This recipe, which comes from chef Michael Schwartz's Michael's Genuine Food , is one I make whenever we're in the mood for a salad to accompany an Asian inspired meal. We also like it in the warmer months as a means to tasty up a piece of grilled fish. This batch was made to dress a salad that we served with a great slow-cooker Soy Braised Pork Shoulder (don't worry, I'll be posting that dish REAL soon), and it was the perfect complement tossed with a baby spinach salad dotted with cherry tomatoes and ripe chunks of avocado.
PB & J Bars
Here's a treat designed to please the little kid in all of us. I don't know about the rest of you, but I still have days where I crave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on white bread, of course) with a handful (or three) of crispy potato chips and a tall glass of cold milk for lunch. It was my favorite lunch as a kid, and still satisfies like nothing else can to this day.
Thankfully I've given up my childhood vice of eating "Peter Pan" creamy straight from the jar with a spoon (it wasn't a good look on me), but I bet I still eat a good old-fashioned PB & J about once a month. If you haven't had one in years do yourself a favor and make one soon, it will make you smile.
Breakfast to Go….Eggie Muffins
These little bites are a perfect, hot breakfast with which to start your day. They are basically individual frittatas, and as such can be custom made to suit all the picky mouths at your table. I used to make one large frittata over the weekend for cutting up and doling out as a grab and go breakfast option over the course of the week, but got tired of each of the kids squawking that there was some ingredient in them that they couldn't stand. Now, everyone fills their respective muffin cups with the ingredients that turn them on, we fill them all with plain scrambled eggs, et voila….everyone is happy!
Orecchiette with Blue Cheese, Leeks and Brussels Sprouts
This recipe is one inspired by a dish showcased in Fine Cooking a few months back, and should hop right to the top of the list for your next "Meatless Monday" meal. My version teams roasted leeks and brussels sprouts with salty blue cheese, sweet craisins, and earthy brown-butter pecans for a hearty and well balanced vegetarian treat.
Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake
For Peyton's "Sweet Sixteen" birthday dinner she stayed true to form and just like last year chose an Asian themed meal and CHEESECAKE for dessert. She was a little concerned that they weren't the most natural of pairings, but I assured her that on your birthday there are no rules. If the little nutbag she wanted sushi and cheesecake for her birthday feast, then an East meets West mash-up it would be.
An Ottolenghi Encore – Winter (or whenever) Couscous
Our friends and veggie lovers Jeanne and Nathan visited for dinner a few weeks back, and for the occasion we decided to whip up an all vegetarian menu in their honor. When thinking veggie, I always first turn to my cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, the brilliant London based chef. We've posted a few other Ottolenghi dishes here (and here) in the past to rave reviews, and in fact, I must say that whenever I come across blog posts of his recipes the response is universal, it seems the whole world loves his creative take on vegetarian cooking.
Mustard Roasted Pork with Carrot and Wheat Berry Salad
This recipe is a slight adaptation of one I recently found in Bon Appetit Magazine. Their recipe called for making the salad with farro, but as I had a rather large bin of wheat berries, I used them as a substitute. The original also called for using raw red onion and parsley in the salad, but in deference to my wife's sensitive stomach I nixed the onion, and for personal preference used cilantro instead of the parsley. We served the salad warm along side the pork roast, then had it again cold as left-overs later in the week, and we loved it both ways. This is definitely a grain salad that would serve you well over the course of the week if you made a big batch with a roast for Sunday dinner. It is a gift that keeps on giving.
Kefta Tagine with Herbs, Spices and Lemon
I probably spend more time than your average Joe planning out my meals. This is for two reasons, really. First, as a Dad I want to expose my kids to as many flavors of the world as I can before they're off on their own, so that hopefully they'll continue to search out "real", healthy and ethnically diverse foods when they leave home. Second, as a food blogger I want to offer you, our readers, a wide range of new recipes to try out on your own guinea pigs families. Sometimes I throw meals on my calendar just as a place holder so that I don't forget about a great recipe, and want to be reminded of it so that I don't forget to cook it one day. When I'm in that mode, I often toss meals on my calendar 4-6 weeks in advance of actually cooking them. It can get a little crazy.
Broccoli and Tarragon Quiche
Fine Cooking Magazine recently ran a "Create Your Own Recipe" feature for how to make quiche. As they've done with braises and stir-fries, they focus on the basic elements of a dish, then suggest all sorts of ways to inject your own creativity to come up with an original taste. We took their basic crust and custard recipes and added veggies and cheese to our liking. The result….quite delicious.
St. Louis Ribs with Maple BBQ Sauce
Muppet came back from her February school vacation a young woman possessed. She had spent the week with her Dad and his new family skiing at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. By all accounts they had a grand old time on the slopes, but to be honest I hardly heard about the skiing from our budding gourmand. All she could do was rave about the "Bear Claws" she ate at a joint called "Grizzlys Bar and Restaurant" at the base of the mountain.
Of course, my first thought ran to the pastry of the same name as I was sure she had noshed a few as a mid-morning snack on the trails. I was wrong. Instead, she was referring to a plate of ribs that she said were the best she's ever eaten, thick and meaty and slathered with a maple syrup BBQ sauce.
Did I mention she was possessed?