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Tag Archives: Dinner
The fourth appetizer we have for our Super Bowl Healthy Eats Series is spring rolls with a green garlic and soy dipping sauce.
We love making spring rolls as a healthy appetizer. As well they are great for a light meal. Spring rolls are like a salad burrito – everything you should be eating in a nice tidy roll up. Sometimes we will grill meat or seafood and roll that up with all the crisp veggies. This time we grilled some eggplant as well as portobello mushrooms that were lightly seasoned with a little sesame oil and salt. I normally make a dipping sauce that uses fish sauce but we wanted to keep within our vegetarian diet so I made this soy based sauce with some green garlic that I picked up at the market last weekend. As well we cheated a bit and served a store bought peanut sauce but if you would like to make one check out Maria’s recipe, it sounds and looks amazing!
Recipe: Green Garlic and Soy Dipping Sauce
1 green garlic stalk, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 small jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
Put everything in a small bowl and whisk or put everything in a small jar with a lid (as we do) and shake. Let set for about 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe: Spring Rolls
1 carrot, scrubbed clean and either grated or cut into thin matchsticks
1 red pepper, cut into thin matchsticks
1 cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
red leaf lettuce, washed and dried well
bean sprouts, washed and dried well
1 portobello mushroom, thinly sliced
1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
fresh basil leaves
fresh mint leaves
round rice sheets
Prepare all of your vegetables and set aside. Heat a stove top grill pan and drizzle a bit of sesame oil in it. Add the mushrooms and eggplant, in batches, and cook until soft. Set aside. Have a bowl full of hot water, it will cool down as it sits. One at a time dip a rice sheet into it, for not more than 3 – 4 seconds. Lay the rice sheet on a cutting board or a work surface. Place a small amount of a lettuce leave on the rice paper, then your vegetables and a few herbs on the near side of the rice sheet, closest to you. Do not over pack the sheet or it will not roll. Start rolling away from you, gently pulling a bit of the rice paper over the veggies – roll, tuck in the sides, roll, tuck in the sides. Continue making rolls until you have used all of your ingredients. Cut each roll in half and plate. Serve. Eat.
If you want to use the traditional fish sauce here is the recipe that we like.
If you would like to see a tutorial on rolling, this is the best we have found.
Cauliflower and sweet potatoes are seasoned with fresh turmeric and coconut milk to make this creamy winter time soup.
 
I had seen a recipe somewhere for a soup that had cauliflower, sweet potatoes and coconut milk in it; but, I cannot find the book anywhere. I decided I would create my own version and I wanted it to be light and somewhat curry like. I was lucky to find some fresh turmeric last week and thought it would be the perfect addition to this soup. I have never worked with fresh turmeric before and I was not sure what to expect. Fresh turmeric looks like ginger, actually, rather knobby but orange. I decided to use a microplane and zest it with the onion while it was cooking – the color was brilliant a beautiful bright yellow and the scent ….. YUM!! After I pureed the soup I added a small amount of coconut milk, only enough to really bring out the flavor of the turmeric and to create that nice warm Thai inspired flavor I was after. It was a success. Not only was this soup fantastic the first night, the second evening it was even better.
Recipe: Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup
1 head of cauliflower, washed, stemmed and cut into chunks
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small knob fresh turmeric, zest or use dry turmeric, to taste
4 cups veggie stock
1/4 cup coconut milk
kosher salt, to taste
cilantro, garnish
harissa, garnish
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, stir. Add the cauliflower and sweet potato, stir and cook for about 15 minutes, until very fragrant. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook until the veggies are soft, about 30 minutes. Process in a food processor, in batches, returning to medium saucepan. Gently reheat over low heat, stir in the coconut milk. Season with salt. Garnish with cilantro and the harissa. Serve. Eat.
Sweet butternut squash is slowing cooked with onions, garlic carrots and celery until caramelized and then simmered with a rich vegetable stock to create this dairy free creamy soup.
It is a good thing we like soup, and we hope you like it as well, because we will be eating it all week. We are approaching the end of our “detox” month and while we have cheated (ourselves) a couple times by having a glass of wine as well as a margarita, overall we have done a pretty good job! We have some good soups planned and are sure you will love them!
I love making butternut squash soup as you can get a creamy texture without adding any dairy. I made a batch of a traditional butternut squash soup that we like – full of carrots, celery, onions, garlic – but then I swirled a sorrel paste through it, right before serving I sprinkled a generous dusting of Ezpeletako Bipera (Basque Paprika) over the top, for added flavor and color. It was …… amazing.
Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup with Sorrel and Ezpeletako Bipera
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1/4 of a yellow onion, peeled and chopped
4 carrots, scrubbed, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed (i leave the paper on, it blends up in the food processor)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups veggie stock
1 small bunch sorrel
sea salt to taste
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, celery, carrots and butternut squash. Cook for about 15 – 25 minutes over low heat, until lightly caramelized. Add the stock, bring to a medium boil, cover and lower heat to a low simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small pan, add sorrel and cook for about 3 minutes. Put the sorrel in a food processor, give a whirl and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, pulse until smooth, set aside in a small bowl. When the soup is finished cooking, in small batches (as it will be very hot) puree it until smooth. Pour back into your saucepan and gently warm for about 3 minutes. To serve, pour soup into bowl and swirl a tablespoon of the sorrel mixture into the soup and then sprinkle the ezpeletako bipera over the top. Serve. Eat.
Guess you could say we are a bit sick of soup everyday so we decided to make a nice risotto for dinner. Now, neither of us consider risotto “healthy” but I do consider my version a bit more, since it does not include cheese, don’t worry it is still very creamy!
I have had mushrooms, especially fresh picked chanterelles, on my mind since hearing about Pim’s foraging excursion. Now I was not able to actually “fresh” pick mine but they were still very nice, thanks to Solano Mushrooms. Solano was one of my first stops during our market excursion over the weekend and they were a perfect addition to my basic risotto recipe. In addition to these beautiful mushrooms I have a couple heads of Black Garlic, from Marx Food, that I have been dying to use. I have used black garlic before, but was equally as excited as the first time, to start creating some new dishes. Ummm, black aged garlic and assorted mushrooms; YUM!
Recipe: Black Aged Garlic with Chanterelle and Oyster Mushroom Risotto
1 lb assorted mushrooms, cleaned, and sliced
4 cloves black aged garlic, sliced thinly
1/4 yellow onion, minced, do not use shallot that is called for in basic risotto recipe
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
kosher salt, to taste
1 basic risotto recipe * i used the fresh stock we made this weekend in the basic recipe
Heat olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until caramelized and very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, over low heat, until they are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt. Prepare the risotto in the same pan. When risotto is finished add the mushrooms, stir and season if need be. Serve. Eat.
Organic brown rice is simmered to perfection with green onions, olive oil and grated carrots, then lightly scented with warm bahart, served with simply roasted cauliflower for an easy midweek dinner or a great side for a roasted meal inspired meal.
We are down to bare bones at our house, it is definitely time to hit the market again. I only had a few ingredients to work with cauliflower, rice (thanks to Gudrun, for snagging me a big bag of Massa Orangics Brown Rice at Blogher – been dying to try their rice), some random staple veggies and spices. Usually when I have cauliflower around, I end up steaming it or turning it into soup – this was not exciting at all. As well, we are not big rice fans as we find it rather boring, but these were my ingredients to use – feel like a “Chopped Episode”.
I decided I would saute some green onions with garlic and then lightly brown the rice before adding the water. While it was simmering, I rummaged through my spices and decided to go with a middle eastern inspired meal, by adding Baharat. Baharat? Some of you may be wondering what that is, others know exactly what I am talking about. Baharat, in Arabic, means spices. It is a mixture of spices that is used in Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Israeli and Palestinian as well as in Turkish and Iranian dishes. Typical ingredients of Baharat include: allspice, black peppercorns, cardamon, cassia, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and dried red chilies or paprika. While the rice was simmering away (and did it smell great or what), I roasted the cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. By the time the rice was finished, the cauliflower was roasted to a nice golden color. I seasoned the rice with a little grey salt and a sprinkle more of the baharat. The caramelized cauliflower was the perfect companion to the warm comforting rice – the baharat added such a pleasant aroma and taste to the entire dish.
Recipe: Baharat Scented Rice
2 green onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoon baharat
1/2 carrot, grated
kosher salt to taste
Heat olive oil in a saucepan, over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, give a couple stirs and then add the rice. Stir a few times until the rice is lightly golden. Add the water and baharat, bring down to a simmer, cover and let cook for about 45 – 50 minutes. 10 minutes before it is finished stir in the carrot and season with salt. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, stem removed and washed, pat dry
drizzle of olive oil
sprinkle of sea salt
Heat oven to 425. Slice cauliflower and lay in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprikle with salt. Put into oven and roast for about 45 minutes, until golden, cooked but slightly crunchy, unless you prefer a softer vegtable, then cook longer. Remove from oven. Serve. Eat.
Right before we head out for the holidays we always like to have a special meal just the two of us at “our home”. We cook something special, open a bottle of bubbly and exchange gifts. It is a nice way to ease into the crazy holiday schedule.
When we received the package from Annie at Lava Lake Lamb, we put aside some French Rib Chops, just for this occasion. I love French Rib Chops as I feel they really dress up a casual meal, they are so elegnant in presentation and tender in taste. I use to make this particular recipe often, many years ago, but have not done so in awhile. I love the combination of the orange zest, garlic and rosemary with the creamiest of the lamb. As well, being grass-fed lamb, there is a nice sweet grassiness that is very pleasant with this combination of herbs. I decided to serve this dish with mashed sweet potatoes that we simply prepared with a little butter, milk and salt. This meal would make for an elegant but simple New Years Eve meal.
Recipe: Herb Citrus Crusted Lamb Chops
4 organic lamb french rib chops
1 orange, peel zested
4 garlic cloves, crushed
rosemary, handful, minced
olive oil
maldon sea salt to taste
Mix zest, garlic and rosemary together in a bowl. Pat dry the lamb chops and coat very well with the herb mixture. Heat a grill pan until hot, drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the pan. Sear each side of the chops until golden brown, about 3 – 4 minutes, depending on how pink you like the centers. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with salt. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Mashed Sweet Potatoes
3 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into medium chunks
1 tablespoon butter
milk, enough to get the consistency you prefer
kosher salt, to taste
Bring the sweet potatoes to boil in a pan of water, reduce heat to a medium simmer and cook until tender enough to mash. Drain well. Return to the saucepan, add butter and mash with a potato masher. Add milk to achieve the consistency you like. Season with salt. Serve. Eat.
I love butter. In fact, it probably can be considered a secret obsession. I can literally eat good butter by the spoon full; I know a bit “yick” but good butter is just so good! When Erin from Matrixx Pictures contacted me and wanted to know if we would be interested submitting a recipe with Challenge Dairy, I did not say no. I am familiar with Challenge Butter as I do use their European version very often as it has a creamy taste to it as well it is made from cows that are not treated with growth hormones. Once I had accepted the challenge, Erin assigned us to an entree category, which was perfect as I was planning on making a roasted chicken that week.
As you know we are obsessed with truffles and I thought they would go perfect with the butter. I decided to make a compound butter out of the truffles. Inside of rolling the truffle/butter mixture and letting it set, I immediately stuffed it underneath the skin of the entire bird as well I rubbed it inside and over the top and then roasted it – don’t be afraid, be very generous! The chicken came out succulent with a nice complex earthy flavor. I served the meal with warm baguettes, brie and a light frisee salad with Dijon dressing.
As well there was an abundance of juices not only from the chicken but also from the butter; I saved it! The next day I used the left over juices and tossed chunks of potatoes into it and roasted them to serve it with the left over chicken. Both meals ….. out of this world!
Recipe: Roast Chicken with Truffle Butter
1 lb challenge dairy european style butter, room temperature
1 fresh truffle, thinly grated
1 organic, free-range chicken, whole
maldon salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 425. Mix the butter and truffles together in a small bowl. Clean your chicken, inside and out and pat dry. Gently lift the skin, do not tear it, and fill with the butter/truffle mixture. You will need to repeat this all over the chicken. When finished, rub the top and the inside of the chicken with more of the butter, until all is used. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Roast for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours, depending on how big the chicken is. When fnished, remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve. Eat.
Jacqueline and I have been talking about hosting a virtual food event, for the past couple months; okay, really it has been since August. She was twittering and writing about a Spiced Mexican Chicken dish that she served with Tabasco Watermelon Margaritas and we got to thinking that it would be fun to have an event where we provide you with the main entree recipe and ask you, our readers to come up with the ultimate cocktail to pair with this meal.
In the same breath, David Leite’s newest book, The New Portuguese Table had come out and we decided to toss around the idea with David. We were really excited to use one of his pork tenderloin recipes as we thought it would be a nice transition into the holidays, something festive for a cocktail pairing. David was so kind as to let us publish his Pork Tenderloin in a Port-Prune Sauce recipe for this particular event. Just a quick review of David’s book, it is fantastic. Lenny is Portuguese and he loves the take on traditional recipes, the same flavors that mom makes but with a fresh and new taste. We have made a few of the items and all have been outstanding!
Lenny and I made this dish last night and it was amazing. I could not find any pork tenderloins at either of my butchers, so I did end up using a Pork Loin Roast, which worked out perfectly. The pork came out with a crispy outside and very moist inside. I loved that use of prunes and port in the sauce, it was not overly sweet and slightly smokey (thank you port). We tried two different plates, one with cilantro and one without, the cilantro really added a nice freshness to the sauce and we recommend using it. The only other thing that we did differently was to add slices of yellow potatoes and turnips, to the roasting pan, about an hour before the roasting was finished. One can never go wrong with potatoes roasted in pork fat!
We decided to serve a Sazerac with this particular dish as we both thought the boldness of the Rye would be a nice addition to the slightly sweet sauce. Normally, I am not a Sazerac fan, but I have to say, Lenny out did himself with this round; they were smooth, icy cold and perfectly balanced with the Herbsaint Liquer and Rye.
The rules for this dinner party are as is:
- Make the same Pork Tenderloin Recipe, if you can’t find tenderloins, use a roast or chops, but let’s keep it a pork dish in honor of Pig Tales
- Create a cocktail that you think will pair nicely with the dish
- Blog about the two being served together and be sure to include a photo
- Include a link in your post to both the Leather District Gourmet and Chez Us
- Email both of us the link to your post along with a photo of the two. Jacqueline – ldgourmet [at] gmail [dot] com & Denise – denise [at] chezus [dot] com
- Please have your submissions in before the 15th of December. A round-up will be posted shortly after the 15th.
Recipe: Pork Tenderloin in a Port-Prune Sauce
2/3 cup pitted prunes (about 15)
1 cup ruby port
½ cup beef stock
1 inch thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1 pound pork tenderloins, fat and silver skin removed
1 garlic glove, minced
1 tablespoons, sherry vinegar
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and crank up the heat to 450.
Dump the prunes into a small saucepan, add the port, beef stock, ginger, and honey, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let steep for 20 minutes.
Pour the prunes and liquid into a blender or food processor and buzz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Season both tenderloins well with salt and pepper and sear one at a time, turning occasionally, until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and set the skillet aside.
Roast the pork until an instant red thermometer inserted in the center of the meat registers just under 150, 15 – 18 minutes. Transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board, tend with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.
Pour off all but a thin film of fat from the skillet. Lower the heat to medium, toss in the garlic and cook until lightly colored, about 2 minutes. Add the port-prune sauce and stir to pick up the browned bits stuck to the skillet. Pour in the vinegar, and any accumulated juices from the pork, and cook to meld the flavors, 2 to 3 minutes. If the sauce seems thick, add more beef stock. For an elegant take, strain the sauce through a sieve.
Cut the tenderloins on the diagonal into ½ inch slices. Divide the slices among six plates, drizzle with the warm sauce, and sprinkle with cilantro.
Recipe: Sazerac
1 teaspoon Herbsaint liqueur Ice cubes
1 teaspoon simple syrup
1 1/2 ounces rye whiskey
3 dashes peychaud’s Bitters – we used a blood orange bitters
1 lemon peel twist
Chill an old-fashioned glass by filling with crushed ice or refrigerate or freeze for at least 30 minutes. Add the Herbsaint to the glass; swirl it around to coat the entire sides and bottom of the glass. Discard the excess. In a cocktail shaker, add 4 or 5 small ice cubes, sugar, rye whiskey, and bitters. Shake gently for about 30 seconds; strain into the prepared glass. Twist lemon peel over the drink and then place in the drink. Makes 1 serving.
ROUND UP FOR DINNER & DRINKS
Here is the round up from our Dinner and Drinks event. Unfortunately (well kind of), we planned this event during the holiday season and everyone seemed busy or maybe peeps don’t like cocktails with dinner. We did have one great entry in our reindeer games and that was David over at David Dadekian Photography. David created a martini, that we cannot wait to make when we get home. It is made with Port and Domaine de Canton (a fantastic ginger liquer), which I think would be an outstanding combination with this particular pork tenderloin recipe. As well David had a special dinner guest that evening!
Jacqueline decided to pair her tenderloin with a favorite of Lennys, the sazerac. She thought the herbsaint or Absinthe that is in the the Sazerac gives a licorice note to the drink that would be fantastic with pork.
A big thank you to David for playing along in our reindeer games and to Jacqueline for being a great co-hostess!
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