Turkey Chili

This is what I would consider my best version of chili to date.  There wasn't any particular recipe to follow...just threw things together (we just got our CSA box over the weekend) and they all somehow worked.  I'm getting this all down now while it's still fresh in my head to help me remember how to recreate this later.

• about 1 to 1.25 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 sweet peppers
• 1 ear corn
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 cans tomato paste (1 more can if you don't use the marinara)
• 1/2 jar Mario Batali's marinara sauce (making use of leftovers)
• 3-4 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked bacon sea salt
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder

First, brown the ground turkey in 1 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil in a deep pot.  Remove the meat and set aside.  There was a good amount of juice from the meat, which I drained but should have kept (something I'll do differently next time).  Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in the pot then add the onion, peppers, and mushrooms, sauteing until the onion is translucent.  Return the browned meat to the pot.  Mix in the spices then the marinara sauce and tomato paste.  This mixture can be a bit thick so add water in 1/2 cup increments to your liking.  The corn was added at the end as a bit of an afterthought, giving it a nice crunch and contrast from the rest of the ingredients.

This version is a little on the sweet side, reminiscent of sloppy Joe but not completely since it doesn't have the vinegary barbecue aspects.  We had this over small baked potatoes.  Now, if I only had the foresight to make cornbread...perhaps later this week when we have the leftovers, plus a dollop of Greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute.  Yummm...

Update 7/4/2011
Peel and cube (about 1/2 inch each) 1 Russet potato after adding the tomato paste to add another starch component.  The chili's ready once the potatoes are cooked all the way through.  It's SO good this way.

Vegetable Curry & the CSA Box

 We belong to a CSA and have a box delivered to our house once a month.  In the past, our boxes had a general mix of fruits and vegetables, but we switched over to veggies only during the past couple of months.  Here is what's in this month's box: bell peppers, cilantro, small potatoes, zucchini, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, fava beans. With such a varied mix, I thought some of the lot would go great in a curry sauce.

I ended up using 2 bell peppers, 9 small potatoes, carrots from the last box and from the garden, half a bunch of cilantro, and half of the cauliflower.  They were all chopped up into bite-sized pieces.  The carrots and bell peppers were first sauteed in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for about 5 minutes before adding the potatoes and cauliflower and covering with water.  Bring the water to a boil then melt 2 store-bought Japanese golden curry blocks.  Add the cilantro then bring the heat down and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the cauliflower and potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.

I poured the curry dish over a brown rice and quinoa mixture (which, by the way, is a genius idea if you're not a big fan of quinoa but want to get its nutritional benefits) alongside store-bought beef tritip (from Handy Market's Saturday bbq).  It's all very tasty.  We have enough leftovers for another meal, which means I'm off the hook from cooking for one night.  Can't wait to have it again!  Now, what to do with those fava beans?!

More Savory "Cupcakes"

I had some leftover ingredients from the lasagna cupcakes and wanted to use them up, so I came up with two new cupcakes that we can eat throughout the week. For these, I reduced the heat down to 300 and baked for 30 minutes, which probably wasn't necessary.

Breakfast Cupcakes
This one's like a baked omelet. Line the bottom of each cupcake slot with the gyoza wrapper (after spraying with cooking oil). Layer 6 slots with the spinach and sausage. Beat 4 eggs in a measuring cup and pour over those 6 layers. *I'd add some milk to the egg mixture next time so that it's not so dry.

Pesto Shrimp & Egg Noodles (cupcake version of Linguine & Eggs)
Cook noodles according to package instructions (I used Japanese somen), drain and toss in about 2-3 tablespoons of prepared pesto sauce and shredded Parmesan. Beat 3 eggs, and stir some chopped spinach and more pesto sauce to it. Cut 6-7 large shrimp into bite-size pieces (thirds or quarters) and saute with garlic until pink.

Fill the remaining 6 cupcakes about halfway with the pesto noodles, then pour the egg and spinach mixture over it. Top with the cooked shrimp and sprinkles of Parmesan.

These did not need the gyoza skin because the eggs helped bind the ingredients together and hold the shape, but I needed to use them up and they didn't make a difference on the overall taste. I would add more pesto into the noodles next time for more flavor and saltiness, especially since I didn't add salt to any of these...figured the pesto and Parmesan had enough in them. My solution is to top them off with a little pesto when reheating. Also, I'd toss LOTS of sauteed garlic directly into the noodles...no explanation needed. What matters most is that Ken finds them tasty, which he does. Four (2 lasagna, 2 shrimp) seems to be enough for a hungry man.

Lasagna Cupcakes!

I got the idea to make these from another blog. The genius of these cupcakes is that they're portable and easy to serve. My version is filled with Italian sausage and spinach.

• gyoza/wonton wrappers for the noodle part (gyoza are round, wonton are square)
• sauce (I used TJ's Tomato Basil Marinara)
• ricotta cheese
• shredded Parmesan cheese
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• Italian sausage, cooked
  
• fresh spinach, chopped
  
• cooking spray
  

Start by spraying a cupcake pan with cooking oil then line each slot with a wrapper. Layer with a teaspoonful of sauce, then a teaspoon of ricotta, a sprinkle of Parmesan, spinach, and finally sausage. Add another wrapper on top and repeat the layers. Top off with the mozzarella with another hit of Parmesan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Wait a few minutes for the cupcakes to cool and set to retain shape before removing from the pan.

Pictured above is the lasagna at various stages of completion.  Starting at the lower left corner then counterclockwise: wrapper w/ sauce, then with ricotta & Parmesan; 2nd row down middle right has sausage and the one to the right has the second layer started; above those have second layers with sausage & spinach, and the 4 on the upper left are completed.  These are perfect to make on the weekends and eat for lunch or dinner later during the week. Why didn't I know about them sooner?!

Kalbi

Kalbi is one of those staples that is always comforting and popular, but can require lots of time to marinate so you can't always make it on the fly. I threw caution to the wind and let it sit for about 2 hours rather than overnight, and the flavors gelled perfectly. This recipe for kalbi is simple and straight-forward, and easy to add your own touches to. I used boneless chuck short ribs bought bulk from Costco, sliced to about 1/4 inch across and cut into quarters on the length of the strip. In addition to the sliced yellow onion, I chopped up some green onions from the garden. A stove top grill is the perfect way to cook this up when it's too cold for the outside grill. Yum!

Before & After Roast Chicken

I love the roast chicken from Costco. You can do so much with the leftovers, such as shredding up and smothering the meat with D's BBQ Sauce and pairing it with leftover steamed buns. On the side are leftover quinoa cooked in veggie broth with sweet red peppers, and sauteed Swiss chard and mushrooms. Strange combination but it worked. Below is what we had in the previous meal, before becoming leftover. The green-looking flat bread is called a zaatar, made of dried thyme, sesame seeds and olive oil, and the half one next to it had mushrooms in probably a red pepper puree.

Roasted Corn w/ Langostino Chowder

It's the start of the new year week and I'm back to cooking after taking a break during the winter break. We had some leftover corn and ingredients that needed to be used up, all perfect for this chowder. I used Ina Garten's recipe for Cheddar Corn Chowder as a starting point with what I had on hand, and didn't make quite as much as she suggested. Here's the run-down:

• 2 cups roasted corn cut from 4 ears
  
• 1 cup (half of large) diced yellow onion
• 1 cup diced potatoes (fingerlings)
• 1 1/2 cups langostino lobster, halved into chunks
• 1/4 cup grated smoked gouda + 1/2 slice of gruere (both leftovers)
  
• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock + 3/4 cup water (ran out of stock)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp flour
  
• 1/2 tsp salt & ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp tumeric

Cook the onions in butter for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half, cheese and langostino. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season to taste. Serves about 6-8 (if each had a bowl).

On a cold day, this was the perfect fix. My dad was over at our house that night, and between him and Ken, they finished most of the pot, which left me with enough for about a cup for lunch the next day. You can say it was a hit. Next time, I'd add dry sherry and maybe some paprika for an extra kick, and leave out the tumeric.

French Onion Soup

In our first CSA box, we got this giant onion that I didn't know what to do with, so Anny suggested making French onion soup. This is the recipe that I used and it's very delicious. Instead of canned soup, I found this liquid concentrate at Henry's, and used 4 tubes w/ a total of 4.5 cups of water. The red wine was a 2-Buck Chuck shiraz from TJ's. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make and how great it tasted.

We only had a bowl each and lots left over, so I put the rest in the freezer to enjoy later. The one thing I'd do differently next time is to slice the bread thinner, about 1/2 inch. The 1-inch slice soaked up most of the broth in our soup bowls. Can't wait to have this again!

Mushroom sauce

I made this on the fly halfway through the cooking process. Originally, my plan was to just saute some sliced white mushroom in butter and garlic, and just call it a day. I had covered the mushroom to wilt down and got the idea to make a gravy with it when I saw all the wonderful liquid that had come out after uncovering. I melted down another pat of butter in the center of the mushroom pile then about a tablespoon of flour to make a roux, then just added water to the mixture until I got my desired amount of sauce. Season with salt and pepper before serving. SO EASY! We had this with steak and potatoes.

The Perfect Yams (According to Ken)

After a long work day today, I somehow managed to muster up enough energy to cook a dinner with a main protein with a wine reduction AND five side dishes! Most of it was baked, which gave me time for the stove-top stuff. Part of the inspiration boiled down to clearing out the fridge and pantry, and the other was because of the shipment of our veggie box this morning. Here's a run-down of everything I made: baked salmon, a creamy white wine reduction sauce, 1 baked yam, 1 baked potato, sauteed white mushrooms, sauteed broccoli rabe, and roasted fennel.

Everything was baked except for the rabe and mushroom. The broccoli rabe and fennel were from the box, and those were simple online recipes. The fennel was perfect since I had already planned on baking the 2 types of potatoes from the pantry. To the (very large) yam, I added a pat of butter and 2 tbsp of brown sugar. The potato also got a pat of butter and some of the creamy white wine sauce (sour cream had gone bad). It felt like a feast and I finally got Ken to like yams!

*Picture coming soon.