1 white peach
2 scoops French vanilla ice cream
honey, warmed in the microwave until runny
When you're done grilling your burgers and hot dogs and whatever else, slice one white peach in half (a ripe one!) and remove the pit. Place on the grill (I recommend a light brush/spray of oil or nonstick) for about 2 minutes on the cut side, one minute on the other side.
Serve with a drizzle of honey and the ice cream straight from the grill.
Mom and I split one peach this way, and it's the most amazing sweet, toasty, fruity flavor EVER. Perfect for a warm summer night.
(Dinner was hamburgers, corn on the cob, and asparagus. Trick for the asparagus: double-layer of foil to create a 'bucket' shape, rather than a closed pouch - it will take on the smoky hint of the grill's flavor as it cooks. Don't close the foil pouch! Cook until just crisp-tender, no more.)
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
"Mango Lassi" Pistachio Pudding
So, as previously mentioned, I have new cookbooks and an ongoing love of learning to cook various ethnic foods. I have been poring over my new cookbooks all week; last night I spent a good two hours thumbing through Bal Arneson's Everyday Indian. Sunday is eat-leftovers-and-make-ahead day in our house. After a dinner of leftover roast pork tenderloin, green beans, cauliflower mash, and roasted sweet potato, we moved away from the Continental US to approach Chinese-inspired stir-fry chicken (marinated in ginger, garlic, lemon, orange, Hoisin and five-spice) for lunches later in the week. Then we backtracked to India for dessert (finally keeping in mind our waistlines, albeit slightly).
This is the result:
Pistachio Mango Pudding
1 package sugar-free Jell-O pudding, pistachio flavor
2 cups reduced-fat or non-fat milk
1 ripe-bordering-on-overripe mango
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 cup heavy cream (or Cool Whip, if you're on a tighter calorie budget)
- Prepare the pudding per package instructions with the milk. Let set in fridge.
- Peel and slice the mango, being careful not to remove any fingers or significant chunks of your own flesh. Mangoes can be slippery! (Best trick: Slice off the broad end to create a flat surface. Prop it on this flat surface, and use a good vegetable peeler or be very careful with a paring knife to peel off the skin. Once peeled, slice off each side in a wide plank, careful not to get too much of the pith, then the sides.) Take your mango slices and cut them into cubes.
- Toss the mango with the cardamom. (If your mango isn't as ripe as it should be, add a spoonful of sugar and let it all macerate for a bit.)
- By this time, the pudding should be set. Spoon the mango into a dish and top with pudding, or vice versa.
- Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream, or a dollop of Cool Whip.
Enjoy! (With one mango and a half a cup of pudding each, we had pudding to spare, but were greedy and the mango only made two servings. So plan on pistachio-and-fruit parfaits again later. :) Or buy more mangoes!
I should note that our favorite "diet" dessert lately is sugar-free pudding with Cool Whip and fresh fruit (berries, mango, whatever the local market had that's ripe) -- the whole thing is usually only 2-3 Points, and it's surprisingly filling and satisfying.
I have learned that I cannot succeed at a diet unless I do not feel deprived, which means that I am filling up on veggies and lean proteins (like pork tenderloin or shrimp or chicken) for two out of three meals, and loading up most of my carbs in the morning. I have lost 12 pounds without giving up my jalapeno-cheese bagel with very light cream cheese. I'd call that a successful diet. (I'm certain dance class once a week plus walks around the block twice the day have nothing to do with it... ;P ) In addition to being actually, physically FULL from veggies (I pack gallon-sized bags of carrot, celery, and bell pepper sticks to take with me to work and nosh with hummus), I have to get my sweet tooth fulfilled now and then. These sugar-free pudding desserts do the trick. Now that the weather is changing, I'm going to start using fruit-and-gelatin desserts (but they take more planning, because of how long the Jell-O takes to set up in the fridge).
This is the result:
Pistachio Mango Pudding
1 package sugar-free Jell-O pudding, pistachio flavor
2 cups reduced-fat or non-fat milk
1 ripe-bordering-on-overripe mango
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 cup heavy cream (or Cool Whip, if you're on a tighter calorie budget)
- Prepare the pudding per package instructions with the milk. Let set in fridge.
- Peel and slice the mango, being careful not to remove any fingers or significant chunks of your own flesh. Mangoes can be slippery! (Best trick: Slice off the broad end to create a flat surface. Prop it on this flat surface, and use a good vegetable peeler or be very careful with a paring knife to peel off the skin. Once peeled, slice off each side in a wide plank, careful not to get too much of the pith, then the sides.) Take your mango slices and cut them into cubes.
- Toss the mango with the cardamom. (If your mango isn't as ripe as it should be, add a spoonful of sugar and let it all macerate for a bit.)
- By this time, the pudding should be set. Spoon the mango into a dish and top with pudding, or vice versa.
- Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream, or a dollop of Cool Whip.
Enjoy! (With one mango and a half a cup of pudding each, we had pudding to spare, but were greedy and the mango only made two servings. So plan on pistachio-and-fruit parfaits again later. :) Or buy more mangoes!
I should note that our favorite "diet" dessert lately is sugar-free pudding with Cool Whip and fresh fruit (berries, mango, whatever the local market had that's ripe) -- the whole thing is usually only 2-3 Points, and it's surprisingly filling and satisfying.
I have learned that I cannot succeed at a diet unless I do not feel deprived, which means that I am filling up on veggies and lean proteins (like pork tenderloin or shrimp or chicken) for two out of three meals, and loading up most of my carbs in the morning. I have lost 12 pounds without giving up my jalapeno-cheese bagel with very light cream cheese. I'd call that a successful diet. (I'm certain dance class once a week plus walks around the block twice the day have nothing to do with it... ;P ) In addition to being actually, physically FULL from veggies (I pack gallon-sized bags of carrot, celery, and bell pepper sticks to take with me to work and nosh with hummus), I have to get my sweet tooth fulfilled now and then. These sugar-free pudding desserts do the trick. Now that the weather is changing, I'm going to start using fruit-and-gelatin desserts (but they take more planning, because of how long the Jell-O takes to set up in the fridge).
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Lamb Kebabs (Meatballs) - Kabab Laham
With the recent bonuses paid out at work (finally! Yay!), I splurged on a few books, one of which is "Cardamom and Lime: Recipes from the Arabian Gulf" by Sarah Al-Hamad. [The other is Bal Arneson's book, Everyday Indian - you will likely be seeing recipes from that one, as well.]
As it's freezing outside (by California standards) and we don't have an indoor grill, I modified this recipe to be meatballs rather than kebabs. I also adjusted a few ingredients (skipped the saffron, as I couldn't find it at the store, added fresh jalapeno for a boost of bright green flavor). It's not diet food by any stretch*, but it's darn tasty.
Kabab Laham Meatballs
Modified from the original recipe by Sarah Al-Hamad
1 lb ground lamb, 85/15
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic puree
1 generous tsp ginger puree (I used a microplane and a knob of fresh ginger)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, minced fine
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 japaleno, core and seeds removed, minced
1 egg, beaten
Combine in a bowl and mix well. (I combined everything but the lamb, added the lamb last, and had a grand old time using my bare hands to make a squishy mass of more-or-less evenly combined ingredients.)
Heat a nonstick pan with a few tsp of oil over medium heat. Form the mixture into patties, balls, or whatever shape you fancy, and cook until deliciously golden and crisp, turning once to cook the other side to the same level of done-ness. (I also set the oven temp to 200*F and placed the cooked meatballs on an oven-proof plate to stay warm while I made the next batch, etc.) I think I made 18-20 meatballs that were about golf-ball sized or a teensy bit larger. This would also be a fabulous recipe to use to shape patties for burgers, though I'd recommend reducing the bread crumbs and using butter (per the original recipe, 3/4 cup) instead of olive oil.
The original recipe calls for shaping these over metal skewers and grilling over charcoal; serve in pita or with salad. I suspect the flavor would be even more incredible if I had a grill to use.
Served with pieces of fresh lavash bread from the local market and a side of steamed cauliflower. I sprinkled the meatballs with some of the leftover chopped parsley. :)
* In late January, I joined Weight Watchers, and have lost 12+ pounds to date; I have about 15 more to go before I reach a weight I want to try to maintain. Part of my success is having a larger breakfast and much lighter rest of the day. The other part is not going wild on weekends, but not counting Points, either - there's a limit to how much guilt and paranoia I can handle when it comes to my food. :)
As it's freezing outside (by California standards) and we don't have an indoor grill, I modified this recipe to be meatballs rather than kebabs. I also adjusted a few ingredients (skipped the saffron, as I couldn't find it at the store, added fresh jalapeno for a boost of bright green flavor). It's not diet food by any stretch*, but it's darn tasty.
Kabab Laham Meatballs
Modified from the original recipe by Sarah Al-Hamad
1 lb ground lamb, 85/15
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic puree
1 generous tsp ginger puree (I used a microplane and a knob of fresh ginger)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, minced fine
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 japaleno, core and seeds removed, minced
1 egg, beaten
Combine in a bowl and mix well. (I combined everything but the lamb, added the lamb last, and had a grand old time using my bare hands to make a squishy mass of more-or-less evenly combined ingredients.)
Heat a nonstick pan with a few tsp of oil over medium heat. Form the mixture into patties, balls, or whatever shape you fancy, and cook until deliciously golden and crisp, turning once to cook the other side to the same level of done-ness. (I also set the oven temp to 200*F and placed the cooked meatballs on an oven-proof plate to stay warm while I made the next batch, etc.) I think I made 18-20 meatballs that were about golf-ball sized or a teensy bit larger. This would also be a fabulous recipe to use to shape patties for burgers, though I'd recommend reducing the bread crumbs and using butter (per the original recipe, 3/4 cup) instead of olive oil.
The original recipe calls for shaping these over metal skewers and grilling over charcoal; serve in pita or with salad. I suspect the flavor would be even more incredible if I had a grill to use.
Served with pieces of fresh lavash bread from the local market and a side of steamed cauliflower. I sprinkled the meatballs with some of the leftover chopped parsley. :)
* In late January, I joined Weight Watchers, and have lost 12+ pounds to date; I have about 15 more to go before I reach a weight I want to try to maintain. Part of my success is having a larger breakfast and much lighter rest of the day. The other part is not going wild on weekends, but not counting Points, either - there's a limit to how much guilt and paranoia I can handle when it comes to my food. :)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Ridiculously Decadent Pizza Recipe
This is one of those things that you wind up making because you're feeling a yen to try something new and you're wandering Trader Joe's without a budget to keep in mind.
I had never made pizza. The BF pointed out that TJ's carries pizza dough. Why not?
This is the ridiculously decadent, far-too-rich result.
Gouda Prosciutto Pizza
Trader Joe's Plain Pizza Dough
1/2 round of smoked Gouda
1 small log fresh mozzarella (or shredded mozzarella)
1 pkg GOOD prosciutto
2 sweet Hawaiian onions
1 pkg sliced crimini mushrooms
Olive oil
Butter
Cognac, Chardonnay / Cooking wine
1 pkg Quaker quick-cook grits
Slice up the onions and start them caramelizing in a pan with some butter and a drizzle of olive oil.
In a second, smaller pan, saute the mushrooms with butter and a splash of cognac and chardonnay. (Let the cognac catch fire and burn off.) Foodie BF used "Douglas Fir aqua vit" to give them added nuttiness. His pantry has way too much fun stuff in it!
Grate half the smoked Gouda and set aside. If the mozzarella isn't sliced or shredded, do that and set aside. Slice the prosciutto into thin ribbons and set aside.
Roll out the pizza dough, replacing flour with the grits for the non-stick properties. Place in a foil-lined jelly pan for baking (anything oozing over the sides will be caught.) Arrange the mozzarella in a thin layer on the dough. Once the mushrooms have been sauteed, arrange them (sans any liquid) over the mozzarella; arrange the caramelized onions over the mushrooms. Sprinkle the smoked Gouda over the top of the other toppings and brush the edges of the pizza dough with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 450* F (or 12-15 minutes at 425) or until the crust is lightly browned. (The smoked Gouda will be crispy, rather than melty.) Once the pizza's out of the oven, sprinkle the prosciutto over the top, slice and serve. You'll want a knife and fork for this stuff! :)
Taken with the BF's phone, right before we snarfed the whole thing down...
I had never made pizza. The BF pointed out that TJ's carries pizza dough. Why not?
This is the ridiculously decadent, far-too-rich result.
Gouda Prosciutto Pizza
Trader Joe's Plain Pizza Dough
1/2 round of smoked Gouda
1 small log fresh mozzarella (or shredded mozzarella)
1 pkg GOOD prosciutto
2 sweet Hawaiian onions
1 pkg sliced crimini mushrooms
Olive oil
Butter
Cognac, Chardonnay / Cooking wine
1 pkg Quaker quick-cook grits
Slice up the onions and start them caramelizing in a pan with some butter and a drizzle of olive oil.
In a second, smaller pan, saute the mushrooms with butter and a splash of cognac and chardonnay. (Let the cognac catch fire and burn off.) Foodie BF used "Douglas Fir aqua vit" to give them added nuttiness. His pantry has way too much fun stuff in it!
Grate half the smoked Gouda and set aside. If the mozzarella isn't sliced or shredded, do that and set aside. Slice the prosciutto into thin ribbons and set aside.
Roll out the pizza dough, replacing flour with the grits for the non-stick properties. Place in a foil-lined jelly pan for baking (anything oozing over the sides will be caught.) Arrange the mozzarella in a thin layer on the dough. Once the mushrooms have been sauteed, arrange them (sans any liquid) over the mozzarella; arrange the caramelized onions over the mushrooms. Sprinkle the smoked Gouda over the top of the other toppings and brush the edges of the pizza dough with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 450* F (or 12-15 minutes at 425) or until the crust is lightly browned. (The smoked Gouda will be crispy, rather than melty.) Once the pizza's out of the oven, sprinkle the prosciutto over the top, slice and serve. You'll want a knife and fork for this stuff! :)
Taken with the BF's phone, right before we snarfed the whole thing down...
Honey Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Honestly, I do not like teriyaki.Of all the Asian menu options out there, this one always bugs me. The sauce is always a thick, gloopy, syrupy mess that ruins perfectly good grilled meats or fish (or tofu), and it tastes awful. Someone posted how to make your own, and their recipe was equal parts soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. It sounded like soy simple syrup, by the time it was done. No thank you. :( So when Mom suggested making some teriyaki marinade for chicken, I opted to go for the salty-sweet and skip the syrup. :) Given the compliments received around the table and the bragging Mom has done to the neighbors, I'd wager it was a successful recipe. (And as always, the BF gets full credit for his grillmaster skills - I'm a complete novice on the grill. Dad always did the grilling at home and Mom always did the kitchen parts, and it seems that the BF and I have fallen seamlessly into the same pattern. He plays with fire and tongs, I do my mad scientist bit in the kitchen.)
I used lime instead of lemon to complement the sweetness of the honey - lemon is usually much too tart and bitter. The chili oil (that bright red stuff from your grocer's ethnic aisle) is actually NOT that spicy in this probably because of the honey and citrus. It does lend a pleasant brightness, though.
As always, measurements are approximate. :) Feel free to adjust to your own taste preferences.
Honey Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
1/3 cup honey (I used avocado honey, because I wanted a darker flavor than clover can give - it's up to you.)
1/2+ cup soy sauce (regular, NOT low sodium)
1 Tbsp hot chili oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine (I used a heaping spoonful of the mashed garlic from Trader Joe's - much easier)
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/4 - 1/3 cup lime juice (bottled 'cuz I'm lazy, but you can sit and juice a ton of limes if you feel like it)
3 green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
About 2 pounds of chicken thighs - rinsed and patted dry (we used two packages of the six-pack you can purchase at Costco, and I believe each one of those is about a pound).
Combine all the ingredients with the chicken in a Ziploc bag, give it a good shake, and set it aside to marinate for about 3 hours (or however long you'd like - I put this together at 3pm and we lit the grill about 6pm).
Fire up the grill: Tonight was 60% hickory hardwood chips / 40% charcoal, with a few splashes of water to put out the flames on the wood chips now and then. (You could probably oven roast or pan-fry these, but it's still ridiculously warm for mid-October, so we're using the grill until it's too cold to bother.)
Grill the marinated thighs until just done - about 10-15 minutes total.
(These don't need a sauce, but if you're feeling swank or fussy, feel free to reduce some of the pre-chicken marinade in a saucepan until it becomes a syrupy thickness to drizzle over the cooked meat, and garnish with some fresh slivers of green onion.)
I used lime instead of lemon to complement the sweetness of the honey - lemon is usually much too tart and bitter. The chili oil (that bright red stuff from your grocer's ethnic aisle) is actually NOT that spicy in this probably because of the honey and citrus. It does lend a pleasant brightness, though.
As always, measurements are approximate. :) Feel free to adjust to your own taste preferences.
Honey Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
1/3 cup honey (I used avocado honey, because I wanted a darker flavor than clover can give - it's up to you.)
1/2+ cup soy sauce (regular, NOT low sodium)
1 Tbsp hot chili oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine (I used a heaping spoonful of the mashed garlic from Trader Joe's - much easier)
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/4 - 1/3 cup lime juice (bottled 'cuz I'm lazy, but you can sit and juice a ton of limes if you feel like it)
3 green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
About 2 pounds of chicken thighs - rinsed and patted dry (we used two packages of the six-pack you can purchase at Costco, and I believe each one of those is about a pound).
Combine all the ingredients with the chicken in a Ziploc bag, give it a good shake, and set it aside to marinate for about 3 hours (or however long you'd like - I put this together at 3pm and we lit the grill about 6pm).
Fire up the grill: Tonight was 60% hickory hardwood chips / 40% charcoal, with a few splashes of water to put out the flames on the wood chips now and then. (You could probably oven roast or pan-fry these, but it's still ridiculously warm for mid-October, so we're using the grill until it's too cold to bother.)
Grill the marinated thighs until just done - about 10-15 minutes total.
(These don't need a sauce, but if you're feeling swank or fussy, feel free to reduce some of the pre-chicken marinade in a saucepan until it becomes a syrupy thickness to drizzle over the cooked meat, and garnish with some fresh slivers of green onion.)
Kitayama Miso Sauce with steak
Today's post is a shameless rip-off of Kitayama's red miso sauce, which was served with thin slices of strip steak. We dined there several weeks ago and the BF has not stopped raving about it. From what we could tell, the sauce was red miso with ginger and possibly sesame and soy. Toying around in the kitchen tonight, I managed an approximation that we agree is similar in flavor, if a little thinner in consistency. (The original was thick, almost like pudding.) The flavor is deep and roasty, with that tangy sweetness characteristic of miso, brightened by ginger. I suspect the original is probably reduced over low heat to better meld the flavors and thicken the final result, but our no-fuss homemade approximation is pretty tasty, IMO. :)
Kitayama-inspired Red Miso Sauce:
I don't measure when I cook, unless I'm following a recipe, so all amounts are approximate.
1/3 cup Akadashi dark red miso paste
2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp beef broth (you can use dashi or vegetable broth or water, if you prefer)
1 generous tsp of grated fresh ginger (I used about a half-inch of a peeled ginger knob)
1/4 tsp hot chili oil
1 tsp McIlhenry Farms honey (You can order this from the Tabasco site - it has a deeper, darker flavor than most clover honeys. Avocado honey would also work well, if you have a farmer's market or Alien Fresh Jerky stand near you.)
In a bowl, stir the miso and broth together until smooth. Add in the other ingredients to taste, stirring until all lumps are gone. Serve with steak or other hearty fare. If you're as averse to dirtying dishes as I am, don't even bother transferring to a serving dish - I just set the bowl on the table with the same spoon I'd used to stir. :) For this sauce, I skipped adding soy sauce as planned - between the salt in the miso and the salt in the broth, soy sauce, even reduced sodium, would have probably been a bit too much.
NY Strip Steaks, Asian style:
Take your 8-10 oz strip steaks and sprinkle/rub with the following:
Sake (probably a teaspoon per steak)
Soy (another scant teaspoon per steak)
Seasoned pepper
Onion powder
A pinch of salt
A spoonful of hoisin (per steak)
(The amounts above are approximate, because the BF did the marinading and he doesn't like to measure, either. :) Just do the math for the number of steaks you're making if you really must dirty a set of measuring spoons.)
Rub the marinade ingredients into the meat about 15 minutes before grilling to medium done-ness. The BF likes a 60/40 of charcoal and hickory chips when he fires up our ancient Weber, so that's how we did them tonight.
Garnish with thinly sliced green onions.
Oven Roasted Asparagus was the side dish: 1 Tbsp EVOO, a generous pinch of salt and a generous pinch of pepper, toss to coat, and arrange on a cookie sheet (I use a foil-lined jelly roll pan because I hate cleanup). Pop in a 400* F oven for 10 minutes, turning once halfway through. Easy!
=====
Someday, I'll actually take my camera down to the kitchen to get you some pictures, but I'm not about to pretend I can do those gorgeous, perfectly exposed shots that the talented bloggers like Canelle et Vanille or Sprinkle Bakes have managed. I have an HP digital point-and-shoot that cost me $50 when it was new (5 years ago). No expensive equipment here!
Kitayama-inspired Red Miso Sauce:
I don't measure when I cook, unless I'm following a recipe, so all amounts are approximate.
1/3 cup Akadashi dark red miso paste
2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp beef broth (you can use dashi or vegetable broth or water, if you prefer)
1 generous tsp of grated fresh ginger (I used about a half-inch of a peeled ginger knob)
1/4 tsp hot chili oil
1 tsp McIlhenry Farms honey (You can order this from the Tabasco site - it has a deeper, darker flavor than most clover honeys. Avocado honey would also work well, if you have a farmer's market or Alien Fresh Jerky stand near you.)
In a bowl, stir the miso and broth together until smooth. Add in the other ingredients to taste, stirring until all lumps are gone. Serve with steak or other hearty fare. If you're as averse to dirtying dishes as I am, don't even bother transferring to a serving dish - I just set the bowl on the table with the same spoon I'd used to stir. :) For this sauce, I skipped adding soy sauce as planned - between the salt in the miso and the salt in the broth, soy sauce, even reduced sodium, would have probably been a bit too much.
NY Strip Steaks, Asian style:
Take your 8-10 oz strip steaks and sprinkle/rub with the following:
Sake (probably a teaspoon per steak)
Soy (another scant teaspoon per steak)
Seasoned pepper
Onion powder
A pinch of salt
A spoonful of hoisin (per steak)
(The amounts above are approximate, because the BF did the marinading and he doesn't like to measure, either. :) Just do the math for the number of steaks you're making if you really must dirty a set of measuring spoons.)
Rub the marinade ingredients into the meat about 15 minutes before grilling to medium done-ness. The BF likes a 60/40 of charcoal and hickory chips when he fires up our ancient Weber, so that's how we did them tonight.
Garnish with thinly sliced green onions.
Oven Roasted Asparagus was the side dish: 1 Tbsp EVOO, a generous pinch of salt and a generous pinch of pepper, toss to coat, and arrange on a cookie sheet (I use a foil-lined jelly roll pan because I hate cleanup). Pop in a 400* F oven for 10 minutes, turning once halfway through. Easy!
=====
Someday, I'll actually take my camera down to the kitchen to get you some pictures, but I'm not about to pretend I can do those gorgeous, perfectly exposed shots that the talented bloggers like Canelle et Vanille or Sprinkle Bakes have managed. I have an HP digital point-and-shoot that cost me $50 when it was new (5 years ago). No expensive equipment here!
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