Saucy Summer Salad

This weekend was full of events. We took a trip to Phoenix for a congratulations/birthday celebration. We ate at this great place called Culinary Dropout, a sort of gastropub restaurant. I would definitely recommend it, it was delish!

Yesterday was my birthday and I definitely reaped the benefits. I had a free Birthday Brow at Ulta, pizza cookie at Oreganos, yogurt honey cake at Athens, and t-shirt at The Shanty. Birthdays are great. And Athens is amazing too.Best Greek food in town, hands down. Flaming cheese, Pastitsio, yummy cake, and great company.

I'm going to a little get together this evening and I decided to make a pasta salad. This is my favorite recipe. It is so easy and so yummy. I usually use just a normal box of pasta, but I got the tip from an amazing friend to use frozen tortellinis. Those little twisty pockets of goodness make this dish so much better. You can throw whatever you want into this like black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions, green onions, broccoli, basically whatever you have on hand. I love the McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning, it's a mix of cheese and spices and adds perfect flavor to a pasta salad. This is so easy and a great summer dish.

Pasta Salad

• 2 bags frozen torteliinis, prepared, drained, and cooled
• ~1 c. Zesty Italian salad dressing
• 1/2 container of McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 3 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can black olives, sliced

Mix everything together. Done!

Sweet and Tart

BIG NEWS! We now have two doctors in the house (or at least doctors-to-be)!! It's been an amazing day with such exciting news. I'm so happy and so relieved. This weekend will be filled with celebrations--acceptances and birthdays. So happy!

Unfortunately, the new addition to the field of medicine is working a graveyard shift tonight, so I was on my own for dinner. I wrestled between various delivery places--pizza, Chinese, sandwiches... but I really wasn't in the mood for any of that. I rummaged through fridge and found some extra lamb, frozen asparagus, and a bottle of pomegranate juice. I actually managed to whip up a pretty gourmet meal with very limited ingredients. We have done this lamb recipe before for holidays and it is absolutely delicious. Normally we use a rolled leg of lamb and roast it, but I just had one lamb leg steak and grilled it on the George Foreman. It turned out just perfect, but be careful not to overcook the lamb. It can be tough because you can't watch it cook with the grill closed. But keep a close eye on it and it will turn out amazing. The pomegranate sauce is perfect with a bit of sweet and tangy tart. I omitted the lemon juice from the sauce because I didn't have any on hand, but it still tasted great. For the asparagus, I simply defrosted it and tossed it in some olive oil, pepper, and kosher salt. Throw them on the grill for about 3 minutes and you have an amazing side vegetable. This was so simple and the perfect amount for a single serving.

One more thing, I'm reading "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. It's amazing. Go read it. 

Grilled Lamb with Pomegranate Glaze
adapted from Grilled Leg of Lamb with Pomegranate Molasses by Alton Brown

• 1 lamb leg steak
• 1 c. pomegranate juice
• 1/8 c. sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the George Foreman Grill for 5 minutes.

Place the pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Once pomegranate sauce has cooled, pour some over the lamb. Place the lamb on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes. While it is cooking, brush with more sauce ever minute or so.

Once the lamb is cooked, remove from heat and brush more sauce on top before serving.

Busy Day Means Pizza Time

Today was super busy. This morning I had a meeting to try and start a new CUP program for school. I had the idea while I was at the Nutrition and Health Conference in the beginning of May. The program focuses on bringing nutrition education to elementary school kids in a fun and interactive way. I have some ideas of activities and I think it will be a lot of fun. I just need to tie together some loose ends and hope that it all comes together.

After the meeting, I had an appointment for a free facial peel at Ulta. It was all philosophy products, which are amazing. It was a little awkward though because I was sitting in the middle of the store, with this white goop all over my face for 5 minutes. Even after that situation, my skin does feel amazing. Then, after, I had to make it to an ophthalmologist appointment. After about an hour and a half consult, we decided my vision problems are due to the wrong prescription and old contact brand. I don't think I'll ever be 20/20, so this will have to do.

After a filled day, we settled down for homemade pizza night. This time, I tried the whole wheat crust from Trader Joe's. They make my favorite pizza crusts--plain, herb, and whole wheat. I also tried a little pre-baking this time and I think it really helped the crust. The only down side was that pesto sauce can make a very oily pizza. Other than that, this pizza turned out great. The potatoes gave a great twist to the traditional flavors and a very interesting texture. Not to mention it was ready in less than an hour.

Potato Pesto Pizza
adapted from Food.People.Want

• 1 package Trader Joe's pizza dough
• Flour, for dusting
• 1 cup pesto
• 2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the dough from the wrapper and let rest for 20 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

In the meantime, blanch the potato slices in boiling water until just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly before drying the slices with paper towels. Place in a bowl and lightly coat with olive oil, Italian seasoning, and salt.
After the dough is done resting, form into a 12-inch diameter circle using a pizza stone or sheet. Place the dough into the oven and pre-bake for 2 minutes.

Remove the dough from the oven and spread an even layer of pesto, carefully spreading it to within 1/2-inch of the edge. Top with an even layer of the grated mozzarella cheese followed by slices of parboiled potatoes. Top with a light sprinkling of a bit more mozzarella, season with salt to taste and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Lightly brush the exposed crust with a bit of olive oil to promote browning.

Bake until the crust is crisped and golden and the cheese is bubbling and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Crispy and Fruity and Yummy

Right now I'm watching one of my all-time favorite movies. When Harry Met Sally is a classic in my book. Seriously ladies, do you have any "real" guy friends? I didn't think so. :)

We had some delicious peaches in our CSA this week. We ended up eating all of them immediately, but since it's peach season, we bought a bunch at the store. Peaches means cobbler, obviously. But rather than a battery, fluffy cobbler, I decided to try doing a crisp. It came out wonderful, not too sweet but still with great flavor. I also added some strawberries for a little extra sweetness and a fabulous red color. I did not peel the peaches, but I think it would have helped. The skins can be a bit tough, even if cooked. A tip to get those skins off: place the peaches in boiling water and then quickly dunk them in an ice bath. The skins should peel off much easier. This recipe is so easy and doesn't call for many ingredients. It's so tasty and goes so well with a scoop (or a few) of vanilla ice cream. A great summer dessert treat.

Strawberry Peach Crisp
adapted from Sauce and Sensibility

• 7 large strawberries, sliced
• 3 peaches, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup uncooked oatmeal (old-fashioned, not quick-cooking)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the strawberries, rhubarb, and sugars. Spread the fruit in the bottom of a 9 x 12-inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, salt, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub the butter into the dry mixture until it is well blended and crumbly. Sprinkle this mixture over the fruit. (You can prepare this a couple of hours ahead of time and let it sit on the counter until you’re ready to bake.)

Just before baking, mix together the lemon juice and the water—and sprinkle it over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling at the edges. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Girl Meets Grill

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with finishing up school and a quick trip to Denver. Summer in Colorado was wonderful. We went on plenty of hikes (WHAT?! that's for you P), enjoyed an amazing afternoon in the park, spent Memorial Day at the pool by with bison burgers, filled ourselves with tea and other libations, and enjoyed some time with some great friends. We even had some time to cook some delicious food and try some new flavors. After a quick trip to H Mart (thanks for taking us A!), we picked up some much needed Asian ingredients for chicken and veggies in a black bean sauce, dumplings (jiao zi), mochi ice cream, ramune, koala chocolates, and spam musubi. As I am writing this, I am watching the Top Chef Masters finale and Susur Lee is making a black bean sauce as his first food memory dish. I can only imagine what his sauce tastes like. Black bean sauce is one of my favorite flavors, whether it is poured on clams, chicken, or vegetables, it's a great, savory, versatile sauce. I will have to post the recipes for the sauce and also for the jiao zi and you can enjoy your own Chinese culinary adventure any time you wish.

Tonight we had an excess of food so we invited some friends over to help us eat. From the CSA, we received some wonderful red onions and squash and I bought a jar of pumpkin chutney from the Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network. From this, we had the idea to make shish kebabs. We picked up some lamb, beef, and baby portabella mushrooms from the grocery store and put them onto skewers. Those wooden skewers are dangerous! I had a minor accident and stabbed my thumb while trying to add a piece of lamb. That hurt. I found a great marinade recipe by Alton Brown. It has some great spices like cumin, tumeric, and smoked paprika which gave the kebabs a great kick. Paired with the sweet pumpkin chutney, they were just delicious. We probably made about 15 kebabs and tripled the marinade recipe so each skewer was well coated and we had extra to brush on at the end. Originally, the chef tonight wanted to try to "grill" the kebabs over our gas stove using a wire roasting pan rack. We managed to get one kebab done before the wire rack began warping under the heat. So we reverted back to the original plan to cook them on the George Foreman and they turned out great. The good old GF grill to the rescue. I would love to have a real outdoor grill, but we do not have the space, nor the money, for one right now. I need to make friends who have a grill that I can borrow. I also decided to make some brown rice, which I had never made before, and it turned out perfectly in my rice cooker. The rice was perfect with the kebabs or drizzled with some of the extra marinade sauce. Dinner was just perfect and so tasty. And also so pretty, purple onions, green squash, brown mushrooms, red meat, and the bright eye-catching yellow marinade. Tumeric, cumin, and paprika are so beautiful!


Spicy Shish Kebabs

For the kebabs:

• 1 lb boneless beef, cubed
• 1 lb lamb, cubed
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 1 large squash
• 6 baby portabella mushrooms
• Really, anything can be used for the kebabs such as shrimp, chicken, tomatoes, bell peppers...
  

For the marinade:

• 1 head of garlic, minced
• 6 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup olive oil

Soak the wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes to prevent burning if you are going to grill them over a fire. Skewer the meats and vegetables, alternating between the two. Watch your fingers!

In a food processor combine the garlic, paprika, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. With the processor running drizzle in the olive oil.

Reserve about 1 cup of marinade sauce and set aside. Pour the remaining marinade over the skewers and toss to coat. Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container or a sealable plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2 to 4 hours.

Preheat the George Foreman Grill for 10 minutes. Place max 4 skewers on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the grill and coat with the extra marinade sauce. Let sit for 2-3 minutes and serve with brown rice.