Edamame Ravioli

I love these ravioli, and they contain two of my favorite ingredients--edamame and goat cheese. Edamame is a rock star ingredient, as they are a great source of low-cal protein and fiber. Goat cheese isn't anything to sneer at, either!! As a softer cheese, it tends to be lower in fat than the harder cheeses like cheddar. These positives are just happy coincidences, the real winning thing about these ingredients is their taste :)


Edamame Ravioli
Adapted from Bon Appetit RSVP
Yield: ~25 ravioli (depending on the size)



1/2 lb frozen edamame
4oz goat cheese
2 oz nufatchel (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
wonton wrappers, or homemade pasta

Cook edamame in large pot of boiling, salted water until tender (~5min). Drain, then transfer to bowl of a food processor with cheeses and blend until smooth. Season filling to taste. This can be made a day or few ahead of time, keep refrigerated.

At this point I use the easy route of wonton wrappers, filling 4 at a time. Seal the edges with water and keep covered with a towel until ready to cook to prevent drying out. Cook 3-4 min in a large pot of boiling salted water, a few at a time to prevent sticking.

An alternative to cooking right away would be to place the filled ravioli on a single layer on a cookie sheet in a freezer until, umm, frozen. :) They can then be packaged into freezer bags for longer storage.

I often eat these on their own I enjoy them that much, but the recommended sauce was a browned butter mushroom sauce (which I will have to try when serving for guests!!). This time I made a Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Sauce and served it with some sundried tomato chicken sausage. Which led me to think that sundried tomatoes would also be a good addition to the ravioli filling! I'm sure you could also play with the seasonings in the filling, too.



Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Sauce


1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28oz can fire-roasted whole tomatoes
1 small jar of roasted red peppers (it was 3 peppers worth), roughtly chopped
basil, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes to taste (fresh or dried, whatever you have on hand)

Saute onion in EVOO until softened. Add garlic, tomatoes (with juices), peppers, and seasonings and let simmer for awhile (I just let it go while assembling and cooking the ravioli). If you have fresh herbs, add them towards the end of cooking instead. Cool slightly before blending with an immersion blender, blender, or food processor.

--
Don't forget to head over to Chocolate-Covered Katie for her Jocolat giveaway. Abbie, at Food that Fit, is putting together an e-cookbook. Check out the details here if you'd like to submit some recipes!

Quinoa w/Gruyere & Veggies

Wow, seems like forever since my last post, it's been busy!! I got to dog-sit this weekend, and I had a blast :) It was fun to get them playing with opposite ends of a chew toy! Here are the pups, cause they're just too cute not to share...

Sampson

Dante, making himself comfortable!

Some other goings-on in blogworld: check out Lauren's post here to help support the Maryland Food Bank and don't go to Hangry Pant's giveaway for Zoe's Granola ;-) You can also check out this list of 10 healthy foods you may not be eating. I can't actually remember if I've tried broccoli rabe (strange...), but I did pick up some at the store a few days ago. I also don't eat many brazil nuts (although this may be leftover from childhood, when all i liked were peanuts!).

Speaking of broccoli... I made this Gruyere Quinoa w/Sauteed Mushrooms & Broccolini which was very yummy. The nuttiness of the gruyere and quinoa played together well with the pan-roasted veggies. I meant to throw in some extra protein (chicken, tuna, or tofu), but I got lazy. I actually just had to look up the difference between broccolini (a hybrid between broccoli and Chinese broccoli) and broccoli rabe (more related to a turnip than broccoli)! Learn something new every day :) We'll have to see what I do with that broccoli rabe... any suggestions??

sorry so fuzzy!!

Briefly in Seattle: Pike's Place Market, the Space Needle Restaurant, Boeing's Museum of Flight, Crumpets, Lobster Tail, and the Black Bottle

With one day in Seattle, I could only visit a few places. Luckily the hotel was close to Pike's Place Market, so a quick trip before the day began was easy to do. Mornings are a good time to walk through the Market before the crowds arrive, because it's easy to stop and take your time looking at what's for sale, which is a lot of the freshest most beautiful fish, shellfish, and salmon you're likely to see anywhere.

I love shellfish. When I lived in Seattle for the Twin Peaks and Citizen Baines' shoots, I was very happy. I'd fill up on fresh Kumomoto oysters, Dungeness crabs, and Penn Cove mussels. The oysters are delicious raw or in stews. The crabs are sold cooked or live. The mussels are easily steamed and eaten with a butter-garlic broth. While the vegetables in the Market come from many sources including California, the fish is local, coming no farther away than Alaska.

There are also fresh and dried flower stalls, bakeries, cheese shops, and a wonderful selection of small restaurants and coffee shops. A favorite place to stop is The Crumpet Shop (1503 1st Avenue between Pike & Pine, 206/682-1598) where the crumpets are freshly made and available with sweet (butter, honey, or preserves) or savory (tomatoes, pesto, cheese...) toppings. Come before 8:30am and the lattes are $1.50.

I walked over to the Market twice yesterday. Once by myself just as the stalls were opening. For breakfast I had a freshly steamed pork bao from Mee Sum Pastry (1526 Pike Place, 206/682-6780). The second time I brought part of our press junket group. Since Holly and Updesh are Brits and Parmesh is Indian, I wanted their expert opinion about the Crumpet Shop. I know I like them because of their top crust and chewy sweetness, but are they authentic? After several rounds of crumpets with butter, honey and butter, preserves, and cheddar cheese with sliced tomatoes, they agreed that they were authentic and delicious. We made a pact to come back today at 7:00am before we had to leave for Boeing Field to pick up our new 777-200LR.

We stopped for lunch at the Space Needle Restaurant, which is always fun. Although the view is picturesque, for anyone with motion-issues, slowly rotating as the city passes below can be challenging. We had a very nice lunch as our group got to know one another. With people coming from around the world (Alberquerque, New York, Mombai, Dubai, Doha, Los Angeles, and Seattle) we had a lot to talk about.

After lunch we visited Boeing's Museum of Flight (9404 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA 98108, 206/764-5700). Since we were about to tour the Boeing factory in Everett, it was great to get a brush up on aviation history. I still find it amazing that there are just 50 years between the Wright Brother's tentative efforts to achieve flight and the development of the Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird.

One of our group, Betsy, used to live in Seattle and she suggested dinner at the Black Bottle (2600 1st Avenue at Vine, 206/441-1500) where we had wine and cocktails and shared a dozen gastro-pub dishes, including crispy butterflied seven spice shrimp, deep fried and battered Spanish fried olive, fried tofu with a sate sauce, sweet and tender cumin pork tenderloin with a frisee salad, fried sardines with spicy Indian slaw, braised and grilled artichoke hearts, coconut gelato with plantain fries, and a luridly rich, hot dark chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla gelato hidden inside.

Given 24 hours in Seattle, this was a pretty great day.

Today we tour the Boeing plant and pick up Qatar Airways' second Boeing 777-200LR. Our plane will join its sister already in service. When Qatar begins its daily, nonstop service between Doha and Houston on March 30th, the 777-200LRs will make the trip in under 17 hours. Today's trip will be a bit shorter because we will fly a more northerly route.

For me this flight has several firsts: I've never flown longer than 8 hours, never been to the Middle East, and certainly have never ridden on a plane's maiden flight.

More to tell in the following posts. Tomorrow from Doha, Qatar.

Oh Nuts!

A huge thank you to from Tamara at Oh Nuts for sending me some fantastic goodies to sample!! I kept seeing Erin's dried kiwi and just had to try it (i had opened the package already...). Dried cantaloupe (on the right) was alos something that I don't know if I've ever seen in a store!

There was one piece of information that I looked for on the website, but didn't seem to find-- whether their dried fruits had added sugar. Turns out the cantaloupe does, and I have no idea about the kiwi. The first taste- the cantaloupe was way too sweet, almost cloyingly so. The kiwi however I did enjoy on its own, not too sweet or tart. And you don't have to peel them :) I eat enough fiber, don't need to eat fuzzyness!

With some snow in the forecast, I was inspired to make some cupcakes for work that could bring us to somplace warmer. I give you, Tropicakes :)

can you see the chunks of kiwi and cantaloupe?? :)

Tropicakes
adapted from this recipe
Yield: 12 cupcakes


heaping cup of chopped dried cantaloupe and kiwi
2c all-purpose flour (or half AP and half whole wheat)
1/4c granulated sugar
1 1/2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1t salt
2/3c light coconut milk
4T butter, melted (I used smart balance 50/50)
1/4c egg substitute and 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
zest of 1 lime
2T honey
2t pure vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper/foil liners (or use nonstick spray).

Combine dry ingredients (flour thru salt) in medium bowl.

Lightly beat egg whites and egg substitute in a large bowl. Add coconut milk and butter, whisk well. Add zest, honey, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in dried fruit. Divide batter evenly into 12 cups.

Bake for 16-20 minutes (mine were done at 16min), or until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing each muffin and placing on a wire rack to cool.

I brought these into work unfrosted, and brought along some frosting to add. (Thus no picture of the final product) Next time I think I'd just sprinkly coconut on top of the muffins before baking, as in the original recipe, as they were sweet enough :) Or maybe cream cheese frosting...

Travel Expands the Mind

Up until last year I didn't travel very much. The trips I took were to favorite places: LA to Sundance/Park City to be with my wife or LA to NY/NJ to see friends and family. I enjoyed these trips and looked forward to them. Getting away from LA made me hungry for adventures in other cities.

Last year I began to write for Peter Greenberg's terrific travel site. Peter and his editor-in-chief, Sarika Chawla, have been nice enough to send me on trips far and wide to write pieces as varied as a story about being a judge at a rib cookout in Sparks, Nevada and another about the wonderfully luxurious Sofitel Hotels in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Paris.

I am grateful for the opportunity to get outside of my regular routine. I discovered how much travel is good for the soul.

Which brings me to today. When I was going to travel to London and Paris I asked for suggestions. I wanted to know about favorite places, restaurants, locales that were meaningful to you. Over the next four weeks I am luckily going to take a series of trips for Peter and I'd love suggestions. Some are close at hand, others are very far a field. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Seattle, Washington. Doha, Qatar. Houston, Texas. Sonoma/Glenn Ellen, California. How often in a life-time does any one have the opportunity to visit such disparate places?

Years ago I worked on two TV shows (David Lynch's Twin Peaks 2 hour pilot and the pilot for a John Wells show, Citizen Baines) that were filmed in Seattle and the surrounding areas. I enjoyed the experiences very much. For this trip, I'm looking forward to revisiting some of my favorite places: Pike's Place Market and Torrefazione Italia, a coffee shop that makes the best cappucinio I have ever had.

I'm looking forward to these trips and I would benefit from your suggestions.

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

I've been meaning to write about this book for awhile now, but I guess better late than never! Bittman's cookbook is a great resource, I have found myself going to if multiple times to learn about a new ingredient, cooking technique, or preparation ideas. An introduction into vegetarian basics, equipment and techniques is followed by pages and pages of recipes. This book is not for the light-hearted, weighing in 996 pages! It reminds me of an encyclopedia, as you can find information about new ingredients, information about various ways to cook said ingredient, and then variations on the theme. You can actually find the book on Google Book Search if you want to preview it.

Awhile back I made some Eggplant Gnocchi , a nice variation on the traditional pasta. Now that I have a potato ricer, I bet these would turn out even beter!!

Eggplant Gnocchi

Since then I've also tried Braised Tofu & Peas in Curried Coconut Milk, which I served over a mix of brown and wild rice. I was a little worried about this one, but I really enjoyed it!!

Braised Tofu & Peas in Curried Coconut Milk

After purchasing some miso for that hummus-turned-soup, I also prepared some Miso Smashed Potatoes & Edamame, which was delightful. I've been meaning to throw some edamame in there, and I'm glad I finally did!

Miso Smashed Potatoes & Edamame

It seems strange to call it a cookbook, as it's really so much more, but I think its a perfect addition to everyone's library! Let me know if you have any other specific questions :)


A few things before I leave...
--Check out Sabrina's recap of a Boston Blogger Meetup! Thanks to Tina for organizing!! I think everyone else has posted a recap too, so click away :)
--Don't forget to head on over to Healthy Tipping point for a RoadID giveaway--it could save your life!
--I made some notes on the Snowball recipe, as I tried out some substitutions to make them a bit healthier for Meghann's Bake Sale and they were still ever so yummy! Lisa wrote to tell me, "They are AWESOME!!!! As soon as I received the box, I had to dig in! Perfect consistency, great flavor...oh so addicting!!! They are very popular here!"

Sofitel's Distinctive Vision

When you walk into the Sofitel London St. James, you feel as though you are an invited guest at an exclusive men's club. Just off the lobby is Chef Albert Roux's Brasserie and the intimate St. James Bar where you can have a meal and enjoy after-dinner drinks. If you're a weary traveler, you couldn't ask for anything more.

Over the last several months I've had the opportunity to visit Sofitel hotels in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Paris. As befits a five star hotel, I expected great service and attention to details. Sofitel has all that and a distinctive feature that sets it apart from other luxury hotel chains.

When you enter a Four Seasons or Ritz Carleton, whether you're in Los Angeles, New York, or Tokyo, you know where you are because all their hotels share the same design. The same can be said about most hotel chains, but that's not the case with Sofitel hotels. The interior of each property reflects the qualities of the host city, not the specifics of a branded design.

Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg, for example, is as feminine in its details as St. James is masculine. Pastels, large floral decorations, and a massive skylight flood the Faubourg lobby with a soft, inviting light confirming that you are in the City of Lights. At Sofitel London Heathrow the design is spare, modern, and efficient as befits an airport hotel serving a preeminent financial capital.

Headquartered in Paris, Accor Hotels, the owner of the Sofitel chain, takes its French heritage seriously. Each Sofitel might have a city-specific design, but all the properties reflect a French concern with sophisticated design, attentive service, good wine and fine dining.

Even if a guest doesn't have time for a leisurely meal, every Sofitel offers an elegant "30 Minute Lunch Special." The multi-course lunches arrive in a bento-style tray with four plates. An appetizer is paired with two entrees, and a dessert. A lunch in health conscious Los Angeles will feature a garden fresh salad, while in London Brasserie Roux will offer a more robust starter of foie gras. No matter the differences, the common point for the lunches is that the ingredients are fresh and the dishes are well-made and reflect their city's character.

When I visited Sofitel Los Angeles, my wife and I enjoyed a rare treat. We each had a massage in LeSpa, then dinner at Simon LA. The massages put us in a relaxed mood. The candle lit meal featured local ingredients, expertly prepared. We had a romantic evening as good as in any Hollywood movie.

Runnin Runnin

It seemed like there was some interest, so I thought I’d start to tell you how I came to the ‘tri’ portion of my blog name…

I think I’ve mentioned before, I was not a runner for most of my life. Undiagnosed exercise-induced asthma and knee/hip pain made that timed mile we had to do in junior high my least favorite thing to do.

Enter grad school. I finally asked a doctor about my breathing difficulties and got an inhaler. I joined a lab with a few active people, one of whom was a runner in hs into college. His talk of running piqued my interest, and since I wasn’t playing as much tennis, I tried it again. I still remember the day I ran 3 straight miles on the treadmill (very late in 2003)—I was ecstatic!

Slowly but surely, running got easier, and I really came to love it. A great way to escape and get outside. A great time to think about a problem, or think about nothing at all. Jess has a great list of running benefits which I think are great.

Three guys in our lab and I would go for a run by the river, or hit up the track for some speedwork (I always chased them). They provided so much motivation and support for me, I never would’ve gotten this far without them. Or this fast!! It started with a 5k, then a 10-miler, and finally a half marathon. I think I'm most impressed by my 1:16.33 Broad Street Run (10 miles). From my one half, I can give you the advice to NEVER eat something new before a race. I fought cramping the entire race, but I managed to come in just shy of 2 hours (my goal at the time).

This is all well and good, but longer distances don’t seem to be possible right now. Poor biomechanics are somewhat corrected by orthotics, but I was told that my knees were also not built to handle that much stress (although I’m not doing any damage). For me it’s a balance of running schedule, orthotics, sneakers, PT to strengthen the supporting characters for my knees, and luck. As a consequence of all this, or maybe just bad luck, I've also had a run in with an overuse injury and a random pain/ache in my left foot that hasn't gotten a real diagnosis (despite a few doctors, MRI and PT). Grrr. Now I err on the side of caution, as I'd rather take it easy then be sidelined for weeks or months.

I don’t have a HRM, most days I don’t wear a watch or an iPod, it’s just me and the road. Actually, I try and stay off pavement if I can, running on the sides of paths or on the track. They’re gentler on my joints. I usually run 2-3x a week, with a long run of 4-6 miles, some speedwork (intervals or a tempo), and one other run depending on schedule/my knees/etc. (Yes, training for the 10milers and half marathon occurred on 3 runs/week.) Now that I’m in midst of a Boston winter, I don’t get outside as much.  Philly winters are much milder… Speaking of Philly, if you’re in the area, I would highly recommend the Broad Street Run. This is an amazing race, so many people come out to support, and it’s flat (although I swore there was an uphill portion the first time I ran it). There are also so many people running (close to 15k I seem to recall) that you’re never alone!

Bottom line--everyone is different; your goals, needs, and abilities will not be the same. Find what works for you. Enjoy it. Believe in yourself, you never know what you can accomplish! Writing this all down on paper reminds me of how amazing this journey has been, how much I’ve surprised myself, and how proud of myself I am. Which is welcome, as it has been a rough year. Thanks for listening (err, reading), and I hope it wasn't too boring! You may not be a runner, but I'm a huge proponent of doing what you love. Walk. Hike. Bike. Climb. Crawl? Use your imagination :) Next time I'll ramble on about how I got into (or trained for my first) tri...

Secret Cupid

A huge shout-out to Lee for organizing a V-day blogger exchange, so very exciting when I received my package in the mail yesterday!! Cupid (aka Elise from Elise's Eats) managed to hit all of my favorites--peanut butter, chocolate, tea (even a variety of roobios, which I recently discovered), coconut cream pie... An incredibly cute card and some decadent body butter to help my really dry winter skin rounded out the package! Thank you so much Elise, I've already dug in and will think of you often :)



Have you seen the new Banana Nut Cheerios? Visit The Healthy Hostess for a chance to win!!

What's the Perfect Valentine's Day Gift?

That’s the question of the moment. Ads on TV, in newspapers, on line, in magazines, on billboards, buses, subways, just about everywhere you look, make suggestions about what to give your lover to show how much you treasure her: romantic dinners, cruises, hot air balloon rides, diamonds, earrings, pearl necklaces, chocolates, spa treatments, cakes, pies, tarts, sweaters, and of course, flowers.

Years ago when I lived in Rhode Island I had a friend who refused to buy any of her gifts. For Christmas or a birthday, she’d knit a gift, create a handmade card, or construct a collage. Risa was an enthusiastic practitioner of the hand-made movement because she felt that making a gift was a more emotional way of connecting to someone you cared about. To her, going into a store and plunking down a fist full of cash wasn’t as intimate and personal as making something.

I took Risa’s lesson to heart. Many Valentine’s Days I baked. Apple pies with crystallized ginger crusts. Flourless chocolate cakes with roasted almonds. And banana cakes with chocolate chips and roasted walnuts, one of my wife’s favorite desserts.

For this Valentine’s Day I was presented with a problem. I couldn’t bake Michelle a cake because she had sworn off dairy products and sugar. No matter how much she used to like my desserts, a beautiful cake wouldn’t tell her “I love you” the way it used to. So what could I make or do for her that would show her I love her?

To be valued, a gift has to be appropriate. Finding the right gift means that I really understand who Michelle is and what makes her happy. That’s when I realized the best gift I could give her was to iron all her blouses.

If you’re Jewish, which I am, you’ve been taught that true gift giving (a mitzvah) is only genuine if you ask for nothing in return, not even a thank you. If you “give to get”, that’s not genuine giving. Selflessness and gift giving go hand in hand.

When Michelle opened her closet yesterday, expecting to see dozens of clean but wrinkled blouses, she instead found all her blouses freshly ironed. I didn’t create a handmade card or bake a cake, but I did give her what made her feel loved and taken care of and that was a good Valentine’s Day present. My gift made her very happy.

Orange you glad?

Mara, over at What's for Dinner?, picked oranges for this week's BSI. When brainstorming what to make, I thought of the Mashed Sweet Potatoes w/Orange Essence that I made for Thanksgiving. I came up with a few ideas, but I gave into my lab's desire for treats and made some Chocolate Orange (Mini) Muffins first. Or muffcakes/cupffins, as we were discussing the question of which they really were :)

The Stars of the Show

I followed this recipe for the muffins, using the chocolate above and adding the zest of 1/2 a blood orange that I had. They were awesome, the flavors of the zest and the chocolate bar really complemented each other well. Totally reminded me of those Chocolate Oranges Caitlin has been talking about lately :) Next time I might try to sub some applesauce, as they were a tad dry (although this could've been due to slightly overbaking, but I was watching it pretty carefully...).



Some Contests-

Bobbi (N Her Shoes) is offering up some WIN, which I've reviewed before. But don't go enter, I need more!!

Head over to Marx Foods to enter to win some artisan ravioli!!



ps- The recipients of the biscotti (my parents and my secret valentine) gave them rave reviews, so this recipe's a keeper!

Snowballs

Has everyone heard about Meghann's Bake Sale?? She's raising money for her Team in Training efforts, culminating in a marathon on May 31. So many good things up for bidding, but I thought I'd also let you guys know that I'm offering up some Snowballs. A traditional christmas cookie in our household, these things are delicious! I've been meaning to try them with Smart Balance 50/50 sticks and maybe some WW pastry flour, so maybe now will be my opportunity... I heard from my aunt about the baking temperature that evaded my mom's recipe card, so here it is, as promised!

Snowballs
Grandma's recipe
Yield: a LOT of cookies (I got almost 3 dozen from half recipe)



2 sticks butter (Smart Balance 50/50 sticks work well)
1 1/2c sifted powdered sugar
1 egg (for half recipe, 1 egg white)
1t vanilla
2 1/2c sifted flour (I have sub'd up to 1c WWW flour or WW pastry flour)
1t baking soda
1t cream of tartar
1/4t salt
1 1/2c chopped walnuts
powdered sugar for coating

Cream butter. Gradually add sugar and cream until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well.

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt). Gradually add to creamed mixture.

Stir in walnuts, then chill dough.

Preheat oven to 400deg. Roll dough into balls (large marble size) and bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 min. Roll immediately in powdered sugar then set on newspaper to cool. Roll again in powdered sugar and then try to not eat them all!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Potato Salad

When I was a kid, we didn't do many family outings. My dad wasn't into it. And yet, somehow my mom convinced him to spend a couple of days each summer at Will Rogers State Beach in Santa Monica. I don't know what they did on the beach because I spent the whole day in the water. The only time I took a break from body surfing was when we'd have lunch. My mom would open her Tupperware containers and we'd feast on fried chicken and potato salad.

Recently when I was putting together a menu for a dinner party, my mind must have reached back to those childhood memories because I instantly decided that the centerpiece of the meal would be fried chicken and potato salad.

The key to my mom's fried chicken was an overnight soak in buttermilk. My dad used to drink buttermilk, so there was always some in the refrigerator. The other important feature of her technique was a light dusting in seasoned flour. She talked at length about her dislike of heavily breaded soggy fried chicken. The goal, she always said, was a thin, crisp crust that contrasted with the sweet juiciness of the chicken. I've made a minor adjustment to her recipe by adding a touch of sugar, cayenne, and chopped onion. Her approach works well for onion rings and other vegetables like broccoli.

I remember her potato salad as a bare-bones affair of boiled potatoes, sweet pickle relish, and mayonnaise. For mine I add carrots and corn for sweetness, capers for a bit of acid, and a touch of cayenne for heat.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, washed, cut apart, wing tips and bones reserved to make chicken stock
1 quart buttermilk
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 quarts safflower or canola oil

Method

When you cut up the chicken, separate the two parts of the wing and cut the breast meat off the bone. Keep or discard the skin as you wish. The breasts can be left whole but will cook more evenly when cut into strips or tenders.

Toss the chicken pieces with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Put the pieces in a container, add the buttermilk, stir, cover, and refrigerate.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, heat the cooking oil to 325 - 350 degrees or until a piece of parsley browns immediately when dropped in the oil. Before you begin cooking, prepare your counter. Have a slotted spoon or an Asian style strainer ready. Lay two paper towels on top of a piece of brown grocery bag paper on a large plate.

In a brown paper bag mix together the flour, sea salt, pepper, cayenne (optional), sugar (optional), and onions (optional). Take the chicken out of the buttermilk, remove the excess, drop into the paper bag with the seasoned flour, close the top of the bag, and shake.

Cook the chicken in batches. The pieces shouldn't crowd one another in the oil so they cook evenly. Gently drop each piece into the hot oil, making sure that the pieces don't touch. Turn over when browned on all sides. Remove when golden brown and drain on the paper towels. The pieces will cook quickly: chicken tenders (breast) 2-3 minutes; wings 7-8 minutes; thighs & legs 10-12 minutes.

If you are making deep fried vegetables like onion rings or broccoli florets, they cook even more quickly: thick rings cook in 30 seconds, thin rings in 5-6 seconds; broccoli in 30 seconds.

Just before serving, lightly dust the cooked pieces with sea salt and pepper.

Potato Salad

Yield: 4-6 servings
Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold, washed
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
3 quarts water
1 scallion, washed, ends trimmed, finely chopped
1 carrot, washed, peeled, ends removed, grated
1 ear of corn or 1/2 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons olives, preferably Kalamata or cracked green, pitted, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Put the potatoes, kosher salt, and water into a pot, bring to a gentle boil, and cover. Cook 30-45 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes. They should be firm, not mushy. The potatoes are done when a fork goes in easily. Remove from the salted water. Let cool. Peel off the skins.

In the summer, grill an ear of corn and cut up carrot seasoned with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Cut the kernels off the cob, finely chop the carrot and add them to the salad.

In the winter, canned corn will do. Saute the corn and finely chopped carrots with olive oil until lightly browned. Add to the potato salad along with the chopped scallions, olives, capers, and mayonnaise.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper.

Variations

Add 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley, leaves only.

Add 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh celery.

Add 1 broccoli floret either grilled or lightly sauteed then finely chopped

Unexpected

I was thrilled when I heard the forecast for the weekend, since it meant a run outside! I can deal with the 37mph wind gusts when it's 48degrees in Boston. In February :) (Talk about unexpected!) The most annoying part was stopping all the time to walk around the huge lakes--err, puddles-- from the melting snow. Not that I'm complaining, it really was a fabulous day!

For last weekend's fun, I set out to make some Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Hummus, using this recipe. Sounds good, right? Well... I ended up with soup. If I hadn't been doing 5 things at once (ok, maybe only 3), I probably could've salvaged a hummus-like consistency. It took me 3 times of re-reading the recipe to realize that I used 1/3 the amount of lentils. Oops! That extra cup of lentils probably would've done a good job of absorbing all that liquid! Anyways, my unexpected soup was actually quite tasty, and I had it with some leftover Caramelized Fennel Flatbread, crisped up in the toaster oven. Fabulous!!



I also used some really ripe naners to make some Banana Biscotti, I hope they are enjoyed :)

Cauliflower Pasta

I looked through my recipes for awhile, wanting to do something a little different with the cauliflower I had picked up on sale... I ended up with a take on Rachel Ray's Pasta w/Cauliflower Sauce. For two servings, I used 4oz penne (Barilla Plus), a little over half of a small head of cauliflower, water instead of stock, half of yellow onion instead of red, fresh thyme instead of rosemary, and goat cheese instead of romano. Apparently I didn't look too closely at the recipe when I decided to go for it! haha. Anyways, I was actually quite surprised at how tasty this turned out, despite the bland colors. Purple or orange cauliflower would be quite delightful in this!

Couscous and Bulgar Salads are Affordable, Easy to Make and Oh So Good for You

My wife is on her way to her parents' house in New Jersey. She packed her clothes, bathroom kit, and Walter Mosley's latest detective novel, The Long Fall. I wanted to contribute to the weekend's meals even if I wasn't going with her. I put together a small packet with a mini-apple pie, a banana chocolate chip walnut cake, freshly cooked black beans, brown rice, grilled broccoli, bulgar salad with celery, and a box of whole wheat couscous. All but the couscous were ready to eat.

When we visit her parents, I usually do some of the cooking under her mom's supervision. The first time I cooked in Helen's kitchen I was showing off my then-specialty: whole roasted chicken cooked at high temperature. The impact on her kitchen was regrettable. The "high heat" was so high that her corningware roasting pan exploded. The resulting splatter on the inside of her oven took several days to clean. Needless to say I didn't make the best first-impression on my prospective mother-in-law. Luckily the chicken was delicious but I haven't used her oven since.

Couscous is one of Michelle's staples, so she took along a box of whole wheat couscous from Trader Joe's. Since she hadn't made it before, I wanted her to have the recipe for the weekend.

The recipes for couscous are the same as for bulgar. They are delicious as salads and side dishes. They accommodate any number of vegetables and herbs.

Couscous or Bulgar Salad with Celery

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup instant couscous or fine grained bulgar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 celery stalk, washed, leaves removed, finely chopped
1 scallion, washed, ends trimmed, finely chopped
5 Italian parsley sprigs, leaves removed, washed, finely chopped
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Boil the water. Put the couscous or bulgar into a bowl, add the water, stir, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.

Using a fork, fluff the couscous or bulgar, add the rest of the olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper to taste, toss with the celery, scallion, and parsley.

Serve at room temperature as a salad or a side dish.

Variations:

Add chopped raw tomatoes

Add Iranian cucumbers, washed, peeled, finely chopped

Add 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion

Add currants

Couscous or Bulgar with Grilled Vegetables

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup instant couscous or fine grained bulgar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large carrot, washed, peeled, ends removed, cut into 1" long slabs, 1/4" thick
1 large broccoli crown, washed, cut into 1" long slabs, 1/4" thick
5 Italian parsley sprigs, leaves removed, washed, finely chopped
Sea salt and pepper

Boil the water. Put the couscous or bulgar into a bowl, add the water, stir, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.

Toss the carrots and broccoli pieces with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Grill or roast in a 350 degree oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool and finely chop.

Using a fork, fluff the couscous or bulgar, add the rest of the olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper to taste, toss with the cut up carrots and broccoli.

Serve at room temperature as a salad or a side dish.

Variations:

Add 1/4 cup corn kernels, seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, grilled or roasted

Add 1/4 cup olives, pitted, chopped

Add 1 cup spinach leaves, no stems, washed, roughly chopped

More Super Eats

To roundout the eats for the Superbowl, I made two chilis to acomodate different appetites :) The first was a Turkey & Butternut Chili, with ground turkey sub'd for the beef. I also added some smoked paprika, more chili powder, and a bit of cayenne at the end as I thought it needed a little somthin somethin! In terms of prep, I made this on Saturday and then just threw it in the slow cooker a few hours before kickoff, so it was a very no-fuss dish.

Turkey & Butternut Chili

Meat would have been unsportsmanlike for the Adobo Cornbread Casserole. Somehow it evaded my camera, which is unfortunate as it was kinda purt-y with it's golden crust :) I used a small square baker and 2/3 of the cornbread mix to create a thick, hearty layer of chili in between the cornbread. I kept a touch of agave in the cornbread mix, making it a little sweet. Delish!

Last but not least, I made a recipe for Chocolate Beet Brownies. I'd call them moist chocolate cake bites, as they weren't really like fudgy brownies (I cut back on the butter a little bit...). But they were tasty :) And with beets, wheat germ, and some walnuts, they're good for you, too!



Anyone up for some chocolate? silly question, right? :) Hit up One Frugal Foodie for a giveaway here!

Catching up to the Superbowl Apps

Phew. What a week! In the middle of last week's snow storm I got to "retreat" into the White Mountains of NH. Luckily the drive wasn't too bad and the snow made for some amazing cross country skiing.

I made it back just in time for a fabulous Tea Party (in Boston--ha. don't worry nothing went into the harbor!). A huge shoutout to Starbucks (and Bjorn and Missy and the other guys I'm forgetting their names) for hosting the event. It was a great experience to try their new tea products and hear about the pairings with pastries they offer. Better yet was meeting some fellow Boston bloggers-- including Tina, Bridget, Elina, Pam, The Boston Foodie and The Boston Tea Cup. Check out their links for the lowdown, complete with photos :) The tea infusions (apple and berry) were quite sweet, and I think may be good iced. I did enjoy all the lattes, they seemed like a fantastic way to end a meal (instead of one of those vanilla scones that were also quite tasty...). I don't normally add sweetener to my tea, so I'd go for them light on the milk, unsweetened, with soymilk (which would impart a little sweetness on its own). Picky, aren't I? I always felt like that was asking too much. But you are paying for it, so they should make it how you want it!


And then there was the Superbowl. I got to do my first entertaining and had a great time :) I have been wanting to try fennel for awhile now. My hesitence has come from a dislike of liccorice... so I took the opportunity (of not having to eat it all myself in case I don't like it) to make Carmelized Fennel Flatbread. No worries here, it was fantastic, and I really enjoyed it!!

Caramelized Fennel Flatbread

I also made a Spinach Feta Dip that hid next to Daryl's guacamole :) It was good, but somehow avocados win me over more than feta! This will make a fantastic addition to my lunch sandwiches this week though!!

Spinach and Feta Dip
Adapted from this recipe



1 garlic clove, pressed
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed
1 small onion, chopped
8oz greek yogurt (mine was TJ's 0%)
3oz crumbled feta (I had a light feta on hand)
2oz Nufatchel cheese, softened
1/4 light sour cream
1t dried dill (or 1T fresh)
1/8t black pepper

Saute onion in a little EVOO until softened, add spinach and garlic and cook a few minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Combine yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, feta, and spinach mixture in bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, stir in spices, cover and chill. I did this a day ahead so it was ready for game time :)

Ok, I need some sleep, so the rest of the goods will have to wait. Hopefully I will have a chance to catch up on all my blog reading too... I hope you forgive me! Before I go, there are some giveaways-- Pop Chips over at Missy Maintains (their wasabi flavor is quite interesting!), and Hangry Pants is offering up some almond butter!!

And I need to thank Foodbuzz for giving me the oppotunity to try some of Quaker's new snacks!! I had been eyeing those banana-coconut-macadamia ones that popped up at the Chicago Quaker Convention and couldn't wait to sink my teeth in. Yummy, for sure, I think these are a nice, easy dessert option ;-)

Thank you Foodbuzz!

What's New in Santa Monica? Copa d'Oro

The big news in Santa Monica hasn't happened yet. Santa Monica Place, the southern most anchor to the Third Street Promenade, won't reopen until the end of the year.

Before it closed, the mall had been overshadowed by the success of the Promenade's mile long shopping and entertainment corridor. The mall's decline had impacted the businesses along Broadway. The sidewalks always seemed littered. The restaurants, bars, and stores had a run-down, abandoned feeling.

When Santa Monica Place reopens, the area will be reinvigorated as the mall celebrates its proximity to the beach. What was once a closed box monolith will have been transformed into an elegant, open air plaza.

Looking to that future, Jonathan Chu who already has Buddha's Belly on the block, opened an intimate bar, Copa d'Oro (217 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401; 310/576-3030) across the street from Macy's (soon to be replaced by Bloomingdale's).

The food at the bar is simplicity itself, a short list of panini. The drinks are something else entirely. Vincenzo Marianella, a bartender who has mastered the classics and innovates like a master of improvisation, is the star attraction. Taking his cue from the well-known Santa Monica Farmers' Markets, Marianella relies on what's fresh, seasonal, and local. Spread along the bar is an array of vegetables and fruits more likely to be seen in Alice Waters' kitchen.

You can order from the bar menu or ask for a drink featuring any of the fruits, herbs, or vegetables displayed on the bar: strawberries, grapefruit, passion fruit, apples, pear, grape, orange, kiwi, papaya, mango, apple, lemons, mint, rosemary, basil, sage, thyme, parsley, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, habenero, wasabi, ginger...

Pick your spirit and what comes back is uniquely blended for you. Never too sweet, the mixology at Copa d'Oro brings out the best in the ingredients.

Sitting at the bar, listening to the laughter and easy conversations around me, I enjoy a tall iced glass of passion fruit, Aperol, and vodka and imagine how nice it will be when Santa Monica Place reopens.