Sauerbraten Meatballs & The Food-Lovers Cleanse
| January 31, 2012 | Filled under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, German, Quick Weeknight Meals, Reviews |
I’m alive! January has been an insane month, and I’ve been running around like crazy doing what feels like twenty million things at a time. Because of that, dinners have not been very exciting lately. I do have fun recipes planned though and will post them as soon as I have the time to work out a few last details and type them up. Think soba noodles with sautéed chicken and roast mushrooms, cornmeal crusted tofu with quick ratatouille, and a buffalo chicken chili that I’ll try my hardest share before the game this weekend.
In the meantime, how do sauerbraten meatballs sound? Sauerbraten is a great dish – a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and extremely rich – but it takes days to make. I’ve figured out a way to replicate the flavors in a quick stovetop sauce that’s delicious served over meatballs for a delicious and easy twist on the original. Check out my recipe on the ShopRite PotLuck blog! (Speaking of ShopRite, you know how I said I’ve been running around like crazy? Their Shop at Home service has been a lifesaver. I place my grocery order online, then pick it up at the store a few hours later all packed up and ready to go – and for no extra charge! What would easily take me an hour in the store can be done in 15 minutes online – plus it keeps me from putting all sorts of random impulse buys in my cart.)
Photo copyright Bon Appetit
I also wanted to mention that I spent the earlier part of this month doing Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse and I loved it! It’s a two week plan meant as a kickstart to healthy eating. The recipes are great and I loved that it included three meals a day plus a snack and dessert. I didn’t have to think about or plan my meals at all. We both loved the recipes and some – like the brown rice and carrot pilaf, cumin roast sweet potatoes, and pumpkin-shrimp curry will definitely be seen again on my kitchen table. It also really got me thinking about preparing things ahead of time so that meals are quicker to prepare – I now have a freezer full of cooked lentils and caramelized onions and I have no idea how I used to survive without it. It you want to check out the cleanse for yourself, you can find it here.
Clementine-Soy Chicken Thighs
| January 22, 2012 | Asian, Chicken and Poultry, Fruit, Light, Winter |
Happy (Chinese) New Year!
For some reason, we always celebrated Chinese New Year when I was a kid. I don’t know why, but I always looked forward to it. It was so fun, and we didn’t eat Chinese nearly as often back then as we do now. Mom would take out the electric wok and cook dinner right on the table – usually a chicken stir fry. The next night, we’d wrap the leftovers in tortillas and eat them as fajitas. Yum.
I made this clementine-soy glazed chicken a few weeks ago and thought it would be the perfect Chinese New Year post. But then I started researching and apparently I had it all wrong. The holiday has all sorts of food traditions, like eating noodles to bring long life and dumplings to bring wealth. And apparently serving a chicken or duck whole represents health, but serving it cut – like these thighs – is the opposite. Oops.
Oh well. This dish is delicious any time of the year, and you should definitely make it (if you’re superstitious or prefer to celebrate the New Year more traditionally, just wait until tomorrow.) Read More
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Fettuccini with Cauliflower, Prosciutto and Peas
| January 12, 2012 | Italian, Pasta and Noodles, Winter |
Can we talk about cauliflower for a second? It’s a great vegetable with a really unique flavor. I love it and, if you haven’t tried it lately, you really should give it a second chance. But there’s a right way to do cauliflower and a wrong way. The cauliflower “steaks” that food editors seem to have decided should be all the rage this winter? NOT the right way. In fact, it’s a pretty decent way to confirm any suspicion that you may have had that cauliflower is gross.
This pasta, on the other hand, with the some of the cauliflower caramelized in the oven and the rest pureed into a creamy sauce? Even if you think you hate cauliflower, you’ll love this. Read More
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Crab and Blackberry Guacamole
| January 8, 2012 | Mexican and Southwestern, Sides, special projects |
Me: Hey Shawn, remember when we went to the Taste of Hartford two years ago and we ate that guacamole with fruit and lobster in it?
Shawn: How the hell do you remember these things?
Me: Because it was awesome.
That guacamole was awesome, but the real reason that I remembered about it was because I’ve been meaning to recreate it at home. I was just waiting for an appropriate opportunity. Like, say, the Avocados from Mexico Guac Off Recipe Contest?
New England Clam Chowder
| January 5, 2012 | Fish and Seafood, Light, One Pan, Soups and Stews, Winter |
Like a lot of people, I re-committed myself* to eating healthier and losing a few pounds in the New Year. Unlike a lot of people, I won’t attempt to live off of cold salads and clear broths. It’s winter, people! I want comfort food – and lots of it.
This milky chowder filled with meaty bites of bacon and the subtle spice of Old Bay and peppery parsnips is what I consider the ultimate winter meal. The combination of smoke and cream reminds me of curling up in front of a fireplace while fat snowflakes fall outside. Close your eyes when you eat it and you can almost hear the bells of a horse-drawn carriage being pulled down the road. Read More
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