravy was "kicked up a notch (or two) with a liberal shot of hot sauce and cayenne pepper.

Fifth Course: Ice Cream Sandwiches with Homemade Cherry Vanilla 

 A couple of years ago we bought a very good gelato maker.We don't use it often, but when we do, it make amazing gelato. For this little treat, we used cherry vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two home made chocolate chip cookies. A perfect ending to a great meal!

Food Porn from Paris

You may want to close the door, take off your shoes and pour yourself a glass of red wine before playing this beautiful video from Jesse Salto, courtesy of my foodie family.  Thanks Zee and Nick!

http://vimeo.com/7850818

Authentic Unbeatable Swedish Meatballs!

Think Ikea, But 100 Times Better

A Guest Post by Anneli from Delicieux

I am delighted to be back here on A Reluctant Foodie doing another guest post for Al. Our last challenge (Stuffed Peppers) was such fun that we decided to do it again and this time I suggested 'Balls"!

'Balls' was a fun choice as it gives such a large scope for experimenting - meatballs, fish balls, rice balls, chocolate balls, ice cream balls...the possibilities are endless. Not to mention the childishness of repeatedly writing 'balls'!! (and yes, I'm 36, not 3!)

In fact, I had no trouble at all deciding which 'balls' I was going to make, it was inevitable. I am half Swedish and I was brought up in a house where certain Swedish foods were regulars at our table. I was aware of Ikea and their meatballs before the rest of the world began their love affair with them.

My Mormor (Grandma) used to make them fresh and serve them with dollops of sweet lingon berry sauce, boiled potatoes and delicious creamy gravy. I remember how she would break up my potatoes for me and then pour over the sauce and mix it in....it was heavenly.

Even Ikea's processed meatballs are pretty darn good. I don't think I have ever met anyone who doesn't know of them and in fact, love them! Doesn't everyone who shops at Ikea stop for a plate of their Swedish meatballs? They make the whole nightmare experience so much more acceptable, if even just for a few minutes. My kids gobble them up as though they were chocolate not meat. My homemade meatballs really do taste like Ikea meatballs, just much better!

Swedish meatballs are superior to all other meatballs in my opinion. They have a lighter texture...not too dense or crumbly. They are simply seasoned so that the quality of the meat remains the main flavor. And to top it all off, they are called 'kottbullar' (pronounced "shurt bullar') *she childishly giggles again*!

The key to these balls is two fold. Firstly, the meat is a mixture of  70% beef and 30% pork - good quality mince. I got mine from the local butcher, no scrimping. (My Mormor would also add some chicken liver for a really luxurious meatball. Secondly, to achieve the lightness, quite a lot of breadcrumbs soaked in milk and cream are added to the meat before shaping into balls. This makes the mince quite wet and loose in texture. It might seem a bit strange butstick with it, the end result is unlike the usual stodgy balls you may be used to .

My daughter was 4 years old on December 23rd and I decided to make my meatballs for her birthday party. Definitely something that kids enjoy and adults alike. I decided to serve them as a little nibble to pass around during the festivities with some dips. My recipe makes 40+ meatballs so plenty for everyone or enough to make a substantial meal for the family to serve with sides.

These balls are seriously good, I kid you not.....Here's how to make them:

Swedish Meatballs - Makes around 40 balls

Ingredients

• 700 g beef mince
• 300 g pork mince
• 200 ml milk
• 100 ml double cream
• 150 g fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 150 g grated onion
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation

• First of all, you soak your breadcrumbs in the milk and cream and leave for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add to the two types of mince, the salt, pepper, and sugar and give it all a good mix.
• Then stir in the onion and egg.

• Next you need to add the breadcrumbs and milk. Do this a little at a time, mixing in as you go. You may find you do not want to add all the milky mix but do try to add as much as you can. It will make the mince quite wet but not sloppy, much wetter than perhaps you would when making meatballs but that's what makes these so special.

• Next. to make the balls, wet your hands with a little cold water which will help the meat not stick to much. But if you want to get a nice uniform sized meatball, you could pipe the meat into little portions and then roll. It really does work and you will find yourself with much more even little balls. You want them to be quite small...not quite as big as a golf ball.

• Then melt a good knob of butter and a little of the olive oil in a pan and start to fry your meatballs. Do them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, adding a little more butter and oil each time. Shake the pan around every so often to allow the balls to bump around and keep their roundness rather than be flat on one side. They take about 10 minutes to cook. Remove and keep warm until you have all your balls done.

• I made my meatballs in the morning and then just reheated them in the oven for 15 minutes at 180C just before serving. As I said, you can serve them in many ways. As a nibble with some dips - I used BBQ, Ketchup and a spicy Spanish sauce. Or along side chips or mashed potatoes with a creamy gravy and Lingon if you can get it. You could also add them to a pasta sauce. Anything you like really - they are delicious and versatile. Any way you have them, they will be gobbled up in minutes.....no one can resist the power of the Swedish meatball!

I just wanted to say thanks again to Al for having me come and guest post! Always a pleasure and hopefully it's becoming a regular thing! Please come over to www.delicieux.eu and check out Al's guest post also featuring some amazing balls!!

Biog: I am a Private Chef living in South West France. I am a 36 year old mother of two, living the rural dream. I love to cook all food and am inspired by fresh produce and the cuisine here in France. From rustic traditional dishes to vegetarian fine dining, I try to cook it all and share my journey with you. Stop by and check it out!

Thanksgiving Butternut Squash Spread

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and as you may imagine, it's kind of a big deal around here.  The planning typically begins in August when seeds go into the ground, along with a hope and a prayer that maturity will be reached by mid-November.  Radish, beets, swiss chard, a spicy mesclun mix from Johnny's and  shelling peas are still growing well (albeit under a low tunnel with a 4 mil greenhouse film covering) and should be a part of our dinner this year.

As for planning the meal itself, recipe selection began today.  It's kind of like the NFL draft, all past recipes on one side, possible new recipes on the other.  There are some non-negotiables in our family.

1.  Fresh turkey, in any form and cooked in any manner.  We've deep fried them, dry brined, wet brined, Cajun injected, spatchcocked, de-boned and rolled, stuffed, unstuffed and broken down to cook legs and breasts separately.  This year's method is yet to be determined.

2.  Mashed potatoes and gravy.  Lots of both.  The gravy project began earlier this week with The Making of the Turkey Stock.  Turkey wings and backs get roasted with leeks, carrots and celery, then moved to a stock pot with a good amount of water and simmered for a couple hours to extract every bit of turkiness.

3.  Corn.  It's a boy thing.  All the y chromosomes in our family would raise a holy ruckus if corn weren't on the table, in all its yellow (or white) glory.  We've tried fancy schamancy preps here, but it always seem to come back to Green Giant Shoepeg White Corn in Butter Sauce.  I figure once a year won't kill me.  It's a Connecticut/Jersey thing.

4.  Cranberry sauce, jellied, from Ocean Spray.  Personally, I can't stand the stuff and always make a fresh alternative.  My husband, the Foodie, would leave the table to go buy a can if it wasn't in evidence.  Like sour cream, he doesn't have a problem opening the can and taking a spoon to it.  Eww.

Those are The Basics that Must Be Provided.  Pretty simple really.  If only I could leave it at that.

But I can't.

We don't sit to eat until 2pm typically, but no one goes hungry until then.  The all day buffet starts with a light and healthy breakfast and morphs into heavier hors d'oeuvres and canapes as the morning progresses.  Here's one of our favorite I'll be making the day before - it's simple, tasty, and healthy.

Butternut Spread

2# squash peeled, cleaned and cut into 1" cubes
1 tbsp brown sugar, not packed
1 tbsp olive oil

Toss ingredients together with salt and pepper.  Spread onto a lined cookie sheet and roast at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until squash is tender and slightly caramelized.  Very fresh squash will take a little longer to reach this state, but never more than 30 minutes.

While squash is roasting, in a small pan saute:

one small onion, minced
in 1 tbsp butter

once onion is translucent, add:

 2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground coriander (or to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin (or to taste)

and continue to cook another minute, until coriander and cumin are fragrant.

Dump squash and onion mixture into a food processor and blitz, adding up to 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to smooth out the puree.  I typically use as small amount as possible to achieve a good consistency because to finish, you're going to add:

1/4 creme fraiche or full fat Greek yogurt

I don't like sour cream as a creme fraiche substitute, it's too heavy and sour.  The perfect substitute may be Mexican or Salvadoran crema, look for it in your local bodega.

Finish with a nice pinch of salt and some additional black or white pepper.  If you plan on serving this cold, over season it just a bit now when it's still warm or room temp, it will be just right when you serve.

This spread is a wonderful with crackers or bread, as well as your typical crudite.  It makes a nice change from hummus, and if your kids won't eat that, they may like this.  It's also great on apple slices, makes a tasty cheese sandwich spread, and thinned with some broth makes a nice soup.

For a vegan version, substitute olive oil for the butter and use a little coconut milk (unsweetened) instead of creme fraiche.

Happy cooking!

Last Minute Gifts for Your Favorite Cooks

A Guest Blog by Cyn

Hello Holiday Shoppers!

What to get the Cook in your life?  It's been a hot topic of conversation lately, with friends and family all wondering what to procure for each other for the holidays, and some of my foodie friends sharing their lists for Santa with me.  We've got some great ideas, some of which are even free!!!

For the avid cheffers in your household, here are my favorite to get and receive gifts:

Wicked sharp paring knives, the semi-disposable kind that come in a multi pack at your local home store.  We don't always want to use our 'good' knives for some of the more menial tasks in the kitchen.  Loud and obnoxious colors are a good thing for handles, so don't be afraid to color it up a bit.  The hotter the color the less likely we are to lose the knife in whatever we're peeling.


Kuhn Rikon Swiss Peelers are the best vegetable peelers for my money.
And as veg peelers are nearly impossible to sharpen, you'll want to buy them in packs of 3, which fortuitously, is how these are packaged.  Great stocking stuffer!  (Note of Warning:  these are for advanced peelers - they work best and fastest when you hold the veg in one hand and rotate as you peel with the other, bring the peeler toward you.  More of a professional bad ass style of peeling, but with a little practice, anyone can master this.  It's incredibly fast, and no, you won't cut yourself, regardless of what your mother may have told you.  Good for peeling carrots. <snort>)

Finishing salt.  Some of which can now be found at your local grocer - check the aisle - betcha you find something fancy!

Interesting vinegars.  Champagne, fig, raspberry, we don't discriminate.  Really want to impress us?  Make us a bottle.

Good cookbooks.  Check out James Beard Award Winners, Amazon has a nice list.  If you are lucky enough to have a good used book store in your city, a well loved and used version of a classic cookbook (preferably with notes in the margins) makes a great gift.  Some of my favorite must have food books are, in no order of preference;

The Flavor Bible, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenberg
Gourmet Cookbook (the yellow one), edited by Ruth Reichl
Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan
anything by Jamie Oliver (what can I say?  I have a soft spot for grungy Brits who have big gardens and want kids to eat well)
and speaking of Brits ----
Nigel Slater's Tender is a fabulous food and garden read
Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi is a must for your vegetarian.

Now about those 'free' gifts....find a few of your favorite recipes and copy them onto pretty card stock.  Double points for writing them out by hand.  This is probably one of my most favorite gifts to receive.

Create a coupon for a free kitchen clean up, or for a free recipe organization of everything that's been shoved into that file folder next to the Cuisinart.  It'll cost you some time, but isn't spending a little time with your loved ones really what the holiday is all about?

One Year Of Meatless Mondays

On November 3, 2011, I wrote and posted my very first blog entry.It explained why I was making a commitment to observing Meatless Mondays for one year and why I felt the need to blog about it.Well, here we are a year later and I'm happy to report I did it!

For those of you unfamiliar the Meatless Monday movement, it is a global initiative to eliminate meat products from their diet one day each week (or about 15%). There are lots of reasons to consider going meatless one day each week. Some do it for health reason, others to promote a better environment and others still for ethical reason. In my case, I'll readily admit that my reasons were different (and maybe even more trivial) compared to the others. Very simply, I wanted to see if I could do it. Nothing more, nothing less. It sounded interesting and I wanted to challenge myself. If you want to know more about Meatless Mondays and the global movement, click here.

As I stated in my first post, I'm not a vegetarian. I don't particularly want to be a vegetarian (yeah, that bacon thing). I do however, like vegetables, so the idea of eating more of them one day a week didn't seem that daunting. What I didn't immediately consider a year ago was that I was essentially committing my wife, Cynthia, to a year of vegetarian cooking on those Monday nights were ate at home together. I travel in my job some, so there were probably a dozen Mondays that I was away from home. There were something int he range of another ten when we ate out locally on Monday. That still leaves about 30 Mondays that Cynthia willingly and expertly made vegetarian meals at home. Thanks for being such a willing an supportive partner.

So, you may ask what did I get out of this grand experiment?

First and absolutely foremost is the satisfaction of having made a commitment to do something that I didn't have to do and required a change in behavior and sticking to it for a full year. Secondly, it exposed me to a pretty heretofore unexplored variety of foods that, as it turned out, I liked a lot. During the year, we ate meals that included quinoa, farro, tofu, forbidden black rice, adasi and falafel. (If you haven't figured it out, each of these links will take you to the original blog post on the topic).

Another curious outcome of the past year is that I simply ate less meat - not just on Monday, but in general. There was a higher level of conscious thought about what constituted a "meal". When we ate meat, we both seemed to eat less of it. Instead of two steaks, we would cook one and split it (after all the recommended portion of protein for an adult is around 4 oz). The makeup of our dinner plates morphed in a way that the meat was more of a side dish and the vegetables were more of a main course. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that this is some path (for me) to vegetarianism - it's not. It is however, a redefinition of how a meal is constructed. For those of you that worry that this type of diet is protein deficient, don't. We ate lots of beans, lentils and other protein rich non-meat foods.

So, after a year, I have decided to stop doing Meatless Mondays. Why? It's not that I have lost my faith in their overall goals. I haven't. In fact, I strongly support what they promote. For me, however, the goals have not only been achieved, but have been integrated into my routine - every day. I eat less meat (more than 15% less than I did before) while still enjoying it when I do eat it. I've discovered that there are plenty of vegetables, grains and fruits that can add taste, texture and enjoyment to meals. I feel like I'm eating a more balanced diet - every day. Institutionalizing it to Mondays no longer seems necessary for me.

If you're interested in reading about some of the other Meatless Monday meals I ate during the year, both at home and out, head on over to A Reluctant Foodie and explore. Thanks for reading!

You’ve Got To Pick a Pepper or Two!

A Guest Blog by Anneli

I asked Al to guest post for me over on Delicieux and happily he agreed and it kind of turned into a little ingredients cook off! Wanting to keep it seasonal and from the garden if possible, Al suggested ‘peppers’ as he still had some beauties just turning ripe. We too had peppers a plenty although somewhat smaller and less fabulous! But the ‘Pepper-off’ was born and so here we are!

Immediately my mind was racing with possibilities and I found myself lying in bed at night pondering ingredient combinations. In my usual manner, I came up with lots and narrowed it down, but still couldn’t settle on one outright favourite. So I set about a week of stuffed pepper suppers! I knew I had to try them all to make up my mind.

A little oddly, eating this many peppers did not become dull. Every dish was interesting and enjoyable and reminded me just how damn delicious peppers are! In fact I am not a fan of peppers raw but roasted they are just so sweet, juicy and full of flavour that they become something else entirely. But actually, I discovered that this was something I needed to be careful of. Peppers are so powerful that they can overwhelm less robust ingredients and wash away all your well planned deliciousness.

Peppers are such clever little vessels for stuffing. Upright or laying down they offer up an empty cavity just begging to be loaded up. A whole pepper is very filling when packed to the brim and makes a substantial main course. But cut in half and filled, half a pepper makes a great starter or lunch.

First I shall tell you about a failure as I feel that full disclosure is a good thing in this instance. The reason for this failure of this pepper dish was because of the sum of its parts when in fact, individually everything was fantastic! This is where I learnt the valuable lesson about pepper power. I decided to stuff a pepper with a fresh cream cheese pesto risotto. In my head this was going to be a winner. I blended my pesto, rich with garlic, pine nuts, basil and cream cheese and stirred it into my oozy soft risotto. It tasted frankly incredible. Then I stuffed it into a pepper that I had roasted a little already and popped it back in the oven, I truly expected great things. But when it came to the eating, so much of the wonderful flavour of the risotto just disappeared under the clout of the pepper! In the end, my husband and I were reduced to scooping out the risotto and eating the pepper separately. They were not lovers…..

So, moving swiftly on to the successes. There were two dishes that worked really well but I only have space for one recipe. Suffice as to say, peppers stuffed with garlic lentils and tons of veggies was a delight. But I shall opt instead to tell you about Peppers Stuffed with Spiced Onions and Egg. Does that sound like a strange combo to you? Well, I thought it sounded rather nice and I was proved right!

The foundation for this dish is an Indian inspired spiced onion mixture and a whole egg baked within the pepper. This for me is a nice lunchtime or brunchtime dish. The baked eggs should have lovely soft yolks still so that when eaten, the yolks spill over the onions and pepper coating all in a gooey eggy sauce. I served my peppers sitting on a little mound of turmeric spiced basmati rice.

Peppers Stuffed with Spiced Onions & Egg

Serves 4 for lunch

Ingredients

•

2 large peppers

•

1 tbsp olive oil

•

2 medium onions, sliced

•

4 small tomatoes, skinned & de-seeded & chopped

•

1 tsp Garam Massala spice

•

1 mild chilli, deseeded, finely chopped

•

½ tsp chilli powder (optional)

•

½ tsp cumin powder

•

4 medium eggs

•

Basmati rice cooked with a teaspoon of turmeric to serve

Preparation

•

Pre-heat your oven 180Fan00C/395F. Carefully cut your peppers in half lengthways, cutting through the stem if possible. Gently remove all the seeds and white pith from within to leave a lovely clean cavity to stuff.

•

Brush very lightly with a little olive oil all over. Place in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

•

Meanwhile, heat your remaining olive oil and fry your onions on a medium heat until softened but not coloured. Then add your chopped chilli. Whilst these are frying you can skin and de-seed your tomatoes and then chop them into smallish chunks.

•

Add your tomatoes to the onions and your dry spices. Cook this out for 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down around the onions made a thickish sauce. Season and taste and adjust your spicing if necessary.

•

Take your peppers out of the oven and spoon a little of the onion mixture into the base of each pepper. Not too much mind – you must leave enough room for the egg.

•

Take an egg and break it very gently, close as you can to the pepper in order to control it so that it does not slide out of the cavity. Repeat with all your peppers and eggs.

•

Pop them back in the oven for 8-12 minutes – keeping a close eye on them – as you want your eggs to be just cooked with a slight wobble still ensuring a runny egg yolk.

•

Season the eggs and serve your peppers sitting on a mound of basmati rice.

Blog by Anneli Faiers from www.delicieux.eu

Biog: I am a Private Chef living South West France. I am a 35 year old, mother of two, living the rural dream. I love to cook all food and am inspired by fresh produce and the cuisine here in France. From rustic traditional dishes to vegetarian to fine dining, I try to cook it all and share my journey with you. Stop by and check it out!