Szechuan Tofu with Peanuts
Over the past few years, I’ve become a big fan of tofu. Before the advent of my eating plan, cooking up a big batch of ma po tofu (tofu cubes & meatloaf mix in chili-black bean-garlic sauce) was a routine occurrence during the cooler months. Delicious, but rather heavy in terms of fat and calories. I’ve been working on recipes to eat tofu in a lighter and healthier way, and I’ve been successful on one or two occasions. Those recipes were focused on stir-frying the tofu, which can be a pain in the butt, since it is liable to break apart with too much handling. The big difference between those recipes and this one is that the tofu is cooked under the broiler, which gives it a nice crunchy exterior while keeping the inside tender.
This recipe, like many I that I enjoy, is Szechuan in origin, which means it is replete in chiles, garlic and ginger- not meek cuisine by any stretch. The sauce was made from sambal oelek (chile paste, my absolute favorite condiment – not for the faint of heart), black bean sauce, chicken stock (which can be easily subbed to make this meal vegetarian) and cornstarch (for that true Chinese takeout feel). Mushrooms and carrots, stir-fried and tender, garnished with scallions and peanuts. I can’t begin to tell you how delicious this came out, and Stephanie was a big fan as well, especially gratifying since she’s not as big of a fan of the spicy food as I am. However, if she could handle this, that means she’s coming along nicely!
Szechuan Tofu with Peanuts
courtesy of Cooking Light
4 servings
3 cups cooked long-grain rice
14 oz firm tofu, drained and cut into 1″ pieces
.5 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp black bean sauce
1 tbsp canola oil
.25 tsp salt
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
.5 cup carrots, julienned
1 tbsp ginger, finely minced
.5 cup green onions, sliced
.25 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
Preheat broiler. Arrange tofu on foil-lined baking sheet, coated with cooking spray; broil until golden, 14 minutes.
While tofu cooks, whisk together broth, sambal, soy sauce, cornstarch & black bean sauce. Set aside.
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add salt and mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to release liquid, 4 minutes. Stir in carrots and ginger; cook 1 minute. Add broth, cook until sauce thickens. Remove from heat; stir in tofu and onions. Serve over rice, sprinkle with peanuts.
Call me Garfield…
I love lasagna. There, I said it. Pasta, meat and cheese all baked together, the whole being greater than the sum of it parts, which is saying a lot, because pasta, meat and cheese on their own are pretty damn awesome. Aside from the deliciousness of it, it is also quite nutritious, as it provides servings of carbs, protein, dairy and fruit in one convenient and tasty package…at least that’s what I say as I help myself to a double portion.
For years, my mother held it down as the maker of my favorite lasagna. Some of my favorite memories in the kitchen are of me as a 10-year old, prepping trays upon trays of lasagna bound for the freezer. We would function as an assembly line – I was in charge of cheese and noodles, while my mother would spoon in the sauce and meat in alternating layers. We’d freeze them all but one, then let it sit in the fridge until evening, where we’d bake it as a reward to ourselves. Needless to say, there wasn’t much left over, because I could devour practically an entire tray myself, and whatever wasn’t finished for dinner was quickly devoured the next morning for breakfast.
I’ve improved on my mother’s recipe somewhat (sorry, Mom!) but I still faithfully use her technique when it comes to constructing 2-serving trays of lasagna, spreading ricotta on the back of no-boil Barilla noodles, then stacking them over the meat sauce in aluminum loaf pans. I still like to ask Steph who’s lasagna she likes better, mine or her mother’s, but I feel like that’s the cook’s equivalent of “Does This Make Me Look Fat?” – no answer is the right answer.
I’ve been really conscious of the food that I’m cooking and the amount of calories and we’ve been eating since we resolved to eat healthier, so I haven’t been making much in the way of my traditional lasagna. Tonight, however, I made a ‘no-bake’ lasagna with tomatoes and zucchini. Light, flavorful, easy to prepare, and only 8 points for those keeping track at home. Non-traditional to be sure, but let me ask you – wouldn’t you want to eat this for dinner?
All I’ll say is this – Stephanie was contemplating licking the plate. The only way this would have been better is if I had cooked the noodles like 30 seconds more and if I had bought my produce from the local farmer’s market. This recipe bears repeating! Try it out and let me know what you think.
No-Bake Summer Lasagna
Courtesy of Everyday Food
Serves 4
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
3 tbsp + 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
8 lasagna noodles, broken in half crosswise
1 garlic clove, minced
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
2 zucchini (1 lb total), halved if large, thinly sliced
1 tbsp torn fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Combine ricotta, Parmesan and 2 tsp oil, season with S&P. Cook noodles according to package directions in boiling salted water.
While noodles cook, in large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high. Add garlic & tomatoes, season with S&P, cook until slightly broken down, 3 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to bowl, add remaining oil to skillet, add zucchini, S&P and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Transfer to another bowl, stir in basil
Place some tomatoes on 4 plates, top with a noodle, then small spoonful of ricotta, zucchini and more tomatoes. Repeat layering twice more, then top with remaining noodles and tomatoes. Garnish with basil.
Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese and Crispy Ham
Easy meal on a Sunday night, and it’s an even bigger success because Steph retried and liked goat cheese. Definitely making this again.
Update @ 9:30 PM 5/2/10
I took the picture above using my fancy-schmancy Android phone – not happy about the quality, but I’m enthused by the possibilities of being able to update my blog from my phone (which I used to write the original post). When I made the cakes, they were a little loose, so I ended up mashing them together into one big cake that I then cut with my spatula. Next time, I think I’d add another tablespoon or 2 of cornmeal in order to have them be a little more bound together, and I’d fry them up in 2 pans as opposed to trying to get them all in one. Trust me, readers – this recipe both easy and delicious – take the time to try it!
Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese and Crispy Ham
Courtesy of Everyday Food
Serves 2 (I halved the original recipe)
1 tsp + 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
1.5 cup corn kernels (I used frozen, but would use definitely go fresh during summertime)
1/2 small zucchini, small dice
1 scallion, very thinly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 oz fresh goat cheese crumbled
8 slices deli ham
In a nonstick skillet, heat 1/2 tsp oil over medium, add corn & zucchini, season with S&P and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool, 5 minutes. Add scallion, egg and cornmeal and stir to combine.
Heat broiler to high. On a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet, broil slices of deli ham until golden in parts, 3-5 minutes, rotating sheet frequently.
Wipe skillet clean then heat 1 tbsp oil over medium. In batches, cook 1/4 cupfuls corn mixture until set on bottom, 3 minutes. Flip and cook until cakes are cooked through, 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve with ham.
Happy Burger Month!
May is National Burger Month! I had absolutely no idea, which made it that much more awesome that Steph and I got to celebrate its inception with Rupert (!) by consuming some of the most delicious burgers I have ever made. While we may have been true to my Jewish heritage in terms of the timing (holidays starting at sundown the night before), we were certainly not in terms of the food we ate (cheeseburgers being quintessentially un-Kosher).
I’d been dying to make Juicy Lucy burgers ever since I had read about them in Cooks Country almost 3 years ago. What’s not to like: a burger with a molten cheese core! Know your food – according to Wikipedia:
The Jucy Lucy was apparently invented at Matt’s Bar in South Minneapolis, Minnesota, though this is disputed. The 5-8 Club, a short distance south of Matt’s, also claims to have invented the sandwich.
I had planned on making these burgers at many points, but I just never got around to it – it’s just easier to drop a slice of cheese on top of the burger instead of taking the time to stuff them. However, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and the Burger Lab put together a ‘foolproof’ recipe and it seemed lucky that we were having our dear friend Rupert over for a screening of Iron Man, one week before the sequel.
First things first, I put a nice chuck steak through the meat grinder. I can’t stress this enough – if you want a high quality burger, grind your own mat. I’m no expert at it, but I know enough to get everything cold – meat, grinder, bowl. Supposedly, I’m supposed to also grind twice, but I only ground once. Instead of dense, mushy meat, you end up with loose, almost fluffy ground beef. Next time, though, I’m going to grind twice – I wasn’t as happy with the distribution of the fat in the grind.
Next, I portioned out 2.5 oz balls of ground beef, then pressed each one between two pieces of Saran-Wrap. On top of the ‘meat pancake’ went a cut up slice of American cheese.
The beef patty and cheese were then covered with another beef patty, pressed, sealed and gently molded into a patty. I had to do some patch work with some spare ground beef, but I was pretty confident that I had done a good job sealing up the cheese. When I formed 6 patties, I got them cooking on a screaming hot grill (which I apologize for the appearance, it is in dire need of a good pressure-washing). If you look carefully, you’ll see that some of my burgers started oozing a little bit, which led to some pretty fun pyrotechnics on the grill. However, cheese leakage was held to a pretty good minimum – I did a decent job of sealing in the cheese.
Topped with some sauteed mushrooms and onions (my favorite burger topping) as well as a slice of tomato, and we were in burger heaven.
How did it come out? Absolutely amazing – definitely worth the time investment required to construct them. Meaty and cheesy and delicious, it’s the best cheeseburger I’ve had in quite a while (although I’m still a huge fan of Bobby’s Burger Palace). Since I’m a big believer in reflective practice (a shout-out to all those nerdy teachers who follow my Twitter and are hopefully reading this), I’d do the following next time I make these:
- Master the mix – Grind twice to get a better distribution of fat in the mix
- Better seal – I did a decent job sealing the sides of the burger, but I can do better. Maybe cut the cheese so there are no edges that can poke through the meat, preventing a good seal.
- More cheese – Even though the Burger Lab says 1 slice, I wouldn’t mind adding some more.
- Clean my grill – I’ll admit it: I’m ashamed that it’s that unclean. On the list of things to do next weekend.
I highly recommend that you take the time to make this burger. I followed the method laid out in this slideshow, which you should definitely check out for much better pictures. If you were to make this type of burger, how would you make your own version? Variations on cheese, toppings, etc.? I’m curious to hear what you think.
Meatless Monday Dinner
Picked this recipe up from this month’s Everyday Food magazine, which also provided me with a delicious recipe for pound cake tiramisu that was a big hit at Easter. This recipe appealed to me based on its ingredients, and I’m a sucker for stir-fry rice dishes, but was a little hesitant since Steph isn’t the biggest fan of eggs with runny yolks. Fortunately, I reminded her that one of her 101s was to re-try a previously disliked food, and she agreed this would be a good dish to try. It also helped that this dish is only 7 points, for those keeping track.
I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious this came out, and I’m even more enthused that Stephanie liked it! I’d have added some more sambal oelek (which I’ve become a big fan of using) but Stephanie said it had the right level of heat. This is going to get worked into regular rotation on Meatless Monday.
Crispy Rice with Mushrooms
Courtesy of Everyday Food
Serves 4
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (I used sambal oelek)
1 tbsp soy sauce (I used tamari)
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I used shallots)
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt
14 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 carrots, julienned
3 cups cooked white rice
4 large eggs, cooked sunny-side up, for serving
Combine hot sauce, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil and set aside.
In nonstick skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium. Add onion and garlic, season with salt and cook until soft, 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add carrots and cook until softened, 4 minutes. Add hot sauce mixture and rice and cook, stirring, until warmed through, 2 minutes.
Using back of spoon, flatten rice mixture and increase heat to high. Cook until bottom begins to brown and crisp, 4 minutes. Divide among 4 plates, top with egg and serve with more hot sauce.
First BBQ of the Season
Like any other good guest, when I’m invited to someone’s house for a dinner/BBQ/get-together, I always ask what I can bring. Simultaneously, the best and worst answer someone can give me, in terms of food contributions, is “Just bring whatever you want”. This immediately sets off hours of poring over cookbooks, perusing recipes and generally making myself irritable to Steph while I try and figure out just what I want to make, and what I want to inflict on my friends. One of these days, someone’s going to say that to me and I’m going to show up with pig feet, beef hearts and other parts. Needless to say, I restrained myself last night.
In the interest of not wanting to do much in the way of food prep, along with keeping the Spanish philosophy of casual eating I’ve found so appealing, I went with three bites:
- Pinxto (skewer) of caramelized pearl onions and Idiazábal cheese
- Pinxto of ancho-lime shrimp
- Montadito (canape) of flank steak with chimichurri
Know your food: Idiazábal cheese is a raw sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region of Spain, that is then aged and optionally treated with smoke. I had seen recipes that use Idiazábal (such as Alinea’s take on it, seen here and here). In order to be meet the standards to be called Idiazábal, the milk needs to come from a specific breed of sheep – talk about tight quality control! I’ve never had the chance or reason to use Idiazábal before, much to my loss – the cheese was out of this world and was sneaking bites of the trimmings when I was prepping. The pearl onions were cooked and glazed in a sherry syrup, then threaded with a square of cheese and topped with the syrup and some piment d’esplette. Out of this world – the highlight for me.
However, it seemed that to everyone else, the best bite of the night was the chimichurri. Chimichurri is pretty much “BBQ sauce” in Argentina – many grilled meats are finished with this pungent mix of herbs,garlic, oil and vinegar. I’ve made chimichurri from dried herbs plenty of times, and have sampled many chimichurris that I’ve liked, but I’ve always held off from making them at home due to Steph’s dislike of parsley. However, I made this last night, and it was a huge hit, and Steph liked it too, much to my delight. I served it over a thinly sliced flank steak on a thin toasted baguette oval, and it was rather good, seeing that there was literally not a scrap of it left when I was done.
Sadly, no pictures, but here’s the recipe for you to try yourself!
Chimichurri Sauce courtesy of Pinxtos by Gerald Hirigoyen
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp shallot, finely chopped
- 2.5 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano, coarsely chopped
- 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
In a small bowl, mix everything together. Season to taste with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if desired). Serve over grilled steak.
Nicholas Recipe: Black Bass with Miso Broth
Between Passover, lead-up to Spring Break, a trip to Baltimore and my clean-out-the-closet goals, I’ve been very slack in cooking. I figured that today would be a good day to make a new dish, from the Restaurant Nicholas cookbook. (Note – if you’re interested in other recipes from this amazing book, I highly recommend my friend Rob’s cookbook blog.)
So this recipe is simplicity itself: a miso broth, some sushi rice and a pan-seared fillet of fish. I had heard about an Asian grocery in Middletown from a friend of mine, and tracked it down – actually easier to get to from my house than Hong Kong Supermarket, and it is right down the road from Whole Foods. Convenient!
Tinto – 3/13/2010
Braving the monsoon that is currently striking New Jersey, Stephanie and I headed down to Philadelphia to see my good friend Meghann’s show that she wrote, directed and produced, called Chlamidya dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque. It was excellent, and I hope that her and Gigi can have it grow and become more widespread in audience and eventually make millions of dollars because of it.
Aaron and Meghann, my sources for all Philly knowledge, are huge Jose Garces fans, and they had mentioned that one of his restaurants was literally right down the block from the theater. Thank you OpenTable for making reservations so easy!
The concept is small plates, social eating and enjoying lots of different types of food and flavors. Since we ordered a wide variety (3-4 plates per person, to be shared) we didn’t try to match wines, but rather ordered the Hombre, which was gin, grapefruit and basil. Steph picked it out, and I decided on one because I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to drink. It turned out to be a good call because the its flavor cleansed the palate between each plate.
Charcuterie mixto – jamon Serrano, saucisson sec, lomo, chorizo Pamplona: Nothing much better than dried cured meats. I found the saucisson sec to be my favorite: spicy and and garlic-y and delicious. Steph liked the lomo, cured pork loin sliced wafer thin (it was practically transparent).
Cheese mixto – Boucheron, La Peral, idiazabal: Steph has been a real champ when it comes to trying foods she has previously decided she has disliked. Cheese is one, especially the smelly and stinky ones. Tonight she gave La Peral, a blue-veined cow/sheep milk cheese a whirl, and liked it! Good, now I can start making recipes with gorgonzola dolce. I was more partial to the Boucheron, myself.
Sopa de Castano – truffled chestnut soup, duck & mushroom hash, fried quail egg, pistachio: I can’t begin to tell you about how amazing this dish was. It started with the tableside service (which I am known to be a sucker for), continued with the breaking of the yolk then ending with a spoon full of a rich and truffle-y chestnut soup, a shred of duck, a slice of mushroom and a sprinkle of pistachio…words can’t even describe it. One day, I’m going to try and make this at home, using Nicholas’s recipe for the chestnut soup. Best dish of the night.
Pork belly montaditos (canapes) – Berkshire pork belly, honey lacquer, shaved apples: Crostini topped with slabs of glazed pork belly, apples and herbs. Pork belly is awesome.
Duck montatidos (canapes) – duck confit, Serrano ham, black cherry, La Peral spread: This is another dish I’d try to recreate at home – the duck confit was pressed into a cube, then topped with a piece of serrano ham and seared to crisp. The flavors were out of this world.
Hamachi a la plantxa, avocado puree, pepper sauce & pickled onions: Random moment of the night: we leaned over to tell the couple next to us they should order this dish, and it turns that Stephanie had the girl in high school as a student.
Oyster Bocadillo (sandwich) – fried oysters, choricero pepper tartar sauce, sweet onion escabeche: Our love for oysters is well-known, and this tiny Basque version of a po’boy left us very satisfied. Mind you, I wasn’t a fan of having to split this one with Stephanie, as I wanted the whole thing for myself.
Prawn brochetas – prawns, chorizo, grape tomato, espelette chile: Served with the head and legs attached! A bit more fiery of a course, I’m glad this was the last one served, as to not blow out our taste buds.
Roasted rack of lamb, artichoke puree & lemon: Not only was it perfectly cooked and delicious, the menu didn’t mention that it was truffled artichoke puree. Win!
Crema Catalana – caramelized Spanish custard, cinnamon shortdough, poached figs, fig sorbet: Stephanie really liked the custard and cookie, but wasn’t a fan of the figs or the sorbet. Fine with me, I finished both no problem.
Mato y Miel – goat’s milk mousse, orange-olive oil caramel, orange blossom gelee, almond lace tuile: This was amazing. I’d have been happy with a double portion of this. Side note: Meghann had mentioned that she always wanted to order sherry because she thought the people were so cool drinking sherry out of their little sherry glasses…so Steph and I ordered sherry, a not-too-sweet one as per the recommendation of our server. I really enjoyed it, Steph said she wished it was sweeter. Now we know!
Eating at Tinto really hammered home the concept that we have gotten so used to giant plates and portions with massive amounts of food that we are thrown off when a dish arrives and it has 2 crostini on it. I like the idea of cooking a small plates for friends or family, as opposed to the standard holiday meal. We did it at our last Iron Chef dinner, but it’s something I’d like to work on more as time goes on. One more thing to put on the to-do list!
*All links to photos courtesy of Ulterior Epicure.
The challenge continues…
The Clean-Out-My-Closet Challenge
I’ve got a pantry filled with all kinds of crazy stuff that I’ve collected through the course of cooking. I’ve got some things that I had to buy an amount of to only use a small bit (masa harina, nonfat milk powder, dark Karo syrup, almond flour, unsweetened coconut) or a partial amount (all manners of pasta and grains: rice noodles, ditalini, udon, farfalle, somen). I’ve got some stuff that I bought, but never ended up using (Ro-Tel tomatoes, inarizushi no moto, whole peeled tomatoes). It’s been adding up, and it’s been grating on me as the weeks go on. Let’s not mention my freezer, which has all manners of frozen meats and vegetables.
