Brussels Sprouts with Leeks and Bacon

Do any of you have a favorite brussels sprouts recipe? Before the holidays, I was in the waiting room of my doctor's office, reading Good Housekeeping. A recipe caught my eye- I had been looking for a way to prepare brussels sprouts ever since I ate the best sprouts I had ever tasted at my friend Phil's house for his annual holiday get together a couple of years ago. His dish included chestnuts. I asked Phil for the recipe, but he is one of those people who doesn't measure anything. When I saw this recipe in Good Housekeeping, I made a note of it! I finally got around to making it this week, and it was exactly what I was looking for- even without the chestnuts.

You can refer to the recipe in its entirety for specifics but here is the routine with my twists. The recipe calls for twice as many sprouts as I bought, so I cut the other ingredients in half, except (of course) the bacon. You can prepare the sprouts the night before by washing them and trimming the tough stem. Put it in a pan, pour 3/4 of a cup of water over them. Cover and simmer for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain well and put it a tight container and put in the refrigerator overnight.

To make the rest of the dish- cook 4 strips of bacon cut into 1/4 inch slices over medium heat until they brown and render their tasty and delicious fat. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve- but don't turn down the heat!

Place sprouts in the pan. Add 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes until browned, stirring frequently. Remove to bowl and keep warm.

Add olive oil and leeks to pan- the leeks have been sliced once lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/4 inch strips- the same as the bacon. Add salt and pepper. Cook 12-14 minutes until leek is tender and browned. Add bacon, sprouts and 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar (I had no cider vinegar so I used balsamic). Cook on medium high heat for 2 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently. The recipe calls for fresh chopped parsley at the end but I didn't have any, so I didn't use it. The end result did not suffer in the least. The sprouts were perfectly tender throughout, and the taste of the leek, bacon and touch of balsamic were just what they needed to push the flavors through the roof!

This was one of those dishes that I could eat every day. One and a half pounds of sprouts was much more than enough for two people. I think the recipe in the magazine was intended to be used as a holiday side dish, in which case you might need the 50 ounces of sprouts. In any case- we loved it. Without as much time as I used to have to cook and share recipes, I have chosen to be selective and make what I love the best. So far, so good...and the eggs.

Back to Cooking- Risotto with Portabella Mushrooms and Onions

Getting back to some cooking, I thought I'd try to make something I had never made before- Risotto. Sounds easy enough and while it is an interactive recipe (labor intensive with all the stirring and watching), it was fun to watch chemistry work through cooking at its best!

Chop a container of baby portabellos and one large white onion. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high. Add onions and mushrooms and stir until onions are softened, 3-5 minutes.





Stir in two cups of rice and a teaspoon of salt. Add three cups of broth (I used both chicken and vegetable broth) and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat so that the contents simmer until the broth is absorbed, 8-10 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup dry white wine and stir frequently until absorbed. Add additional broth in 1/2 cup increments, stirring somewhere in between frequently and constantly until absorbed. Do this until the rice is creamy but still a little firm in the center. According to the recipe, this should have taken 30-45 minutes, but it took mine longer- just over an hour to reach the perfect consistency.

After adding third 1/2 cup of broth.

Close-up of the delicious creaminess!

When the risotto has cooked, you will know it- first of all, it has tripled in volume. The rice is cooked through but has not lost its firmness. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 or more grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm! This works for a main dish or a side dish. I just go ahead and make it a main dish- and it would make a good vegetarian main dish, too. So if you have been afraid to try risotto at home, don't be- it's easy, and all that stirring gives your arms a nice workout...and the eggs.

Pierogies with Onions

If you are in or around Pittsburgh, stop by Pierogies Plus in McKees Rocks for a huge variety of homemade, old school pierogies. See how they're made here.  Then click on "Walk-In Menu" to see all the varieties they offer!  In the rest of the country (and for those of us who don't have time to make them ourselves) frozen pierogies will do fine. We use Mrs. T's, which are so good you can barely tell that they aren't homemade. You can cook them using many different methods, including deep frying and grilling, but we like ours sauteed in butter with onions. Any type of pierogies will work with this recipe- we used ones with potato filling.



Saute one roughly chopped large onion in 1/2 stick of salted butter over medium high heat.



Meanwhile, boil water for pierogies. Cook them for only a few minutes (not more than 5) until the dough softens- they will be cooked in the butter and onions so you don't want to cook them for the full amount of time on the package.



After onion just starts to caramelize, add drained pierogies with another 1/2 stick butter.



Continue cooking, flipping after a few minutes, so both sides of the pierogie brown.

That's it. After they become dark-ish golden brown and the onions are caramelized, they're ready. We garnish ours with a dollop of sour cream. This dish is so good for many reasons- it's delicious because the flavors all melt together and simply compliment each other. It's a fast and easy weeknight dinner. You can easily adjust the quantity to fit your family's taste.

A couple of years ago I was in Pittsburgh and went to Butya's, a neighborhood bar, to watch the Philadelphia Eagles play the New Orleans Saints. The place was packed with fans watching the Steelers play Kansas City. I noticed small appetizer portions of fried pierogies in front of many of the locals, so I figured they must go well with beer and suggested we order one. A couple of plates of pierogies later, the goodness of the dough, the potato and the crunchy onions helped ease the pain of the Eagles' impending loss. They were that good...and the eggs.

Arctic Char with Horseradish Cream, Sweet & Sour Beets, and Dandelion Greens

This post comes to you from guest blogger (and childhood friend) Suzanne. How she found time to make this dinner with 15-month old twin boys and a 4 1/2 year old son is completely beyond me, but she did. The results sound delicious, and here they are. Thank you, Suzanne!!

My husband was recently appointed the Chair of his department at Oakland University. As such, he felt it would be nice for us to entertain a woman that was just hired to teach in the department and her husband when they were in town looking for housing. The woman is Japanese and her husband is Norwegian. So of course I chose to make fish and rice. I'm pretty fearless in the kitchen but one of my problem dishes happens to be rice. Even with a rice cooker, I always manage to screw it up. I was in the process of preparing the meal when I realized I was really setting myself up to be embarrassed by serving rice to a Japanese woman (not to mention fish to a Norwegian man). Fortunately the dinner turned out really well. The salad and main course were both beautiful and, all in all, the meal was quite healthy.

We started with some store bought appetizers - hummus, cheese, etc. I also made some delicious and potent martinis. I got the recipe from a restaurant called Kona Grille.

Berry Martinis (recipe makes one martini)
Mix the following and serve chilled
2 oz Three Olives brand Triple Berry Vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/4 oz Rose's Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cranberry Juice

The salad, main course, and dessert recipes all came from Bon Appetit



Arugula, Fennel and Orange Salad
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 large oranges
7 cups arugula
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, cored, and thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (again, I used a mandoline)

Whisk the first three ingredients together to make the dressing. Season to taste with S & P.
Cut the peel and white pith from the oranges. Working over a bowl, use a small knife to cut between and release the segments.

Combine the arugula, fennel and onion in a large bowl. Toss with dressing to coat. Add orange segments and toss to combine.

Note: I added some of the juice from the oranges to the vinaigrette and adjusted the amount of oil to balance out the acid. I also added a bit of dry mustard powder. This helps the vinaigrette to emulsify and give a nice tang to it.

Note: I let the onion slices soak in ice water for several hours then patted them dry before tossing with the salad. This helps to mellow the onion flavor.

Arctic Char with Horseradish Cream, Sweet & Sour Beets, and Dandelion Greens (4 servings)

Horseradish Cream:
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes fresh peeled horseradish root (about 1 lb unpeeled root)
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

To make cream, coarsely grate horseradish; transfer to medium saucepan and add cream; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 30 minutes. Strain cream into small sauce pan through sieve extracting as much cream as possible by pressing firmly on solids. Cream can be made 2 days ahead - cover and chill.

Beets:
8 baby red beets, tops trimmed
8 baby golden beets, tops trimmed
(baby beets were not available so I used large beets and cut them to size after cooking)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 TBS sugar

Cook red and golden beets in separate medium pots of salted water until tender, about 18 minutes. Drain and cool. Beets can be prepared to this point 2 days ahead - cover and chill.

Peel red beets, cut in half and place in skillet. Peel golden beets, cut in half and place in a separate skillet. Mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 TBS sugar into each skillet. Cook beets in each skillet over medium-high heat until liquid thickens to syrup and begins to coat beets, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Season to taste with S & P. Remove from heat.

Fish and Greens:
4 6-oz arctic char or salmon filets with skin
3 TBS vegetable oil, divided

1 large bunch dandelion greens, stems trimmed (you can use any other bitter greens such as arugula, watercress, endive or mustard greens; I used arugula to complement the salad).

Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle fish with S & P. Heat 1 TBS oil in large, heavy ovenproof sauce pan over high heat. Add fish, skin side down and sear until skin is crisp and brown, about 3 minutes (do not turn fish over). Place skillet with fish in oven and roast until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm the horseradish cream over medium heat. Heat remaining two TBS oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add greens until just wilted, about 1 minute and season with S&P.

Divide greens among 4 plates. Top with fish, skin side up. Surround fish with beets. Spoon warm cream over top and drizzle with any remaining beet juices.

Note: For a more substantial portion, I would double the amount of greens as they wilt to just about nothing once cooked. And we could all use more dark leafy greens in our diets. I wouldn't hesitate to double the beet recipe, either, as I love beets. And we could all use more beets in our diets. I served simple steamed sticky rice with the main course.

Raspberry Topped Chocolate Tartlets with Pecan Crust

2 cups pecans, toasted
6 TBS packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2-pint containers raspberries
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 325. Combine pecans, sugar, and cinnamon in food processor. Blend until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and process until moist clumps form. Press dough over bottom and up sides of four 4-inch diameter tartlet pans with removable bottoms (I couldn't find them with removable bottoms so I used non-stick tartlet pans and they worked just fine; I just had to carefully extract the crust from each after the ganache filling had a chance to cool).

Bake crusts until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely in pans.

Bring cream to simmer in heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and add chocolate. (Use a very good quality chocolate - like Valhrona - since this is a simple dish and chocolate is the star). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour mixture into crusts, dividing equally. Chill until chocolate is set, about one hour. Cover and chill. Can be made 1 day ahead. If you use tartlets with bottoms that are not removeable, gently tap the tartlets out of the pans before the next step.

Arrange berries over top of tartlets. Stir jam in heavy saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush over raspberries. Refrigerate. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead.

Note: I used raspberries and blueberries. Strawberries would be great, too.

Note: Next time I think I'd make a different crust, perhaps combining nuts with graham crackers or shortbread. I found this crust to be a bit on the greasy side from the butter and oils released by the nuts.

I will certainly make all of these dishes again. You can do a lot of the work in advance which makes this a nice meal for entertaining.

Pickled Eggs and Beets

I love pickled eggs and beets- and think of them as comfort food. We decided to whip some up for the 4th of July weekend this year. Using Marilyn and Jack's recipe, the flavors were perfect. This is a no fault recipe!



1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cans or jars pickled beets
1 dozen eggs

Bring large pot of water to a boil and add eggs; boil for 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool and peel.

Mix other ingredients in smaller saucepan- and add the juice from the 2 jars of pickled beets but not the beets. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is fully dissolved.



Put eggs and beets in a container that you can cover with a tight lid. Pour warm beet juice mixture over them and cover. Let them marinate from up to a few hours to a few days- they're ready to eat any time between. We found that they reached the perfect flavor after 24 hours.




These make a tasty side dish- they pack flavor and protein. Their festive color make them perfect for the red, white and blue color scheme, too. They keep for at least a few days, so you can put some out with every meal over the holidays, making your hosting job all that much easier! What could be better?  Happy Independence Day...and the eggs.

Savory Polenta!

I love polenta any way you slice it (or not)! This recipe was a great accompaniment to the pork belly I made last week. It was easy, I only had to use the oven in our guest apartment since the main oven was being used for the pork (which is why some of the photos don't look like the ones that are taken in my regular kitchen). The recipe is Emeril's. As much as I hate to admit it, I have noticed over the years that some of the recipes on the Food Network's website work out better for me than others, and those that do are overwhelmingly Emeril's recipes. So here's to Emeril!

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for grilling or sauteing if desired
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large, oven-safe saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and salt and sweat until the onions begin to turn translucent, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn.



Turn the heat up to high, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil.

Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once you have added all of the cornmeal, cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every
10 minutes to prevent lumps.

Once the mixture is creamy, remove from the oven and add the butter, salt, and pepper. Once they are incorporated, gradually add the Parmesan.

Serve as is, or pour the polenta into 9 by 13-inch cake pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.



Once set, turn the polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, rounds, or triangles. Brush each side with olive oil and saute in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, or grill.

You can add herbs and spices more or less to your liking. I would add a little less garlic next time. I have plenty of coarse ground corn meal left and will be making polenta again soon. This was different for us, we've had polenta at restaurants but never at home. After reading Bill Buford's book, Heat, I have been thinking about polenta a lot. I'm glad Emeril had this simple recipe, it sure beats what Mr. Buford went through...and the eggs.

Scalloped Potatoes

Is there really anything much more comforting than a great big dish full of piping hot, creamy scalloped potatoes? When the mercury in South Florida drops below 75 degrees, we wear sweatshirts, build fires in the fire pit and drink hot cocoa- when else would we have the chance? We have had a night or two this winter below 40, and on one of those nights we enjoyed this simple yet marvelous dish.

Peel 7 medium sized Idaho potatoes and slice them a little less than 1/4" thick. Butter an 8x11 casserole dish. Make a layer of potatoes in the dish with a few pats of butter scattered on top, 1 tablespoon of flour tossed around and some salt and pepper. We made three layers, and used 1 stick of butter total. After the last layer, pour milk over the whole thing until it comes three quarters up the sides of the potatoes. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Uncover for another half an hour, or until the potatoes are brown and bubbly on top. Serve hot!

Speaking of comfort food, if you read Jonathan's post, here, at People + Food, you'll see that some people's idea of comfort food is a comfort drink. Our ideas of which tastes and smells take us home in our mind is as varied as we are, which I find endlessly fascinating. Which probably led to this blog...and People + Food...and the eggs.

Homemade Corn Tortillas!

After using a few tablespoons of corn flour in the chili con carne, I was left with nearly a full bag. As luck would have it, there was a recipe for tortillas on the back of the bag.

It's easy enough- corn flour, salt and water. We decided to give it a whirl. Mix the aforementioned corn flour, salt and water according to the back of the bag (for 16 tortillas, we used 2 loosely packed cups of corn flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 1/4 cups water). Combine and if it is too dry, add a little more water (by the tablespoon). Finally you will have a nice ball of dough.



Divide that in to 16 smaller balls of dough for 16 tortillas.



You can use a rolling pin to get it super thin, but it is much easier with a tortilla press. I picked this one up at Bed, Bath and Beyond for under $20. Put one ball of dough on the plastic lined press. Cover the other dough balls with a dampened cloth to keep them moist.



And then, naturally, press!



Voila!



Throw them on a hot flat griddle over medium high heat for 50 seconds each side. You can also lightly fry them by putting a few drops of vegetable oil in a pan and doing the same thing. The fried ones are tastier!



There you have it, homemade corn tortillas. You can even make your own corn tortilla chips by cutting them up and putting them in a deep fryer for a few minutes. We'll try this another time. Right now, we are interested in one thing and one thing only!



MMMmmmm. Very good with the chili con carne.



Happy 7th day- only one more to go...and the eggs.

Papaya Salsa and Balsamic Pearl Onions with Rib-Eye Steak

We had a ripe papaya and pearl onions which needed to be used, and planned this meal around them. It was easy as soon as I found this recipe for papaya salsa:

1 ripe papaya
1 jalapeno pepper- seeded and chopped
1 cucumber- peeled and chopped
1/4 cup red onion- finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Cut the papaya into small cubes and put in bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to mix. I saved a little bit of the parsley to throw on top to garnish.



For the onions, I used Melissa's Pearl Onions, they came in a large package and I used the first half of the package the other day in my beef stew. I did a little research and learned that they are much easier to peel if you blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes and then drain.

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over a rather high heat, but not smoking. Saute onions until browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup water, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 15 mins. Turn heat down for this process- mine burned a bit, but still tasted good.




Rub just a scant bit of olive oil into steaks, and season to your liking. Sometimes we use Montreal Steak Seasoning and sometimes just plain old salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill the steaks as you normally would, letting them rest for 10 minutes.

TLMM made her famous garlic bread for this dinner. She'll have to do another guest post one day to tell you her ancient garlic bread secret, but for now, pictures will have to suffice!



To borrow my nephew Harry's adjective for his favorite chicken fingers, this dinner was exquisite. The steak with the papaya salsa was to die for! I have never seen TLMM enjoy steak that much! The fruitiness in the salsa was balanced beautifully by the jalapenos, cucumbers and citrus. This would probably be good with any meat or fish, and we plan to try it with all of the above. Doesn't the addition of fruit to any meal make it healthier?...and the eggs.

Asparagus- Quick Skillet Recipe

We love asparagus and eat it often. This is how we make it 90% of the time- quick sauteed in a skillet. Wash and dry the asparagus and bend it at the stalk until it snaps. Discard the bottom snapped off section. Pour a little olive oil over the clean, dry stalks and move them around so it is well distributed. Sprinkle some Montreal steak seasoning and red pepper flakes (to taste- we like spicy) on them and move them around again. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat and throw in the asparagus.

As it sizzles, move it around with a spatula for 5 minutes until all pieces are heated through. Turn off heat. It is finished, but can sit for a couple of minutes because it's one of those things that doesn't have to be piping hot when you eat it to taste great. The result is a fantastic side dish for any meal...and the eggs.