June 27, 2012 · 8:14 am

Red Lentil Dal with Asparagus with Perfect Roasted Potatoes

This August, I’ll be coming up on the 1-year benchmark for posting regularly on this blog. I actually started the blog a year earlier, in 2010, but it took awhile to find my rhythm and figure out what I actually wanted this space to be. It took another three months or so to figure out what good photos and lighting could do for food shots. Remember the tomato cobbler? It’s probably one of the best dishes I’ve made in the past year, but back in September, I was still surmounting the steep learning curve of DSLR and coming to grips with the fact that Photoshop can’t transform harsh 70-watt overhead lighting into soft natural light. Now, all of my shots are done in natural day light with some thought to food styling and composition. I still have a lot to learn, but I’ve made some good progress.

And then something like this red lentil dal comes along which absolutely resists having a good photograph taken. From any angle, it still looks like what it is: Red lentils cooked to bursting with some wiggly red onions and asparagus. The photos don’t help brag about the flavor, how the red lentils cook down to what turns out to be an excellent sauce for the asparagus and onions and how the Indian spice blend infuses the onions to perfection.

Not everything can be as beautiful as strawberries or melted, oozy cheese.

So without the help of photos, how can I convince you that you absolutely must make this recipe? That in the course of a few weeks, this dish has made many appearances on our dinner table, and it’s been a delight each time?

How about this: Once you buy the few spices needed which may not already be in your spice rack, this is one the absolute cheapest dinners you can cobble together, and you can do it again and again without needing to hit the grocery store each time. Continue reading →

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June 21, 2012 · 8:56 am

Mint-infused Ricotta Cheesecake Bites with Macerated Strawberries

Today marks Recipe Redux’s first birthday, and to celebrate, we’re all making small bite desserts. Recipe Redux was started by a group of dietitians, and each month a group of healthy food bloggers post the recipes they’ve created, all stemming from a single monthly challenge.

Those of you who know me in real life likely know that dessert isn’t my favorite course, and I’m much more likely to spend my time in the kitchen on something savory and satisfying instead of sweet and luxurious. So coming up with a tasty dessert bite was a bit of a challenge. Given my culinary proclivities, it’s no surprise that what I ended up with is a small bite leaning heavily on cheese and fruit. The idea here is pretty simple, and it’s a good party appetizer because so many of the elements can be made individually and made ahead of time. A classic shortbread dough is shaped into a tiny tart shell, then filled with ricotta cheese and macerated strawberries (though practically any fruit would do just as well).

But the absolute genius part of this recipe is what I came up with for the ricotta cheese: it’s homemade and infused with mint. It’s delicious, and I’m so excited to share it here! I’ve been making homemade ricotta for a few years, and it isn’t all that challenging. The only special equipment you need is cheesecloth, which can be bought at a grocery store or hardware store for around $2-3. One purchase will get you through several rounds of cheese making. After that, it’s as easy as boiling water (or milk, in this case), and draining. The brilliance of this particular recipe is that I added a good handful of mint leaves to the milk before I brought it to a boil, and the flavors and scent of the mint leaves perfume the final product. Strawberries and mint go so well together; this one simple addition helps elevate the entire dessert.

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June 16, 2012 · 10:00 am

Open-faced Caramelized Onion and Fontina Grilled Cheese Sandwich

It’s almost summer in Boston, but sometimes it doesn’t quite feel like it. Luckily, we’re seeing the seasons change with fresh summer produce turning up in the grocery stores, and the farmer’s markets have opened across the city. Sometimes it’s warm enough to grab a drink outside after work. But as I’m sitting here writing, it’s barely over 60 degrees outside, and I need to wear long sleeves to stay warm with the windows open.

About a week or so ago, it was a chilly, rainy day with the temperature down into the 50s. I’ve started a more ambitious running routine since my semester ended in May, and my good friend Jodi introduced me to running on the Esplanade along the Charles River. I do either a 4 or 5 mile loop most days of the week, and I’d been doing such a good job sticking to my routine that I didn’t want to let the rain and the chill be what broke my good streak. So I wore a fleece pullover and hit the road, got wet, but wound up back home after an otherwise normal run. I spent the rest of the day feeling like the damp had seeped into my bones and couldn’t get quite warm enough no matter what I did.

And so this sandwich was born: Standing by the stove slow-cooking some onions for about an hour and roasting tomatoes for soup would be the only thing to break the chill.

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June 10, 2012 · 5:53 pm

Cheddar & Green Onion Drop Biscuits

Last week I mentioned a new nutrition project at BMC, for which I developed a recipe for buttermilk-marinated oven-fried chicken.  Not only did a end up with a surfeit of chicken drumsticks (which I turned into harissa Buffalo chicken), I also had a half quart of buttermilk leftover. When I have buttermilk around the house, I never think pancakes, which I realize might be the go-to use for leftover buttermilk. Luckily (in this case), I decided to make biscuits, and these came out amazing.

This is kind of a workhorse recipe. We used the biscuits throughout the whole weekend; fresh biscuits hot out of the oven with butter for breakfast, toasted and sliced sandwiching some chicken with mayo and mustard for a quick and easy dinner, and then again the next morning, we made a scrambled egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. And not once did we feel like we’d overdosed on these flavorful, savory biscuits. Although they are best warm right out of the oven, I found that heating the oven to 200-degrees and re-warming the biscuits right before using them also seemed to do the trick. I’d just pop them in the oven for about 10 or 15 minutes, let them get a little toasty and crispy, then smear them with butter, mayo, mustard, or top with eggs.

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June 6, 2012 · 6:50 am

Harissa Buffalo Chicken

This summer, I’m working on a fun new project through Boston Medical Center’s pediatric bWell Center. Over the spring, I spent a great semester working with the pediatric obesity clinic, which introduced me to the group, whose goal is to educate and support the children and families managing increasingly complex diagnoses and childhood obesity. My nutrition background paired with my long-standing interest in food and recipe development made me the perfect fit for what we’re calling the bWell recipe exchange. Our goal will be to help families cook the foods they already know and love, but in healthier ways and with more nutritious ingredients.

The all-time top request the pediatric clinic gets from patients and their families is a healthier version of fried chicken, a reliable stand-by at many families’ dinner tables, but one that isn’t doing anyone any favors in terms of weight loss. So, I bought a lot of chicken, made a lot of variations oven-fried chicken, and invited my friends over to test the results… which is how I wound up with a bunch of extra chicken thighs and drumsticks on my hands and no real plans for what to do with them.

And that led me to develop this healthy twist on another favorite: buffalo chicken. Through my wanderings of online recipe sites, I found a surprisingly simple version of harissa on Epicurious. Harissa is a spicy pepper paste that has its culinary origins in Africa. Last year, after buying Heidi Swanson‘s Super Natural Everyday cookbook, I was deterred from making some of her recipes because they called for a few tablespoons of harissa, something I erroneously assumed would be somewhat of a fussy condiment. But I love the fact that instead of requiring a pricey purchase from Whole Foods, it’s actually an incredibly flavorful, easy-to-make, and versatile sauce. So, here is a new take on good-for-you Buffalo chicken: I use a healthy smear of spicy harissa over drumsticks and bake until the chicken is cooked through.

After a few bumps in the road recipe-wise in the last two weeks, I think I knocked it out of the ballpark with this one. The sauce is spicy but avoids being over-the-top (in all the wrong ways) because the peppers’ natural sweetness temper the heat. The spice level can be adjusted by upping the amount of red pepper flakes, but I’d recommend tasting a bit as you go along so it doesn’t get too hot too fast. A dash of hot sauce can also had some heat and might help bridge the gap for those skeptical about a red pepper sauce taking the place of Buffalo sauce. I swapped out the blue cheese dressing for a thick creamy yogurt with blue cheese crumbled mixed throughout.

Harissa Buffalo Chicken

For the harissa sauce (adapted from Epicurious.com):
Ingredients
1/2 Tablespoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 red bell peppers (or use jarred roasted red peppers)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
splash of hot sauce (optional)

1) Toast the coriander, fennel, and cumin seed in a skillet over medium high heat until fragrant (but not burnt), about 1 minute. Transfer to a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle to grind into a fine powder. Add to the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic cloves, with their skins still on, in the same skillet. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until soft. Remove skins and add to the food processor bowl.

2) Meanwhile, roast red bell peppers in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until darkened on all sides. Transfer to a brown paper bag and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins from the peppers, slice them in half and remove the seeds and stems. Add the bell peppers to the food processor bowl.

3) Blend the spices, garlic, red bell pepper, olive oil, sugar, and vinegar together until smooth. Grind the crushed red pepper in the spice grinder. Stir half of it into the harissa sauce, taste-testing for spiciness after incorporating. If it isn’t too spicy, continue adding the pepper, tasting after each addition until the appropriate spice level is reached. Feel free to add a dash of hot sauce to kick up the heat, too.

To make the Buffalo Chicken:
1. Prepare 8 skinless chicken drumsticks by cutting away any extra fat. Coat them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer in a shallow, rimmed baking dish. Spoon the harissa sauce over the chicken in a thick layer, using the spoon to spreading the sauce over all the chicken.
2. Bake the chicken in a 400-degree oven for 35-45 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 165-degrees. Serve with the blue cheese sauce (recipe below).

For the blue cheese dressing:
2/3 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
3 Tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

1) Combine the cheese and yogurt in a small bowl. Stir vigorously to combine. Use the back of the spoon to press large cheese crumbles against the side of the bowl to break it up into smaller pieces. Serve with the buffalo chicken.

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May 27, 2012 · 3:05 pm

Strawberry & Tomato Bruschetta with Goat Cheese

This is a twist on a dish I’ve been making for years, and it’s a perfect accompaniment to a Memorial Day party. Here, strawberries are paired with the classic combination of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil, resulting in a fresh and summery dish. A smear of goat cheese lends the bruschetta a hearty,  tangy flavor to contrast with the strawberries’ and tomatoes’ sweetness.

I’ve been making the sans-strawberry version of bruschetta for years (since college, at least), and it’s a reliable appetizer to serve when I have friends over for dinner. For this version, the strawberries are a unique addition to my reliable original recipe. About a week ago, I picked up Ted Allen’s new cookbook, In My Kitchen. He’s the host of Chopped, one of my favorite shows on TV right now, and the recent recipient of a James Beard award. As David says, “the James Beard Awards are like the Oscars for you,” so the fact that he recently won one is very exciting (for me, at least, and I’m sure for him, too). The idea for adding strawberries came from one of his recipes, and it’s a fabulous idea.

It’s a crowd-pleaser: I’ve had the opportunity to serve these to three different groups of friends, most recently some of David’s relatives and a friend & former coworker from Pearson just yesterday.

The recipe can also be adapted in a few ways for Memorial Day celebrations. The tomato-strawberry blend can be made awhile ahead, as the flavors will blend together and meld over time. The preparation outline below is what I do in my apartment, but if you’re bringing a dish to share to a Memorial Day party or grilling, this can easily be converted to an outdoor dish. If that’s the case, brush the baguette slices with olive oil and place on the grill. Once it’s toasted and somewhat crispy, take a clove of raw garlic and rub it on the flat surface of the bread. Then top with a thin layer of goat cheese and the raw tomato-strawberry combo and garnish with basil.

The goat cheese can also be omitted entirely to keep make it a vegan recipe.

Strawberry & Tomato Bruschetta with Goat Cheese
Adapted from Ted Allen’s “In My Kitchen”

Ingredients
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 pint strawberries
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
3 oz. soft goat cheese
1 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
4 large basil leaves, sliced

1) Slice the grape tomatoes down the center length-wise, then chop into thirds. Chop the stems off the strawberries and slice into smaller pieces. Combine the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and strawberries in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

2) Preheat the oven to 400-degrees. Smear an even layer of goat cheese across each slice of baguette and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Spoon the strawberry-tomato mixture over each slice. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edge of the baguette get toasty and brown and the strawberries and tomatoes are warmed through. Garnish with sliced basil leaves and serve immediately.

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May 21, 2012 · 3:31 pm

Simple Fried Rice with Anchovies and Asparagus

This month’s Recipe Redux theme features recipes of sea vegetables and small fish. I usually have a small jar of anchovies in the fridge, so I felt pretty comfortable with the challenge, and I wanted the recipe I created to really demonstrate how anchovies can be used as an everyday ingredient. I’ve talked about using anchovies before as an easy way to add depth and a salty flavor to dishes and as a healthy inexpensive option for eating more seafood.

One of my favorite dinners is a simple preparation of brown rice stir fried in oil, topped with a fried egg and crisped garlic, and seasoned with Asian flavors like toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, or ginger. It’s quick and easy, and I usually always have the ingredients on hand, so it’s a good fallback option for when there isn’t time to grocery shop or meal plan. And it lends itself so well to this challenge. Because anchovies dissolve when you cook them in hot oil, they can be blended seamlessly into just about any dish that starts of sautéing something, anything, in olive oil. And I liked that the strong flavors of the egg and toasted sesame oil would complement the saltiness of the anchovies without overwhelming them (or letting the anchovies overpower everything else). And, in the true spirit of the RecipeRedux, I included some chopped steamed asparagus to make it even healthier.

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May 17, 2012 · 1:22 pm

Fiddlehead Fern Shrimp Scampi

I was ready to post this recipe at 12:30 last night, but as I hit “Publish,” an error message popped up and erased the whole post. At midnight, I was too spent to cobble together what I could remember of my original writing, but I thought it was a fitting end (hopefully) to a week that’s had some pretty messy flops in the kitchen. I guess it happens to everyone; sometimes things just don’t work out. Ideas that you think might turn into fantastic recipes fall flat. A few days ago, for example, instead of sweet potato and chickpea fritters, I had a disintegrated, oily mess. What that means is that the next few posts I’ve developed include some of the quick and easy meals I’ve made for dinner as a Plan B, when my bigger ideas didn’t pan out.

This fiddlehead pasta dish is a good start to my series of flops. My sister came to visit me earlier this month and brought a small paper bag full of these fiddlehead ferns. The first time we made fiddleheads, it turned out disastrously. It was a few years ago, and we were up in the Green Mountains of Vermont, celebrating my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary. We hiked along the trails and saw these ferns growing in the wild, and we were intrigued when we saw them for sale at the local market. My family and I bought a bundle, cooked them up, and ate them. And they were so bitter. As I’ve since learned, fiddlehead ferns need to be steamed for a few minutes before adding them to a dish, like this pasta. Here, I sauté the fiddlehead ferns for four minutes and then plunge them into an ice bath to halt the cooking process. Then, after cooking the shrimp and pasta, I add the ferns to the olive oil sauce. It turned out beautifully.

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May 9, 2012 · 7:23 pm

Shrimp & Mango Tacos

Over the weekend, one of my favorite websites, Food52.com, won the James Beard Award for Publication of the year for their cookbook, a compilation of winners from their community cooking contests. I’ve used their contest themes for inspiration before, one of which was selected as a Community Pick on their site (pretty exciting, I thought). This time around, the idea is to showcase “Your Best Mango” in a new recipe, and this was what I came up with. Mangoes aren’t an ingredient I frequently cook with, but with Cinco de Mayo on the horizon, I went in a Southwestern direction, adding lime juice, cilantro, and onions to top off a shrimp taco. The shrimps are infused with a complimentary flavor profile, getting grilled with a dash of cumin. And before everything comes together, a small smear of adobo pepper sauce is spread across a lightly toasted tortilla, adding a smoky flavor and a kick of heat.

The combination of mango, cilantro, and lime brings an intense freshness to this recipe, and grilling both the shrimp and the mango adds complexity and layers of flavor. The recipe makes four individual tacos, which serves two people. It can easily be doubled or more.

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April 28, 2012 · 10:04 am

Wild Rice & Cauliflower Casserole

About two weeks ago, I gave a talk to a group of medical students at Boston University. The idea behind the presentation is that there’s a pretty significant dearth of nutrition education in our medical school curricula, so I tried to highlight some key points that they would find most helpful – for both their patients and themselves. Sometimes it’s hard to talk generally about eating healthier: everyone knows they should probably eat more vegetables, but so often people just don’t know how. I dislike coming back to that piece of advice again and again unless it is paired with concrete ideas for reaching that goal, which again, can be challenging in a group setting. One of the practical tips I included was to modify recipes by adding vegetables or increasing the quantities already called for in the recipe.

So I took my own advice when making Heidi Swanson‘s wild rice casserole, from her book Super Natural Everyday . While the original dish is healthy all by itself (whole grains, lean dairy, mushrooms), it’s almost begging to be doctored up with some vegetables, too. I opted for a head of cauliflower (a good choice for these early weeks of spring when the temperature hovers around 50 degrees), which blended in seamlessly with the creamy texture. Other ideas include broccoli or peas, which would add some nice color.

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