Saturday, November 03, 2007
Dinner Parties on a Shoestring
Labels: cookbook reviews
Mustard Lamb Chops with Braised Fennel and Leeks
These thin, tasty lamb chops are cut from a rack and grill up in the George Foreman in no time. The braised fennel and leeks were less successful, but were basically a fennel bulbs and a few leeks, rough-cut and braised in about 1/2 cup of chicken broth until tender. We ended up pureeing the veggies with more chicken broth to make a soup that tasted better than the braised veggies alone.
-8 small lamb chops
-3 tb mustard
-2 tb apple cider vinegar
-2 tb olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
Marinate the lambchops in the rest of the ingredients, which you mix until thoroughly combined. Grill on a George Foreman for about 4 or 5 minutes for medium rare.
Labels: dinner recipes, fennel, homemade, lamb, leeks
Ask a Chef: Nate Appleman
This is a first in a series of features we're calling "Ask A Chef". For our very first SeeUsEat interview, Nate Appleman, of the ever-popular and truly delicious, A16, was kind enough to answer some questions for us via email. We can't wait to try out his new restaurant, SPQR.
Enjoy the interview!:
What's your favorite kitchen tool?
A calculator and 10 inch cleaver.
What's your favorite cookbook?
The river cottage meat cookbook.
What chef do you most admire?
Alice Waters
What's your favorite dish that your mom makes/made?
Stewed green beans with salt pork and potatoes.
What's your food philosophy (in a sentence or two)?
Local, whole animal, sustainable, simple.
What's your favorite dish to cook at home?
Fried chicken.
What do you think is the best food city?
What's your favorite kitchen trick/tip?
Pre-salting everything.
What's your favorite (non-cook) book?
Don’t have one.
If you were not a chef, what would you be?
Butcher
What do you view as the most challenging ingredient to work with?
Cardoons
Do you have any new projects in the works?
I just opened a new restaurant called SPQR and a third restaurant is in the works.
Ninja or Pirate?
Pirate: rough, tough and down and dirty.
Labels: interview
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Sauage, Peppers and Onions with Cheesy Cauliflower Puree
This meal is a bit like a low carb, deconstructed shephard's pie. Hearty and delicious. It also reheats really well for lunch the next day.
-1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
-1 bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
-1 hot pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
-3 tb homemade pesto
Brown the sausage, cutting into small pieces with a wooden spoon as you go. Drain and set aside. In the same pan, sautee the onions and peppers until onions are carmelized. Add the sausage back into the pan and cook a few more minutes, until cooked through. Add the pesto and stir. Serve over cheesy pureed cauliflower (recipe below).
-1 head cauliflower, chopped
-1 cup shredded cheese
-1/4 cup cream or milk
-1 tb butter
-salt and pepper to taste
Boil the cauliflower until tender. Drain and puree with an immersion blender. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine.
Labels: bell pepper, cauliflour, dinner recipes, homemade, sausage
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Baked Trout with Mashed Butternut Squash
This meal does not look very pretty, but it was tasty and healthy. I used roasted squash that I had previously frozen.
-1 whole trout per person
-lemon slices
-salt and pepper to taste
Season the interior of the cleaned fish with salt and pepper and lay lemon slices inside. Bake on 350 until the flesh flakes, about 20-35 minutes. Serve with tartar sauce or pesto.
Mashed Butternut Squash
-1 butternut squash
-1/2 cup cream
-2 tb butter
-1/2 ts nutmeg
-salt and pepper to taste
Halve the squash and scrape out the seeds. Season with salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil. Roast, covered until the fork slides easily into the flesh, about 45 mins to an hour. Remove flesh from skin and put in a a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients. Puree with an immersion blender for a smooth mash, or mash with a masher for a chunkier texture.
Labels: dinner recipes, fish, home, homemade, seafood, squash
Monday, October 29, 2007
Rosemary Roasted Pork Loin with Fresh Green Salad
A roasted pork loin and a salad is a very quick weeknight meal that takes almost no time to prepare. Simply marinate the pork for anywhere from an hour to overnight, then roast on 375 until the internal temperature is about 115. Then let rest for about 20 minutes, until the internal temperature is about 135.
-2 tb dijon
-3 tb balsamic vinegar
-2 tb olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 handful fresh, minced rosemary leaves
Mix thoroughly.
Labels: dinner recipes, pork, salad
Rustic Carrot Soup Recipe
This soup, made from organic carrots from our CSA, was very simple to make and tasty to eat. Giao found it a tad sweet, but carrots are sweet. It was nice to have a non-pureed vegetable soup and the hands-on time is about 5 minutes.
-1/2 onion, minced
-3 cans chicken broth
-pepper to taste
Sautee the onions in a bit of olive oil until soft. Add the carrots and broth and bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender. Break up the carrots slightly with a wooden spoon and serve.
Labels: carrot, home, lunch recipes, soup
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Cauliflower Salad with Garlic Shrimp
This tangy cauliflower salad can be eaten cold, warm, or at room temperature. Aside from the cauliflower and something pickled, you can throw in any veggies you like. If you allow the salad to marinate in the dressing for an hour or so, it's even better.
Salad:
-1 watermelon radish, peeled and julienned
-10 spears pickled asparagus, cut in 1 inch lengths
-1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
-1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
Boil the cauliflower flowerettes in salted water until fork tender. Drain and toss with other ingredients. Dress with the following dressing.
Dressing:
-1 tb whole grain mustard
-2 tb olive oil
-2 tb balsamic vinegar
Combine thoroughly.
Garlic Shrimp are literally a 5 minute dish. Simply mince about 10 cloves of garlic and chop some cilantro. Sautee the garlic in a bit of butter until just beginning to brown. Add in about a lb of shelled and cleaned shrimp and sautee for just a couple of minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon and the chopped cilantro and you are ready to go.
Labels: artichoke, cauliflour, cucumber, dinner recipes, homemade, radish, salad, shrimp
