Category Archives: Sides

Radishes and turnips two ways (braised and pickled)

I had a super fun weekend in West Virginia with some great friends and food, including grape-flavored moonshine and biscuits ‘n’ gravy from Tudor’s Biscuit World. On my way home, I couldn’t help but think about all of the veggies waiting for me in my refrigerator. I decided to tackle all of these guys at once:

Gilfeather, kohlrabi, radishes, turnips

I came across a recipe for radishes in butter that called for 20 radishes and 6 Tbsp butter. This inspired me to look for a recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking…and voilà, a recipe for turnips braised in butter. I chopped up and mixed together the radishes, turnips, gilfeather, and kohlrabi and used half in Julia’s recipe and did a quick pickle for the other half, recipe (for pickled green beans) courtesy of Martha.

Navets à l’étuvée (turnips braised in butter)
Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volume 1
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 lbs turnips, peeled and quartered (7-8 cups)
2 Tbsp butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups beef or chicken stock, or water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Blanch the turnips for 3-5 minutes in boiling salted water to cover. Drain, and place them in the saucepan with the butter and enough liquid (stock or water) to barely cover them. Season lightly. Cover and boil slowly for 20-30 minutes or until they are tender but retain their shape. If the liquid has not evaporated, uncover and boil it off. Correct seasoning.

Braised

Spicy pickled green beans
Source: Everyday Food, September 2012
Makes: 2 pints

Ingredients
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups white vinegar
2 Tbsp coarse salt
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 tsp sugar
2 dried red chiles

Directions
1. Arrange green beans and garlic slices in clean glass jars.
2. In a saucepan, bring white vinegar, salt, black peppercorns, sugar, and dried red chiles to a boil. Carefully pour mixture into jars, secure lids, and let cool to room temperature.
3. Refrigerate, up to 1 month.

Pickled


Roasted asparagus

Spring has sprung, which means asparagus! I am a big fan of asparagus…confession, I used to like eating it cold out of the can. That probably stopped once I discovered how delicious fresh asparagus can be. And I love the way it grows.

Are you one of the people who has smelly pee after you eat asparagus? Apparently only about 25% of the population can smell it, according to WebMD.

Want more info on asparagus? Check out this article on How to Cook Asparagus by QuickEasyCook.com.

Ready to go in the oven

Roasted asparagus
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Rinse asparagus and snap off the tough end of each stalk. Toss with olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Cook for about 10 minutes. Rotate the spears and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until cooked (I like them slightly charred).

Delish!

 

Thanksgiving 2012 recipes

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful day, filled with great company and good food. I have a lot to be thankful for, including getting to spend the holiday with my family. Over the years I think I have cooked every part of a Thanksgiving meal, but have never been responsible for the whole meal. Kudos to those of you who pull off this incredible feast every year!

I realize that this post is too late for this year, and some of you may not want to look at turkey, stuffing, or mashed potatoes again for another year, but I wanted to share some of my lessons learned when it comes to cooking the turkey (though I’m certainly no expert), as well as the recipes we used this year.  

Turkey Lessons

  1. Don’t forget to defrost it. In college, my roommates and I decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner at 7H (our apartment) because we got a “free” turkey from Harris Teeter. Two of the three of us didn’t eat meat at the time, so we were useless. Needless to say, the turkey did not get defrosted in time. After a last minute trip to the store, we served Thanksgiving dinner with Cornish game hens. We also didn’t have enough plates for everyone, so some people had to use baking dishes and pie pans.
  2. Don’t forget to take the “bag of stuff” out of the cavity. I think 2008 was my first attempt at cooking the turkey, for a Thanksgiving potluck that I was hosting. Bryan and I both had to call our Moms to figure out what we were supposed to do with the surprise bag of stuff we found in the cavity. Once we figured out that we were supposed to take it out, I’m pretty sure we just threw it out. I now know it’s the neck, and you can put it in the bottom of the pan to flavor the pan drippings that will be used to make the gravy. It can also be used to make stock. GTK, good to know.
  3. Duck fat is the secret ingredient. For last year’s Thanksgiving potluck, Mark and Jimmy kindly offered to make the turkey, which involved a special order of duck fat from Williams Sonoma. Jimmy is also nice to have around to carve the turkey, since he’s a surgeon.
  4. A meat thermometer can be your best friend. This year, my parents’ friends were cooking the turkey in a brand new oven. When it was supposed to be “done”, it looked pretty white and thanks to the trusty meat thermometer, they knew it wasn’t done as the internal temperature was only 120 degrees. With a little more time and a little more heat in the oven, they got it up to a perfect 165 degrees, and it was delicious.

We were in charge of the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. We used the old school Campbell’s recipe for green bean casserole.

Classic

For the mashed potatoes, I used a mixture of 1% milk and half-and-half. I also added the roasted garlic. I added the milk and butter mixture a little bit at a time, because you might not need it all…often I don’t even measure out the milk and butter.

Sour cream mashed potatoes

Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, November 2011
Serves: 8

Ingredients
4 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes (about 7 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup light sour cream
2 cloves garlic, roasted and mashed
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to pot.
2. While potatoes are cooking, combine milk and butter and heat until butter is melted and mixture is warm, but not boiling (on stove or in microwave). Pour mixture into potatoes and mash with a hand mixer or potato smasher until smooth. Stir in sour cream and garlic, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
So much better than that canned stuff!
Cranberry orange relish
Source: Mom
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1 package fresh whole cranberries (12 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp orange zest

Directions
1. Combine ingredients in a pot and bring to boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes until berries pop, stirring constantly to prevent it from boiling over.
2. Chill immediately and enjoy!

Potato salad x2

Happy Election week! I was very proud to cast my vote on Tuesday, and excited to hear so many stories of people getting out there to rock the vote. Yes, I know my voting terminology is stuck in the 90’s. It was also wonderful to see my friend, who just became a U.S. citizen on November 1, be allowed to cast his first ballot in this country. What a great year to participate in the election!

In honor of the elections, I’ve decided to ask you to cast your vote…for potato salad. Pro-mayo or pro-mustard? Pro-Yukon gold or pro-red skin? Don’t worry, flip-flopping is absolutely acceptable. I like them both, how bipartisan of me.

I had about two pounds of potatoes to use so I made two versions of potato salad, using both red skin and Yukon gold potatoes. I cooked the potatoes together in the same pot, but the Yukon golds cooked a little faster. The original recipe for German potato salad included 3 slices of bacon, which I omitted. I find it annoying to buy a pound of bacon when I only need three slices. I also omitted the scallions from the herbed potato salad because I didn’t have them on hand.

German potato salad
Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, April 2005
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 pound small new potatoes, scrubbed
1 small red onion, sliced
1 tsp olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. In a medium pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, 20-25 minutes. Drain; cool slightly, and halve.
2. While potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and saute onion until tender, for 2-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together potatoes, sauteed onions, white wine vinegar, and Dijoin mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

German potato salad

Herbed potato salad
Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, June 2012
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 pound small Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp low-fat plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions
1. In a medium pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, 15-20 minutes. Drain; cool slightly, and halve.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together potatoes, parsley, scallions, mayonnaise, yogurt, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Herbed potato salad

Guacamole

When we were in Belgium this summer, Kendrin’s cousin Laurens hosted a guacamole competition and the results were pretty delicious. The competitors were Laurens, Kendrin, and Zoé. I might be biased in that I voted for Kendrin because that is the recipe I also use! Kendrin is very popular on my blog lately!

Fierce competition

Guacamole – Gold medal
Source: Kendrin Sonneville

Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 ripe avocados, mashed
Tortilla chips

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Serve with chips.

Just add chips

Guacamole – Bronze medal
Source: Laurens Sonneville

Ingredients
2 avocados
2-3 limes
1/2 large red onion
1 clove of garlic
Handful of cilantro
Salt and pepper
Cherry or grape tomatoes

Directions
1. Put everything except the tomatoes in a blender.
2. To serve, first add a layer of chopped tomatoes to your bowl, top it with guacamole mixture, then repeat the layers.

Red cabbage

I had an unexpectedly free evening today so I decided to spend it with this beautiful red cabbage. I know…if red cabbage excites me, perhaps I need to find some new hobbies.

Pretty red cabbage

I pulled a recipe out of my potluck recipe box, from a “Family Favorites” potluck circa 2007. I didn’t have plain white vinegar, so I decided to make my best guess among three options I did have on hand: white balsamic vinegar, tarragon white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar. I went with cider vinegar since it seemed like it would go well with the apples in the recipe. I also wasn’t sure if I should boil or steam the cabbage (aka, how much water to put in the pot). I hedged my bets and probably covered about half of the cabbage and onions.

Red Cabbage
Source: Kendrin Sonneville
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients
1 large head of red cabbage, shredded
2 large onions, chopped
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 large apples
1/4 cup sugar

Directions
1. Cook cabbage and onion together in water until fork tender (10-15 minutes). Drain water. Add vinegar and stir (dark purple color of cabbage will turn magenta).
2. While cabbage is cooking, peel, core, and dice apples. Cover apples with sugar, and saute until tender (only a couple of minutes). Add to cabbage.
3. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Apples ‘n’ sugar

By cooking the apples separate from the cabbage, I really liked that they didn’t get all mushy. I do like it a little more vinegar-y so I would probably add a bit more next time (or maybe I should try it with plain white vinegar).

Voila!

Kale chips

I think I discovered kale chips last summer, and it quickly became one of my favorite ways to eat kale. The “recipe” is pretty easy, but I’m going to share a few words of wisdom that I’ve learned along the way.

  1. Dry the kale before adding the oil.
  2. Adjust the oil depending on the size of the bunch. For a large bunch, I use 1 Tbsp per 1/2 bunch.
  3. Add the salt and pepper before cooking, otherwise it doesn’t stick very well.
  4. Keep an eye on them because burnt kale is less than awesome.
  5. Be prepared to eat them right away as they don’t keep that well. 
Getting ready to go in the oven

Kale chips
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
1/2-1 bunch kale leaves (separated from stems)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash and chop (or rip) kale leaves into bite-size pieces, then dry the leaves.
3. Toss chopped kale with olive oil and spread on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until crispy and edges just start to turn brown.
5. Enjoy!

Corn salad

I was very excited to get corn in my CSA. I confess that I have an SSB (secret single behavior) in which I like to eat corn on the cob for dinner, but I also love making this salad. It is another great recipe that lends itself to whatever you might have in your vegetable bin. When I made it today, I didn’t have any onion, but I did add some chopped cucumber and tomato which also adds more color and texture.

I think the fresh basil is a key ingredient to making this salad so delicious. If you are making the salad ahead of time and refrigerating it, the basil will turn black so I’d definitely add it just before serving.

Beautiful corn

Corn salad
Source: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
5 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 cup red onion, diced small (1 small onion)
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned

Directions
1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.
2. Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Voila!

Artichoke and pea gratin

My friend Eric was visiting Boston earlier in the month (from DC) and it was so great to see him, and it reminded me of this recipe that he shared with me.

Artichoke and pea gratin
Source: Eric Shipley
Serves: 4-6, I’m guessing

Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1¼  cup low-fat milk
9 ounces frozen artichoke hearts (thawed)
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen [thawed])
½ tsp salt
½ tsp lemon zest
Parmesan or Gruyere cheese

Directions 
1. Whisk butter and flour in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat…make roux.
2. Add your milk, whisk together till boiling.
3. Stir in your remaining ingredients…minus the cheese.
4. Top with grated parmesan or gruyere and broil till golden.

Summer squash and white bean sauté

I have a confession to make…I don’t really like zucchini or summer squash. I would definitely not choose either of them to take with me to a desert island. But as part of a CSA, you don’t always get what you want, so over the years I have learned to tolerate them both. Usually I try to hide zucchini in bread or muffins, but today I tried to highlight them using this recipe. I also added about 1/2 of my kohlrabi (chopped) and some of the fresh dill I got last week. Plus I got to use my fabulous new pots (thanks to everyone who supported my Williams-Sonoma habit in the form of GCs).

Summer squash and white bean sauté
Source: Adapted from Key Ingredient
Serves: A lot

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1-2 garlic scapes, chopped
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 15-ounce can cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (optional)
1/3 cup finely shredded Romano cheese (or Parmesan)

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic scapes and cook, stirring, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, summer squash, oregano, and pepper and stir to combine.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring once, until the vegetables are tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir in beans, tomatoes and vinegar; increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in dill and Romano cheese!
4. Enjoy!

Step 1…sauté
The finished product

Since I have a feeling this is only just the beginning of my zucchini management, I will definitely be on the lookout for more recipes if anyone has any they’d like to share. I will also definitely post my chocolate zucchini muffin recipe…so stay tuned!