Fall Fried Rice, American Style

Brussels sprouts are a vegetable I wrestle with. You see, I don't dislike many veggies. I like tiny veggies quite a bit - baby artichokes, small potatoes, tiny pickled cucumbers. And I love cabbage. So naturally, I should love brussels sprouts, seeing as how they're really like tiny cabbages. What's not to love? Well, I just usually don't like them, they taste funny and bitter and off to me, unless they're doused in butter and cream at Thanksgiving, and I am just not going to do that the rest of the year.

When given the option from my local CSA to get local, organic brussels sprouts on the stem, I jumped, thinking I should give them another chance, and this was a good way to do it. If I didn't like a gigantic spear of fresh, local, on-the-stem sprouts, I probably wasn't ever going to like them. I also jumped, like I am wont to do, with other seasonal goodies and overfilled my fridge. So there my sprouts sat, sad and lonely at the bottom of the fridge, until all the other vegetables were exhausted and they were the last things left. It had been over a week, and it was time. There I was, staring at the refrigerator, wondering how I was going to make this work for dinner. What else masks, err I mean, goes well with the flavor of sprouts? Well I had bacon, and leeks. Ok, good start. But I needed a starch. "Honey, do you want brussels sprouts, bacon, and leeks with pasta, rice, polenta, or potatoes?" "Rice", he replied. Of course he picked the one item I had no plan for. Was I going to have to make some sort of sauce with this? Then it hit me - we make fried rice, and that has has similar bits - veg, onion, and cured meat. I could hit this up with some more American type seasonings - Worcestershire and Frank's hot sauce, perhaps? A little thyme? Why does soy sauce get to have all the fun? So something new and delicious was born, my husband and I had a great and quick dinner, and I conquered the sprout.

Hearty Autumn Salad with Bacon, Egg, Cornbread Croutons, and Artichokes

I'm back! It's been a long while, and the weather has changed drastically since I've been gone. But I have good reason - two good reasons, actually - for being gone so long. First, my hubby and I took a two week whirlwind trip to Europe, staying in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Zurich. There was much good food, much good beer, a whole lotta walking, wonderful weather despite it being October, and in general a good time was had by all. I ate lots of delicious new foods (Dutch pea soup! Deer sausage! Stoemp! Waterzooi!), and will be posting the recipes here as I make them and can get them close to what I remember having. But besides being gone, there was a lot of planning. It was my first time to Europe, and I planned it myself. Every little bit. Lodging, transportation, train tickets, local metro passes, museum tickets, everything. It was intimidating, and time consuming, and occasionally stressful! But it all turned out well.

Secondly, I've been devoting time to one of my other passions - namely all things design. I'm a bit of an obsessive when it comes to well-designed cookware and serveware (and decor, and... ok, modern and well designed ANYTHING really), and I've been delving in headfirst scouring through thrift stores and other sources, trying to find the good stuff. The good news: I've been finding good stuff! Though it takes time. The flipside is I've been finding TOO MUCH good stuff, and I can't just let it sit there, so I take it home, and well, I've opened an Etsy shop with all my goodies. If you like unique and modern home stuff, check out my shop at http://kiteless.etsy.com/.

Pork Rillettes with Pickled Cherries

Years ago, I was invited to a party at someone's house that I didn't know. Not wanting to show up empty handed, I stopped at Whole Foods for some snacks, figuring I'd pick up something tasty from their enormous cheese counter. After chatting with the cheese lady and trying a few samples, I came across these intruiging sweet, sour, spiced, and pickled cherries. The gal had me try them with a creamy, mild blue cheese, and I was hooked. The combination was outrageous - creamy and crisp, salty and sweet, spicy and savory, all contrasting flavors and textures that harmonized beautifully. I picked up a small tub of the cherries, some cheese, and some bread and crackers, and headed off to the party, where they were devoured by the end of the night.

The other weekend, staring at the 3 pounds of sweet and juicy Lapin cherries I'd picked up from the farmer's market, I decided to see if I could create something similar to those spicy-sour-sweet cherries. I'd also been kicking around the idea of making pork rillettes, thinking that those tart-sweet cherries would compliment the creamy, rich pork nicely. I imagined sitting on a large blanket, under the dappled light of a tree, sipping on champagne, listening to birds, spreading pieces of crusty baguette with luscious pork pâté and topping with ruby red pieces of puckery-sweet and spicy cherries. I'd created quiet the afternoon in my mind, so I had to get crackin'.

I'd never made rillettes before, so I went poking around for recipes online. They all called for slow and low cooking, but on the stovetop or in the oven. I didn't want to turn on the oven or otherwise heat the kitchen for 3 -4 hours. Then it hit me - why not use the crock pot? It turned out perfectly, with minimal kitchen heating. And the pork and cherries? A match made in heaven. (Unfortunately, the weather was not heavenly - it was in the 60s and rained all weekend, in August! - so my picnic was indoors. At least the food was good.)

Crunchy Cabbage, Cucumber, and Chicken Stir-Fry

I make stir-fries a lot. They're a really simple and tasty way to make a quick and veggie-packed dinner. Usually, by the time the rice is done, my meal is done, as well (or at least really close to being done!) I often use a few variations on some common themes: beef and broccoli (sometimes with red bell peppers or carrots) with a lightly sweet soy sauce; shredded pork and cabbage with dark soy and a little heat from sriracha or sambal olek; sliced pork or chicken with Thai red curry paste, lime leaves, green beans, and basil. And sometimes I just dump in whatever I have on hand, with whatever condiments, vinegar, sauces, herbs, and maybe some crunchy toppings, sound good. The great thing is, it's pretty hard to screw up. As long as I don't overcook my meat and veggies, or make the sauce too salty, it's all pretty tasty. But I don't find them worthy of posting, because I don't measure, and while they're always good, they're never great. Not something you'd feel comfortable telling someone "Hey, you should make this! You'll like it."

Well, this time I made one that's really good, and worthy repeating (and a blog post)! Cabbage and snow peas are great in stir-fries, but the real winner here is the cucumber. Stir-fried until slightly softened, the flavor becomes sweeter, milder, and almost a little nutty. The texture becomes more silky, and it loses some of that graininess. It becomes a really nice and unexpected foil to the crisp and crunchy cabbage and peas. The mint and cilantro are a must here, too, as they cap off the stir-fry with a nice, fresh, herbal note. With a side of your favorite rice, this is a lean, healthy, satisfying meal that feels like a real treat.

Italian Chicken Burgers

I told you guys I was on a burger kick!

What happens when you take inspiration from Chicken Milanese and Salad Caprese and put it on a bun? You get a delicious sandwich, that's what. The idea for this sprang from seeing a recipe in Bon Appetit about a Chicken Parmigiana sandwich. It looked delicious, but I wrestled with the idea of putting tomato sauce on my sandwich. I envisioned trying to eat it and getting a ring of sauce in the palms of my hands. I pictured the sauce dripping onto my shirt. I pictured soggy breading. In my mind, this wasn't really going too well. I wanted a crisp-coated chicken burger, and that tangy tomato flavor, and of course the basil and cheese. Just no gloppy messiness, please.

I started with a lb of ground chicken, and an egg. It got very soupy very quickly, I had to use quite a bit of what I'd planned on using for the coating as a binder, to sop up the juice. But that's ok, because the end result is a delicious, juicy patty that doesn't taste bready, and who can argue with that? Depending on how moist your chicken is, you may need more or less bread crumbs, so add a TB or two a time until you can form a patty, while trying to handle the patty as little as possible.

Vietnamese-style Pork Burgers

I've been slightly obsessed with burgers lately. I love just about anything on a bun, from handmade veggie burgers to beef with bacon, with lamb burgers (with goat cheese and pickled red onions, please!) being one of my favorites. Not to mention that I think my husband has perfected the beef burger (he has a secret ingredient - I'll see if I can get him to share it in a later post!). But I've been trying new ways to get some of my favorite flavor combos sandwiched between a yeasty kaiser roll or soft ciabatta, if you are a talented enough baker, or lucky enough to source some good ones, and to cut down on meat costs by purchasing ground meat. If you are in the Seattle area, I am really fond of Essential Baking's kaiser rolls, as well as their Panino rolls, or, if you're feeling decadent, Macrina's brioche buns. I know, buying expensive buns may seem to defeat the purpose of eating frugally, but to me, the bun is second only to the patty, so I won't skimp there.

This is a pretty straightforward translation - turning a pork banh mi into a pork burger. I'll admit, it's not much of a stretch, but it sure is yummy! Use good quality and fairly lean ground pork - I really like Thundering Hooves - and toss with a little fish sauce, dark soy, and lemongrass. I used to purchase whole lemongrass, peel them to their less fibrous innards, chop them into 3" lengths, and freeze them until I needed them (I do a similar thing with ginger). And this is still a good option, but one day, browsing through the large Asian section at my favorite local grocery store, I found a giant frozen tub of finely minced lemongrass. For about $2. Well not only was this a time saver, but it's also an excellent deal, so I snagged it and have been using it ever since!

Springtime Risotto with Fava Beans and Asparagus

I've been intimidated by fava beans before. These big beans that you have to peel twice: once out of the pod, then a second time out of the skin. (The internet says blanching them briefly in boiling water, then shocking them in ice water helps the skins slide off easier; you can also peel them as-is while watching TV, like I did.) It seems like a lot of effort for little payoff. I was wrong, the payoff is big! Now I'm a convert, and even my bean-picky husband liked the dish (a lot). So creamy and mild, they have a wonderful green yet slightly nutty flavor that goes well with the freshness of asparagus and lemon.

Risotto is always made out to be a lot of work, but I don't really think it's as hard as it can seem. Sure, you have to stir, and it does demand your frequent attention, but in 30 minutes you can have delicious risotto while only tending to one pot, and to me that's easier than trying to orchestrate a separate protein, starch, and veg.
 

Fresh Corn Soup with Basil and Tarragon

This is definitely one of those cases of simplicity is best. This soup is so good, I having a hard time getting past the superlatives of "really good" and "yummy". It's silky on the tongue, light and almost frothy, it's sweet from the corn, it has a little of that mild green bite from basil, and underneath it all is this tingly licorice from the tarragon. But this sounds weird when I write it out, so trust me when I say, it just works. All these little notes balance harmoniously, and while it tastes light and fresh, it satisfies deep down like soup should. You don't need to serve it piping hot, and you don't need to serve a lot, although I went back for seconds, and maybe a little more after that. It would make a great amuse for a summer dinner, for just you, or 10 friends. If you're feeling generous enough to share, that is.