Kale and Scallion-Fried Brown Rice

I've become pretty enthusiastic about kale, to the point where I got this t-shirt for Christmas as a joke (though I wear it often with pride).  Vince isn't completely convinced, but one batch of kale chips was enough to get Alexa onto my side too.  It makes it's way into soups and stews pretty often, and into my lunches as massaged kale salads, but I've been looking for more side dishes to use it in.

This kale and scallion fried rice was a great side for teriyaki salmon.  It came together quickly, and the earthiness of it balanced the sweetness of the teriyaki and the richness of the salmon perfectly.  The leftovers were perhaps even better warmed up and topped with a runny poached egg and a few dabs of Sriracha.  If you're not a fan of kale yet, this is a nice way to sneak some in.

Kale and Scallion-Fried Brown Rice
adapted from the The Kitchen Daily

What's in it:

1/2 lb kale, stems discarded
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
5 scallions, thinly sliced
2 1/2 c cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp soy sauce

How to make it:

Chop the kale into bite-size pieces.  Cook the kale in a deep saute pan with 1/4-1/2 cup water until tender.   Drain the kale and squeeze out the remaining water when it's cool enough to handle. 

Wipe out the pan, then heat the vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic. Raise the heat to medium and add the kale and scallions. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the soy sauce and cook for 30 seconds more.

Tomato Orzo Soup

A Taste of Home Cooking's recipe swap theme was soups and stews for this round, and with perfect timing.  Despite a pretty mild winter so far, we had a little cold snap this past weekend (though none of the snow that was predicted), and soup was exactly right.  My assignment was Tomato Orzo Soup from Melissa at Fried Rice and Donut Holes.

This soup was really good, and really filling despite being basically vegetarian.  I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, which meant using carrots to make up for the celery, whole San Marzano tomatoes instead of diced, and chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth called for.  I also used my stick blender to get a smoother texture, since I'm feeding someone who likes "just soup, no chunks."  The tanginess from the sour cream rounds out the flavors nicely, and I think plain Greek yogurt would work equally well.  If you're feeling fancy and have some time on your hands, basil puree and sour cream thinned with a little lemon juice make nice garnishes

Tomato Orzo Soup

What's in it:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 c finely diced onion
1 c finely diced carrot
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/4 c orzo pasta
1/2 c sour cream
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

How to make it:

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onions and carrots, and cook on medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 2 more minutes.

Add the whole and crushed tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, break up the whole tomatoes.  Add the stock, blend to desired texture with an immersion blender, and return to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is firm but tender. Remove from heat, add sour cream, and fold in the basil.

Serve hot, garnished with additional sour cream, basil and parmesan if desired.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Cream

How are your Thanksgiving plans going?  Are you prepping for a big meal with family and friends, a cozy dinner for two, or are you kicking back this year and letting someone else do the cooking?  To help us all get ready for the holiday, this week's theme for A Taste of Home Cooking's recipe swap was Thanksgiving sides.  I know I'm looking forward to seeing the results- I'm expecting a great mix of family traditions and new favorites!

I received a recipe for Brussels sprouts from Brianna at Oishii that basically combined a bunch of my favorite things into one indulgent dish.  The sprouts are roasted, then combined with sauteed mushrooms and shallots that have been splashed with wine, and a drizzle of cream.  I use cremini mushrooms since I didn't get around to a trip to the specialty grocery store for chantarelles, and while they were delicious, I'm looking forward to trying these with the chantarelles.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Cream

What's in them:

10 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp butter
3-4 oz mushrooms of your choice, halved or sliced
1 shallot, finely diced
1/4 c dry white wine
1/4 c heavy cream
freshly ground black pepper to taste

How to make them:

Place the halved Brussels sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Season with kosher salt. Roast in a 450 degree oven until lightly browned and tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Add the butter to a skillet and heat over high heat. When the butter foams, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown and tender and the mushroom liquid (if any) has evaporated, about 5-8 minutes. Add the shallots, seasoning lightly with salt, cooking until the shallots just start to brown, about another 3 minutes.

Add the wine, scraping up the brown bits in the pan, and cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add the Brussels sprouts and cream.  Toss to coat everything in the cream, then continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens enough to really stick to the vegetables. Serve immediately.

French Onion Soup

Just in time for real fall weather, the theme for this week's recipe swap on A Taste of Home Cooking was soups and stews.  I was happy to get Hezzi-D's recipe for French onion soup.  I love it, from the rich caramelized onions in it to the gooey, crusty cheese and bread on top.  But sadly, I'm the only person in the house willing to touch it, so I rarely bother to make it for myself.

Since I am the only person who would eat it, I only made a third of the original recipe, and so simmered it stovetop rather than trying to get it to work in such a small quantity in the slow cooker.  Normally, I'd just use a smaller dish in the insert, but I was going to be home to keep an eye on the soup.  It was delicious, tons of onion flavor, with just a hint of sweetness from the caramelization.  I also really liked the addition of seared steak for a little extra beef flavor.  I used a skirt steak, and then sliced it up for sandwiches and quesadillas later in the week rather than leaving it in the soup.

French Onion Soup
adapted from a Paula Deen recipe via Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

What's in it:

1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp butter, divided
2 tsp sugar
1 steak of your choice, cut into 1/2" dice if you plan to leave it in the soup
¼ c dry white wine
2 c beef broth
1 c. water
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I used 2 tsp because I love how it brings out the beef flavor)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
baguette slices, for topping and serving
3/4 c Gruyere cheese, grated

How to make it:

In a medium soup pot, melt one tablespoon of the butter. Add the steak, cooking to desired doneness if leaving whole for another purpose.  Remove steak, and set aside or store as desired.

 

Add another tablespoon of butter to the pot.  Once it is melted, add the sliced onions. Sprinkle the sugar on top and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized, about 20 minutes.  Add wine, and bring to a boil, making sure to scrape up all of the brown bits off the bottom.

 

Add the beef (if including in the soup), broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf to the pot.  Simmer for 2-3 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, butter the baguette slices with the remaining tablespoon of butter, sprinkle with a little extra black pepper, and broil until golden brown, 5-10 minutes depending on your oven and where the rack is.

Turn on the broiler. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls or mugs. Top with toasted bread and grated Gruyere cheese.  Broil 6 inches from heat for about 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browned.  Serve immediately.

Spicy Tomato Jam

As summer comes to a close, I’ve been trying to make sure that we get to keep a little of it to get us through the winter. We get amazing peaches here, and the ones we didn’t eat are stored away as vanilla bean peach jam. Tomatoes are coming to the end of their season too, and so I’ve been working on preserving those too. Along with some pantry-staple diced tomatoes and plain tomato sauce, I also wanted to have a little fun. Thinking of the quick tomato chutney I like so much, I went with a spicy tomato jam that gets me similar flavors when tomato season is long gone.

When I took crostini layered with this jam, caramelized onions and prosciutto to a party recently, one friend called it ketchup for grownups. It does have that sweet and sour profile, but with some heat and spice that dresses it up a bit. It’s great on grilled cheese sandwiches or BLTs in place of the fresh tomato, and makes an excellent dipping sauce for sweet potato fries. It really is quite spicy, so cut back on the red pepper flakes if you’d prefer a little less heat.

Spicy Tomato Jam

From Serious Eats

What’s in it:

3 lbs best quality tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c bottled lemon juice (I use bottled when canning, as it has a more consistent pH level)
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin

How to make it:

If you are going to preserve the jam, prepare the jars and lids- this recipe made three half-pint jars for me.  (The Ball website and the National Center for Home Food Preservation are two great sources for information on canning and preserving.)

Combine tomatoes, sugar, lemon juice, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, cinnamon, and cumin in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture reaches a thick, jam like consistency, about two and a half hours. Stir regularly during the simmering time, as the mixture will get thicker at the bottom and may burn.

Ladle the hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars, cover with lids, and screw bands on until just barely tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, and allow them to rest undisturbed on countertop for six hours or overnight.

Marinara Magnifica

It’s recipe swap time again, hosted by A Taste of Home Cooking. This week’s theme was Italian, and I really didn’t know what kind of recipe to expect. Italian cooking runs the gamut from simple with a few quality ingredients that come together quickly to complex, layered and long-cooking. I received a great recipe for marinara magnifica from Christine's Kitchen Chronicles, which in my mind combines the best of both ends of the spectrum. A few good ingredients are cooked slowly for a final sauce that is much richer than the short list would lead you to believe.

Since this recipe does have a long stove top simmering time, I adapted it just barely for the slow cooker since I wasn’t going to have a four-hour window at home. Lucky for me, slow-simmering soups, stews and sauces usually translate well to the slow cooker, and this was no exception. For the original cooking instructions, check out Christine’s original post. We enjoyed this with pasta and hot Italian sausage with roasted broccoli on the side. There was also plenty of leftover sauce to save in the freezer for future dinners- I’m thinking meatball subs with lots of gooey mozzarella!
Marinara Magnifica

What’s in it:

1 Tbsp olive oil
6 c chopped onion, about three medium
1 Tbsp sugar
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup dry red wine (I used a pinot grigio)
2 6-oz cans tomato paste
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes

Note: I used 2 28-oz cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, and 1 15-oz can of crushed tomatoes. I think that any combination of whole, half, diced or crushed tomatoes would work here, as long as you still have the full volume.

How to make it:

Heat the olive oil in a stove top-safe slow cooker insert or saucepan. Add onions and sugar, and season lightly with a little salt. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for about a half hour, until onions start to turn golden brown. Add the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper, then stir in the wine and cook for another minute. (I prepped up to this point the night before and refrigerated the onion mixture overnight.)

In the slow cooker, combine the onion mixture and the tomato paste, then add the tomatoes. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve over pasta or use in your favorite lasagna, manicotti, and other Italian recipes.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

If you've been asked to bring a salad to a party this weekend, and want to avoid the typical coleslaws and potato salads (or even not so typical versions), consider this grilled vegetable salad.  It's colorful, full of fresh produce, and has just enough bacon to make you forget you're eating healthy stuff. 

Quantities, and even the vegetables themselves, can be adjusted depending on your tastes and what's available.  As an alternative to a grill basket, grill slices of sweet potato and zucchini, and then dice them.  Everything can be grilled in whatever order works for you.  If you make this ahead, do check the seasonings before serving- the acidity from the vinegar can fade a little, and just a little more on top can brighten things back up.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

What's in it:

2-3 sweet potatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
2-3 zucchini or summer squash, diced into 1/2" cubes
3-4 ears of corn, shucked
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste (I like cumin and chili powder)
2 bell peppers
3-4 scallions, or garlic scapes if you can get them
4 slices of bacon, cooked and finely diced
2-3 Tbsp red wine vinegar, to taste
More salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it:

In separate bowls, stir the sweet potatoes and zucchini with olive oil, using just enough to coat the vegetables.  Season with salt, pepper and any other desired spices.  Do the same for the corn, wrapping in foil for the grill.

To cook vegetables, heat grill to medium high heat.  Put the bell peppers on and roast until charred, turning occasionally, and place in a zip-top bag or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid when done.  Grill the corn to your desired doneness- I like mine still a little crunchy.  Cook sweet potatoes and zucchini in a grill basket, until cooked through and starting to brown (the sweet potatoes can be given a head start in the microwave- just cover with plastic and give them about 3 minutes on high).  Briefly cook the scallions, just enough to tone down the onion flavor and get a touch of brown on them.

When all vegetables are cooked, finish prepping them.  When cool enough to handle, slice the corn kernels from the cobs, remove the peppers' skins and dice the flesh, and thinly slice the scallions.

Combine all vegetables and bacon, and season to taste with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Serve warm or at room temp.

Sunday Supper

Normally I don't mind putting a lot of effort into a Sunday dinner.  I usually have most of the afternoon to work, and there's something very comforting for me about puttering in the kitchen on the weekend.  But last weekend, we finally had a hint of spring, and I really didn't want to be closed up inside with sunshine and fresh air were right outside my window for the first time in what felt like months.  I wanted something worthy of Sunday supper, but fairly hands-off so I could hang out on the deck with a beer.

So to balance the hearty foods of winter with the brighter flavors of summer, I went with Marcella Hazan's Lemon Roasted Chicken and Potatoes (I originally saw this on Serious Eats a couple years ago), and since the spring-like weather had me craving green veggies, I left out the carrots and made balsamic roasted brussels sprouts instead.

As I should have realized, sometimes simpler is better.  It doesn't take hours in the kitchen to produce a delicious, and fairly impressive meal.  The chicken was flavorful and bright from the lemon, the potatoes crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the brussels sprouts had just enough crunch to round out the textures of the meal, with some acidity to cut through the other rich flavors.  All for about 20 minutes of hands-on time, and most of that in chopping ingredients.

Lemon Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
Adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

What's in it:

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1 three- to five-pound chicken
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 small lemon
1 small onion

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels.

Season the chicken with lots of salt and pepper, both inside and out.

Using light pressure, roll the lemon across a board with your hands and prick about 20 times with a toothpick or sharp knife. Cut the onion in half.  Stuff lemon and onion in the chicken's larger cavity.

Place chicken breast-side down into a large (ungreased) roasting pan. Roast in the upper third of the oven for about 30 minutes. Turn chicken over, so now the breast side is up.

Roast chicken for another 30 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400°F and roast for another 20 minutes or longer, depending on the size of your chicken.  Plan on about 20 or 25 Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time for each pound.  A meat thermometer comes in very handy here.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let sit 5 or 10 minutes for juices to redistribute. Carve and serve with the potatoes, and drizzle the juice at the bottom of the pan over everything. 

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
I don't even know where to begin with this one... basic roasted veggie with some extras

What's in it:

1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered
1-2 slices of pancetta or bacon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

How to make it:

Combine all ingredients except vinegar in a shallow baking dish, stirring until everything is well coated in oil.  Roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until brussels sprouts begin to caramelize.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes.  Serve hot.