One of the things that I have not gotten to make at home is anything with sugar snap peas. Well, except maybe the kind that you throw into a stir fry… you know the kind: the clean your frig type of veggies. See whatever leftover you have in the frig, add chopped chicken–and you have a stir fry! I was looking for a companion to my Korean ribs, and thought that this recipe would match wonderfully with the big and bold flavors from the ribs. I ran out of chicken broth or stock at home (gasp!), so I used water instead, and it worked out just fine.
The sauce is absolutely wonderful: light and very flavorful without being too overbearing. I may try this in the future with other vegetables, like green beans or broccoli, and just toss them in this sauce!
Adapted from Ellie Krieger on Food Network
Ingredients
1 pound sugar snap peas or snow peas
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons canola oil
3 scallions, white and green, sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium white miso paste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Directions
Place the snap peas or snow peas into a microwave-safe bowl with 1 tablespoon of water. Cover tightly and microwave for 3 minutes. Carefully remove the cover, drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the scallions and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. Add the orange juice, chicken broth and vinegar and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. Turn heat to low and stir in the miso paste and sesame oil. Stir until miso paste is dissolved, about 1 minute.
Pour the sauce over the snow or snap peas toss to coat and serve.
Our town’s farmer market is held every Wednesday afternoon in front of a strip mall, literally almost right across from the sub division where we live. They’ll have several stalls of local farmers displaying their gardens bounty and sometimes baked goods. As much as we love to cook, you would think that we’d be lining up there every Wednesday. But the truth is, with our work schedule… it is very difficult to get there on time before they pack up and leave for the day, which is around 5 o’clock.
Last week however, Red and I decided that we would make time to stop by, even if it’s just for five minutes to see what they have left. Sometimes I have a reservation that maybe whatever left at the stalls would be of lesser quality. Boy, was I wrong! I found these gorgeous looking eggplants which I knew right away that I absolutely had to have! Red asked me what I wanted to do with eggplants and I thought of this eggplant Parmesan dish. He didn’t look too convinced, but we still went home with two eggplants in tow.
As the temperature drops outside, this is such a perfect dish to have baking inside your kitchen. It has a lot of the ingredients that satisfies the “comfort food” criteria, like marinara sauce (I like mine spicy), cheeses (I have not met a cheese I don’t like!), sliced egg plants fried in bread crumbs… and layers of them! It is great as a main dish for vegetarian meal (an alternative to vegetarian lasagna), but still hearty enough for a light supper. I used Tyler Florence’s recipe from Food Network for the eggplant part, and cheated on the sauce by using the ready to use marinara sauce from a jar– and it turned out fantastic. I also think that this will make a nice appetizer if it is baked in an individual-size gratin. Another keeper recipe that will warm up our house and tummies this winter!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 pounds medium eggplants, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 pounds whole ricotta
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Romano
2 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
Combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, and oregano in a shallow bowl; season generously with salt and pepper and mix well. Crack 3 of the eggs into another shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper and beat with a fork to mix. Put the flour in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant, flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs on a work surface near the stove.
Heat about 1/4-inch olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, dredge several eggplant slices first in the flour, then dip them in the egg, and finally coat them in the bread crumbs. Put as many eggplant in the skillet as will fit comfortably in a single layer and cook until tender and well browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Cook all of the eggplant slices this way, adding more olive oil to the pan as needed.
Stir together the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano cheese. Stir in the basil and remaining 2 eggs, and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To assemble the dish, first get yourself set up with a large, buttered baking dish. Have ready the eggplant, the ricotta mixture, the tomato sauce, the shredded mozzarella cheese and the remaining 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano. To start, spoon some of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Now add a layer of eggplant. Spread with half of the ricotta mixture. Spoon another layer of tomato sauce over and sprinkle with about one-third of the mozzarella. Repeat with a layer of eggplant, the rest of the ricotta, tomato sauce, and another third of the mozzarella. Finish with the rest of the eggplant, the rest of the tomato sauce, and the rest of the mozzarella. Sprinkle with the 3/4 cup Parmigiano.
Put the dish in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, until golden and bubbling. Let stand for about 20 minutes before cutting.
This is another fave recipe at the Red household. We love red potatoes, and always in the look for a new delicious way to prepare them. Here’s a recipe from Ina Garten which we go back to over and over again! Please don’t skimp on the salt, they really bring out the potatoes flavor. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 TBS good olive oil
2 TBS whole-grain mustard
Kosher Salt
1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degree.
Cut the potatoes in halves, or quarters, depending on their size, and place them on a sheet pan. Remove the ends of the onions, peel them, and cut them in half. Slice them cross-wide in 1/4-thick slices to make half rounds. Toss the onions and potatoes together on the sheet pan.
Add the olive oil, mustard, 2 tsp salt, and pepper and toss them together.
Bake for 50 mins to an hour, until the potatoes are lightly browned on the outside, but tender on the inside. Toss the potatoes from time to time with metal spatula so they brow evenly.
Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped parsley and a little extra salt.
Believe it or not, I had never cooked anything with bok-choy before! Red and I were walking in the vegetable area of our grocery store, when I voiced disappointment with the quality of the napa cabbage available, which is one of my fave vegetables. Then, out of nowhere, Red pointed at these gorgeous baby bok choys on the rack. “What about those? Can you make something with those?” I was like, Eeek… ehm, I never made them before. But of course, I said, “Yes, you’re right, I am sure I can whip something with these.” And I quickly grabbed two big bundles of bok choy. Later on that evening, I wondered why it took me so long before I tried these delicate vegetables. Hmm… yum!
Ingredients
2 bundles of baby bok choy, sliced lengthwise
2 cups of chicken broth
1 firm tofu, chopped into 1-inch cube
1/2 cup of coarsely deveined shrimp<
1 tbsp of canola oil
1 generous tbsp of chopped garlic
3 tbsp of fish sauce
1 tbsp of salt
1 tsp of ground white pepper
Chopped green onions
Fried shallot for garnish<
Direction
Saute the chopped garlic in canola oil until soft and slightly browned in medium heat.
Add the sliced bok choy, and add 2 cups of chicken broth. Turn up the heat to HIGH. Leave covered for about 2 mins.
Flip vegetables to the other side. Keep covered for another 2 mins.
Turn heat to low-medium.
Add shrimp, tofu, fish sauce, salt, and white pepper. Let it sit for about 10 mins, covered. Turn down the heat.
Fold in the green onions.
Sprinkle fried shallots before serving.
Yield: 2 servings
We made these delightful rings to go with our Filet Mignon steakhouses. After this fantastic dinner -our house will never be the same. P.S. And my dad will be so proud of me… Yum! Yum! Yum!
Ingredients
- 2 large Spanish onions (or 3 yellow onions)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (medium) yellow cornmeal
- 1 quart vegetable oil
Directions
Peel the onions, slice them 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick, and separate them into rings. Combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add the onion rings, toss well, and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. (The onion rings can sit in the buttermilk for a few hours.) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
When you’re ready to fry the onion rings, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large pot or Dutch oven. (A candy thermometer attached to the side of the pot will help you maintain the proper temperature.) Working in batches, lift some onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them in the flour mixture. Drop into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes, until golden brown, turning them once with tongs. Don’t crowd them! Place the finished onion rings on the baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt, and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the next batch. Continue frying the onion rings and placing them in the warm oven until all the onions are fried. They will remain crisp in the oven for up to 30 minutes.
Serve hot.
