Quick and Easy Hummus

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Did you know that it’s incredibly easy to make your own hummus? I never realized this until we received a Vitamix blender as a wedding present. Now smooth and creamy home made hummus is just a few basic ingredients and a minute of blending away!

I like to think of this as a basic “building block” hummus recipe. After you familiarize yourself with the standard ingredients you can play around with the flavors to come up with your own variation. We haven’t tried tweaking the recipe yet but I have a feeling that next time we make a batch we’ll attempt to duplicate our favorite Trader Joe’s hummus flavors. My favorite is Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus and Matt’s go-to is TJ’s smooth and creamy Mediterranean Hummus with pine nuts. Of course, you could also try adding roasted red peppers, chipotle en adobo, pesto, sun dried tomatoes… the possibilities are endless!

Quick and Easy Hummus (from the Vitamix ‘Create’ Recipe Book)

You will need…
2 – 15 oz. cans Chickpeas – one can drained, the other with liquid
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 clove Garlic
1 teaspoon Cumin (plus more for garnish)
Salt, to taste

Directions:
Place the first six ingredients in the jar of a Vitamix* blender in the order shown above. Set the Vitamix to variable 1 then increase speed to variable 10 and switch to high. Use the tamper to push the mixture down into the blades and blend for 1 minute. Stir in salt to taste and transfer to a bowl. Garnish the hummus with cumin and serve with pita chips or your choice of veggie. Enjoy!

* This recipe came from our Vitamix ‘Create’ Recipe Book, meaning that it’s designed to be made in a Vitamix. When I used our Vitamix to blend the ingredients together the hummus turned out creamy, smooth, and perfectly blended in just one minute. If you have a different type of blender the consistency might turn out a little less smooth (those sesame seeds could be hard to blend) so you may want to opt for a recipe that uses tahini (sesame seed paste) instead.

14Oct2013

Nürnberger Bratwurst with Sauerkraut

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Happy October! The German holiday of Oktoberfest may have ended on October 6th, but, like many Americans, Matt and I use this holiday as an excuse to enjoy German bratwurst and beer for the entire month of October. Last night’s dinner was no exception… We used a German recipe to make authentic Nürnberger Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and crispy onion rings. YUM!

We purchased our Nürnberger (aka Nuremberg) Bratwursts from a fresh sausage vendor at our local Farmer’s Market. The vendor explained that, unlike most brats you’ll find in a supermarket, Nürnberger Bratwursts are very small (about 4″ long x 3/4″ diameter) and are not served hot dog-style on a roll. Instead, several of these tiny sausages are served together over a bed of warm sauerkraut. This sounded good to us and, after some online searching, I found this authentic recipe to showcase these little brats. Naturally the recipe was written in German but with a combination of my limited German language skills from school and some help from Google Translate we came up with the following English version.

Kartoffelpüree mit Bratwurst und Sauerkraut
Mashed Potatoes with Bratwurst and Sauerkraut – Translated from Lecker.de

You will need…
3 Yellow Onions
2 1/4 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and roughly cut into 2×2″ chunks
200ml (approx. 7/8 cup) Skim Milk
40g (just under 3 tablespoons) Butter, divided in half
1/2 bunch Chives, sliced into very thin rounds
Grated Nutmeg
Peanut Oil
28 oz. Jar of Sauerkraut (available in the canned veggies aisle)
375ml (approx. 1.6 cups) Chicken Broth
5-6 Juniper Berries*
1 Bay Leaf
12-16 Nuremberg Sausages (Nürnberger Rostbratwurst)
1/4-1/2 cup Flour, for dredging
Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Slice the onions to form thin rings (as thin as you can make them without breaking the ring). Set the onion rings aside and reserve the centers or any rings that break. Dice the centers. You should end up with approx. 1/3 diced onion and 2/3 onion rings.

Place the peeled potatoes in a pot with salted water, cover, and boil for 20 minutes until soft. Drain the potatoes. Place the milk and 20 g (half) of the butter in the potato pot and warm over low heat. Return the potatoes to the pot, mash well, and add a few pinches of chives, ground nutmeg, and salt to taste. Stir well and cover.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, saute the onions in peanut oil over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the sauerkraut (spoon it out of the can to avoid getting excess juice) and saute for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, stir in the broth, juniper berries, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Once cooked, transfer the sauerkraut mixture to a bowl and cover tightly to keep warm.

Use a paper towel to remove any remaining bits of sauerkraut from your frying pan, then return the pan to medium-high heat and heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the bratwurst to the pan and cook in the oil until crispy brown on all sides, turning frequently (use a splatter screen to minimize the mess). Transfer cooked bratwurst to a plate and cover tightly with foil.

Return the frying pan to medium-high heat and add in the remaining 20g butter. Dredge the onion rings in flour and spread them in a single layer on the bottom of the pan – you’ll need to do this in batches. Fry the onions in the butter until golden brown and crispy. Transfer the cooked onions to a paper towel-lined plate and continue to fry the dredged onion rings in batches until they are all done.

To serve your Kartoffelpüree mit Bratwurst und Sauerkraut, spoon generous helpings of mashed potatoes and sauerkraut onto a plate. Place 3-4 bratwurst over top of the sauerkraut and garnish the potatoes with chives. Stack the onion rings on top of the potatoes and serve with a nice cold German beer. Enjoy!

*Juniper Berries are a common element in northern European cooking and in this recipe they are used to flavor the Sauerkraut. We searched for Juniper Berries in six (SIX!) different grocery stores before finding them in our usual store, The Fresh Market. (Too bad we didn’t try there first!) If you can’t find Juniper Berries locally you can order them online at Spices, Inc.

11Oct2013

Caramel Corn with Honey-Roasted Peanuts

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Last weekend our neighborhood had its annual Fall bonfire party. The food was potluck-style so we initially decided to celebrate the season by making Thai Pumpkin Soup. Then the weather took a crazy turn and it ended up being 85 degrees and humid (very unusual for October in Pennsylvania!) and we quickly realized that no one was going to be in the mood to eat soup. So, at the last minute we changed course and made a nice summery Mediterranean Quinoa Salad instead. We didn’t want to be too healthy though, so we supplemented our potluck offering with some delicious homemade caramel corn!

This was our first time making caramel corn and I was amazed by how simple it was. Granted, it was a bit labor intensive (we had to stir the popcorn every 15 minutes for an hour and a half) but there were no fancy candy thermometers or gadgets required. Just a wok, some popcorn kernels, butter, sugar, corn syrup and honey roasted peanuts… easy!

We referred to our go-to Asian cookbook, Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge, for instructions on how to pop the popcorn in our wok (it’s a great way to season a wok!) and I used this recipe Leite’s Culnaria for the caramel recipe and baking instructions. We threw in some store-bought honey-roasted peanuts to kick the recipe up a notch and I would say that our homemade caramel corn turned out pretty perfect. I think Matt would agree… he couldn’t stop eating it even as I was trying to take this photo! 🙂

Caramel Corn with Honey-Roasted Peanuts (adapted slightly from Leite’s Culinaria)

You will need…
1 cup uncooked Popcorn Kernels, divided
Peanut Oil
1 1/2 sticks Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/3 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Honey Roasted Peanuts

Directions:
Pop the popcorn kernels. To do this in a wok, heat approx. 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in your wok over medium heat. Put 3-4 kernels in the wok and cover. (For easier clean up, wrap the inside of your wok lid with aluminum foil!) When the test kernels in the wok pop, add in approx. 1/3-1/2 cup of kernels and re-cover. (If test kernels don’t pop, slowly increase the heat until they do, then add in the other kernels.) Shake the wok over the burner to keep it moving as the kernels heat up. In a few minutes the kernels will start to pop. Keep shaking until popping slows down, then carefully tilt the cover open and transfer the popped corn to a large baking dish.

Repeat this process with the remaining kernels until all of your popcorn is popped. You may need to use multiple baking dishes to hold your popcorn… you’ll be stirring it later so it’s better to leave some extra space! Add the honey-roasted peanuts to the popcorn and place in a 200°F oven to keep warm.

Prepare your caramel by heating the butter and sugar over medium heat. Add in the corn syrup and salt and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, remove the mixture from heat and carefully stir in the baking soda. Remove the popcorn from the oven and pour the caramel mixture evenly over the popcorn. Mix well with tongs (don’t worry if every kernel isn’t coated at this point, though) and return the popcorn to the 200° oven.

Bake the popcorn for 1 1/2 hours at 200°F, stirring and tossing thoroughly every 15 minutes. Allow the popcorn to cool before eating (if you have the willpower to wait!). Enjoy it immediately or store it in an airtight container for as long as it lasts (which won’t be long… it’s delicious!).

Above: Caramel Corn during a stirring break. Below: The finished product!

26Sep2013

Thai Pumpkin Soup

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Happy Autumn! Last Sunday Matt and I celebrated the arrival of Fall by making pumpkin soup. And this wasn’t just any pumpkin soup… it was THAI pumpkin soup with fresh ginger, coconut cream and jalapeños in it… yum! We topped it off with a dash of hot Sriracha sauce, a few salty peanuts and some sprigs of fresh cilantro and it was delicious!!

I discovered this recipe in the cook book that came with our glorious Vitamix blender. The Vitamix (predictably) made quick work of pureeing the soft ingredients for this soup but you certainly don’t need a Vitamix to make this… I’m pretty sure that an immersion blender would allow you to whip up a pretty tasty Autumn soup as well. 🙂 Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Thai Pumpkin Soup (adapted from the Vitamix ‘Create’ Recipe Book)

You will need…
Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
2 1/2 cups Canned Pumpkin
2 tablespoons fresh Ginger, chopped
1 clove Garlic, chopped
3 cups Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth, for vegetarian soup)
1 teaspoon Green Chiles, chopped (we used Jalapeños)
1 cup Lite Coconut Milk
1/2 cup Cream of Coconut
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Optional Garnishes:
Chopped Peanuts
Cilantro
Sriracha
Sour Cream

Directions:
In a large pot, saute the onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent. Add the tomato paste, pumpkin, ginger, garlic and broth and stir well. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer then remove from heat.

If using a VItamix or other high-powered blender, pour the pumpkin mixture into the blender and add in the green chiles, coconut milk, cream of coconut and lemon juice. Blend on high power for 25-30 seconds, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

If using an immersion blender, add the green chiles, coconut milk, cream of coconut, and lemon juice to the warm pumpkin mixture. Use the immersion blender to puree the mixture into a smooth soup. (Note: I did not use an immersion blender so I don’t know how long this will take, but I’m sure it’s doable!)

Transfer the pureed pumpkin soup into bowls and garnish. Our favorite combination of garnishes was a dash of Sriracha with a sprinkling of peanuts and a few sprigs of cilantro. The Vitamix book recommended a dollop of sour cream with peanuts and cilantro… choose whatever sounds good to you!

Above: Our favorite garnish combination of Sriracha, peanuts and cilantro.
Below: Garnished according to the cook book with sour cream, peanuts and cilantro.

What’s your favorite Fall pumpkin recipe?
Tell me about it in the comments or post a link!

27Aug2013

Skirt Steak Tacos

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Back in early July Matt and I made some yummy grilled steak tacos with a spicy, red chile pepper marinade. We’re going to make these tasty tacos again this weekend so I thought that now would be the perfect time to post the recipe… mostly so I can remind myself of how to make them! 🙂

Don’t be intimidated by the red chile sauce. It has a lot of ingredients and took some time to make, but it also keeps well (just freeze any extra in an ice cube tray and bag the frozen cubes for storage) so you can definitely make it ahead of time. Also, keep in mind that the skirt steak needs to marinade overnight so plan accordingly.

~ ~ ~

Skirt Steak Tacos from Zacatecas
(from Tacos by Mark Miller; tweaked slightly for ingredients we had on hand)

Ingredients for the Red Chile Sauce:
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 White Onion, chopped
8 Roma Tomatoes, blackened (to blacken remove stems and broil in the oven for 5 minutes until blistered)
8 oz. (25-ish) dried New Mexico Red Chiles, dry roasted and re-hydrated, soaking water reserved
2 cloves Garlic, roasted and finely chopped (to roast place unpeeled cloves in a 350°F oven for 20-30 minutes until soft)
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 tablespoon Dried Mexican Oregano
1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Peanut Oil

Ingredients for the Skirt Steak:
1 pound Skirt Steak, excess fat trimmed away
8-10 cloves Garlic, dry-roasted and chopped (see above)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon Chile Powder
1 tablespoon Salt
2 teaspoons Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Cumin
2 teaspoons Onion Powder
1 tablespoon chopped Cilantro
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (we used canola)
2 tablespoons Red Chile Sauce
1 teaspoon Chipotle Puree (simply puree a can of Chipotles en Adobo in blender; refrigerate any extra for up to a month)

Other Taco Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas
Garnishes, including: shredded Cabbage, thinly sliced Radishes, Chopped Onions, Chopped Tomatoes, Fresh Cilantro, Lime Wedges, and Shredded Cheese

Directions:

Start by making your Red Chile Sauce in advance. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onion for 6-8 minutes or until browned. Transfer the onion, tomatoes, rehydrated chiles, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt to a blender. If the reserved chile water is not bitter, add one cup to the blender mixture. If it is bitter, add a cup of normal water instead.

Blend the mixture thoroughly until a fine paste forms. Then, heat the peanut oil in a (clean) skillet over high heat and refry the blender mixture “at a sizzle” for 3-5 minutes while stirring constantly. The refried sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thick, stir in more water.

A day before you want to eat your tacos, prepare the Skirt Steak. Use a butcher’s mallet to pound the steak until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Combine all of the remaining ingredients (chopped roasted garlic thru chipotle puree) in a large bowl or dish and stir well to create a marinade. Rub the marinade over the meat, cover, and allow to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Marinating and Grilled Zacatecas Skirt Steak

Marinating steak (left) and grilled steak (right).

When you are ready to make your tacos, season the steak with more salt and pepper and grill it over direct medium-high heat for approximately 6 minutes total, flipping once halfway through. Remove the cooked steak from the grill, allow it to rest for a few minutes, and then slice it against the grain into 1/4″ thick strips.

Build your tacos by arranging strips of steak on warm corn tortillas and topping with shredded cabbage, chopped onion, and any other garnishes that you like. Enjoy!

19Aug2013

Mexican Pizza

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

I love pizza and I LOVE nachos so tonight I decided to combine these two culinary delights into one delicious meal: Mexican Pizza! I made up the recipe as I went along and, after sinking his teeth into the first sausage-y, cheesy, tomato-y bite, Matt declared that this pizza was my best-ever made up recipe of all time!

The ingredients are simple: pizza dough, cheese, and your favorite nacho or taco toppings. I used fire-roasted corn, beans, red onions, green onions, jalapeños (from our garden), cherry tomatoes (also from the garden!), and sausage that was crumbled and cooked with a bit of taco seasoning. The sausage that we had on hand was actually bratwurst which obviously isn’t the most Mexican of sausages but it ended up tasting just fine. If I was going to plan for making this again I’d try some nice fresh chorizo sausage instead. Yum!

Annie’s Mexican Pizza – a The Little GSP original!

You will need…
1/4-1/2 cup Corn (I used frozen corn)
1-2 Jalapeño Peppers, sliced into thin rounds
2 Fresh Sausages, casings removed and roughly chopped/crumbled (I’d recommend Chorizo or Italian Sausage)
1-2 teaspoons Taco Seasoning (optional; good if you’re using a mild sausage like bratwurst!)
1 package fresh Pizza Dough
1/4 cup Red Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Black Beans, rinsed and drained (about a quarter of a 15 oz. can)
8-10 Cherry Tomatoes, halfed
2-3 handfuls shredded Mozzarella
1-2 handfuls shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
Sliced Green Onions, to garnish
Cholula Hot Sauce, to taste
Sour Cream, to taste

Directions:
Heat a skillet (I used my wok) over medium high heat and add the frozen corn. Allow the corn to thaw and then dry roast in the pan for approx. 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the corn is starting to blacken slightly. Transfer the roasted corn to a bowl and set aside. Put the sliced jalapeños into the hot skillet and roast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pepper slices start to soften. Transfer the jalapeños to a bowl and set aside.

Add the crumbled sausage to the hot skillet and spread it out in one layer on the bottom of the pan. Allow to brown for 2-3 minutes, then stir the sausage frequently until browned and fully cooked. If using a mild sausage (or if you want an extra kick), stir in the taco seasoning. Transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500°F and, if you’re using one, allow your pizza stone to heat up in the oven. Prep the pizza dough according to the package instructions. I used a package of fresh Trader Joe’s pizza dough and made a 12-14″ pizza on our new pizza peel. I used flour to keep the pizza from sticking to my hands and stretched it out in all directions without over-handling it. If you are making two pizzas and/or don’t have a peel, just split up the dough and shape it to fit on a greased cookie sheet. (For more information on how I stretch pizza dough, check out my Homemade TBM Pizza recipe.)

Now here’s the fun part… building your Mexican pizza! I started with a sparse sprinkling of red onion followed by a bit of Mozzarella, a scattering of black beans and a generous helping of roasted corn. Then I added a thin, even layer of Mozzarella over the whole pizza before spreading all of the crumbled sausage onto the pie. After a final sprinkling of Mozzarella I added on the cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, and a few more bits of red onion. Finally, I topped off the pizza with a little shredded Mexican Cheese Blend to give it some nice color.

Bake your Mexican Pizza in the 500°F oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is puffed and fully cooked. If using a pizza stone, you’ll have to transfer the uncooked pizza from the pizza peel onto the hot stone in the oven (a skill that we’re still working on!) and then slide the fully cooked pizza back on the peel to be cut. Sprinkle the chopped green onion over the top of the pizza, slice the pizza, and serve with hot sauce and sour cream. Enjoy!

4Aug2013

Mediterranean Lamb Burgers

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

A few weeks ago we went grocery shopping with the intention of buying ingredients for our Guacamole-Chipotle Burgers but when we arrived at the meat aisle we discovered that our supermarket was having a sale on ground lamb. We quickly abandoned our beef burger plans and instead decided to tackle a new recipe using the lamb. After some quick iPhone-aided recipe searches we settled on Mediterranean lamb burgers with a spicy mayo sauce and a cucumber-mint topping. Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Mediterranean Lamb Burgers with Harissa Mayo and Cucumber-Mint Sauce

For the Harissa Mayo: (recipe from Chow.com)
1/4 cup Harissa*
1/2 cup Mayonnaise

For the Cucumber-Mint Sauce: (recipe from AllRecipes.com)
1/2 large Cucumber, peeled, grated and squeezed dry
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1 tablespoon Mint, chopped
1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
1 clove Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

For the Burgers:
1 1/2 pounds Ground Lamb
1 tablespoon Harissa*
1/4 cup Feta, crumbled
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
5-6 Hamburger Buns, cut in half lengthwise and lightly toasted

*Harissa is a Tunisian chile paste that can be purchased in tubes or cans in a good grocery store. We couldn’t find Harissa in our local store so we used this Harissa recipe from Whole Foods to make our own.

Directions:

Start by making your condiments. Make the Harissa Mayo by stirring together the Harissa and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Make the Cucumber-Mint Sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together in a larger bowl and adding salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate both sauces until you are ready to assemble your burgers.

Make the Lamb Burgers by placing the ground lamb in a shallow bowl and spreading it out slightly. Add in the Harissa and sprinkle the feta, salt and pepper evenly over the surface of the meat. Carefully mix the ingredients into the meat with your hands. (Avoid over-mixing the meat as this will make your burgers tough!) Split the meat mixture into 5-6 loose balls (about 1/4 pound each).

Place the lamb “balls” on a plate and press down gently to flatten them slightly. Form a small indent (about 1/4″ deep) in the center of one side of each patty. Place the lamb patties, indent side up, on a preheated, oiled grill over direct high heat. Close the lid and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes, then flip the burgers and let them cook for another 6 minutes. Remove the burgers from the grill and let them rest, covered, on a plate for 4-5 minutes.

To assemble your burger, slather a liberal amount of the Harissa mayo on the bottom of the toasted burger bun. Place the cooked lamb patty in the bun and top with a heaping spoonful of the cucumber-mint sauce. Enjoy!

22Jul2013

Chicken Lo Mein

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

This past weekend was our first free weekend since before our wedding! No DockDogs events, no traveling, no commitments… just time to ourselves! We celebrated by sleeping in both days, going out to lunch together (because we slept through breakfast) and watching hours of the British Open and Tour de France. I also did a lot of running on our brand new treadmill and Matt started a construction project that involved cutting open our bedroom wall in multiple spots… more on those events in a future post!

For dinner on Saturday we made a new recipe from our trusty cookbook, Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge. I know I’ve said this before but this cookbook is AWESOME! In addition to savory recipes like Kung Pao Chicken and Hot Pepper Beef, this book is also full of helpful cooking techniques, information about ingredients and a whole tutorial on how to select and care for your wok. We have always been amazed by how great the recipes from this book turn out and Saturday’s dinner of Chicken Lo Mein was no exception. Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms (from Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge by Grace Young)

You will need…
12 oz. fresh thick Egg Noodles*
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
12 oz. boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs, cut into 1/4″ thick bite-sized slices
1 tablespoon Ginger, finely shredded (cut into tiny matchstick-like pieces)
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon Rice Wine or Dry Sherry, divided
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce, divided
1 teaspoon Salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
2 tablespoons Peanut Oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
3 cups Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced
4 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/2 cup Scallions, finely shredded (try using a Negi cutter to shred the scallion into even threads)
*We couldn’t find egg noodles so we used a package of Kame Stir-Fry Hokkien Noodles that we simply microwaved to heat up.

Directions:
Cook or heat up your noodles until al dente according to the package instructions. If using fresh noodles that you have to cook in boiling water, drain the cooked noodles and rinse several times with cold water. Place the cooked noodles in a bowl and stir in the sesame oil. Set aside.

Combine the chicken, ginger, 1 teaspoon rice wine, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the white pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine and 1 tablespoon soy sauce.

Heat a wok over high heat. Pour in 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and add the red pepper flakes. Stir fry for 10 seconds then push the flakes to the sides of the wok and add the chicken mixture. Spread the chicken evenly on the bottom of the wok and allow to cook, undisturbed, for 1 minute, then stir fry the chicken for another 30 seconds or until it starts to brown. Add in the cabbage and mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute or until the cabbage wilts. Transfer the wok contents to a plate.

Pour the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil into the wok then add in the noodles and stir fry for 15 seconds. Stir in the rice wine/soy sauce mixture and add the scallions, chicken mixture, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve and enjoy!

16Jul2013

Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwiches

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

It’s hot out!! We’re in the midst of a heat wave here in southeastern Pennsylvania and as of today the high humidity and 90°+ daytime temps are supposed to last until the weekend. This unrelenting heat makes us feel like eating fresh, light meals like the Vietnamese Banh Mi steak sandwiches that we made a few nights ago. The three primary elements of these sandwiches – cool pickled vegetables, grilled steak with an amazing citrus-y marinade, and a spicy Siracha mayo – offer the perfect amount of crunch, flavor, and heat, and the end result is an absolutely delicious steak sandwich with a definite Asian flair. YUM!

If you’re planning on making this recipe, leave at least 30 minutes to marinade the steak and allow the matchstick-sliced carrots and daikon radishes to pickle. We had trouble finding a daikon radish (we should have just gone to the produce market rather than a big grocery store!) so we used standard red radishes. To slice our carrots into nice, uniform matchsticks we used a kinpira (aka julienne cutter). The round red radishes were harder to slice with the handheld kinpira so we ended up using the matchstick blade on our mandoline which worked well.

Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwich

For the Steak… (Marinade recipe from NYT’s Diner’s Journal)
1/2 cup Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon packed Lime Zest
1/3 cup Lime Juice (from 3 limes)
2 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Jalapeño Pepper, minced (seeds and veins removed)
1 1/2 – 2 lbs. Flank Steak (you’ll have some extra steak left over; we ate it another night for dinner)

For the Do Chua Pickled Carrots and Radishes… (Recipe from A Lovin’ Forkful)
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoons Salt
1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 cup Matchstick-sliced Carrots
1/2 cup Matchstick-sliced Daikon Radish (we couldn’t find daikon on short notice so used regular radishes)

For the Sriracha Mayo… (also from A Lovin’ Forkful)
4 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha
(Just use roughly an 8:1 ratio… adjust to taste!)

Other Ingredients…
1 English Cucumber, thinly sliced
2 Soft Baguettes or Sandwich Rolls, sliced in half lengthwise
Cilantro, to garnish

Directions:
The steak needs to marinade so start this part of recipe ahead of time. To make the marinade, combine the first six ingredients (fish sauce thru jalapeño) in a bowl. Place your flank steak in a large resealable bag and pour the marinade over and around the steak. Seal the bag, turn it to coat the steak evenly, then allow the steak to marinade for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight) before cooking.

The pickled carrots and radishes also need some time to soak in their flavors so make these ahead of time, too. Combine the pickling ingredients (water thru red pepper flakes) in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Place the carrots and radishes in a bowl and pour the liquid over the vegetables. Stir well to coat the veggies and arrange them so they are submerged in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or ideally overnight.

When you are ready to make your meal take the steak out of the fridge and allow it to warm up to room temperature. Pat both sides of the steak dry with paper towels, then grill the steak over direct high heat, flipping once, until it reaches your desired level of doneness. (Our cut of steak took about 5 minutes per side for medium/medium-rare.) Once cooked, cover the steak with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Just before serving, thinly slice the steak against the grain.

While the steak cooks and rests, prepare your sriracha mayo by combining the mayonnaise and sriracha sauce. Also, if desired, slightly toast the inside faces of the sliced baguettes on the grill.

To build your Vietnamese Banh Mi Steak Sandwiches, start by spreading a liberal amount of the sriracha mayo on the bottom face of each toasted baguette. Layer the thinly sliced cucumbers on top of the mayo and then arrange a generous amount of the steak over the cucumbers. Use tongs to transfer the drained carrots and radishes over the steak (don’t soak your sandwich with extra pickling liquid) and finish off your sandwich with a garnish of cilantro and the top half of the baguette. Serve with a cold, light beer and enjoy!

6Jun2013

Grilled Shrimp Salad with Mediterranean Lemon Dressing

Posted in Recipes by Annie T

Matt and I are getting married in 2 days! All of our wedding prep is pretty much done and now we’re just relaxing and waiting for the weekend to get here. (Oh, and also checking the weather about a million times a day… Tropical Storm Andrea better hurry up and get out of here in time for our outdoor ceremony on Saturday afternoon!) 🙂

We’ve been going out to eat a lot lately but we did make one planned meal this week using a new cookbook that my mom got us as a wedding present. The book is entitled Salad for Dinner so, as you might guess, our meal was a nice and hearty entree salad! This was a fresh, summery meal that was perfect for the warm weather we had earlier this week. Doesn’t it look yummy?

Grilled Shrimp Salad with Mediterranean Lemon Dressing (from Salad for Dinner)

For the Mediterranean Lemon Dressing…
1 tablespoon Tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
2 cloves Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the salad…
1 lb. large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1-2 cloves Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
8 oz. Mini Bell Peppers
8 cups Baby Spinach
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
2-3 Persian Cucumbers, sliced into 1/4″ rounds
1/4 – 1/2 Red Onion, very thinly sliced
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Fresh Oregano Leaves
Lemon Wedges
Pita Bread Crisps*

Directions:
Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a jar. Close the lid and shake vigorously to combine. (You could also use a bowl and whisk the ingredients together if you don’t feel like shaking.) Refrigerate the dressing until you are ready to use it.

Mix together the shrimp, garlic and olive oil in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. After the shrimp has marinaded, remove from the fridge and stir in the mini bell peppers. Grill the shrimp and bell peppers over medium-high heat. When the shrimp turn pink (3-5 minutes), remove them from the grill and set aside. Continue cooking the bell peppers until they are soft and blackened in spots.

In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and onion. Dress with the Mediterranean Dressing and mix well. (I used about half of what the recipe made.) Toss in the warm shrimp and bell peppers. Serve the salad in shallow bowls with pita crisps and garnish with feta, oregano, and lemon.

*To make pita bread crisps, slice pita bread into 1 – 1 1/2″ strips. Place on a cookie sheet, brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for approx. 10 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.