Category Archives: Recipes

July 5, 2012 · 12:38 pm

The 4th of July Means Burgers and Beer

Falling on a Wednesday, this 4th of July seemed to catch everyone a bit off guard. Do we celebrate the week before? The week after? The whole week? What’s the American thing to do? Duh… Work.  So since everyone in my home had to work on the 3rd and the 5th, we decided to stay close to home this year, but that didn’t stop us from celebrating the day the American way: with lots of food!

We began by indulging ourselves in our absolute, hands-down, bar-none favorite lunchtime meal: fruit and cheese. Now it may not seem American, but when I put it to you like this:

cheese board, fruit and cheese plate, brie cheese, bleu cheese, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, pecans, olives, cornichons, gherkin

Brie and bleu cheeses, assorted berries, olives, pickles and pecans. Nums.

I think you’ll be forced to agree. The colors are even overwhelmingly red, white and blue. The brie, the bleu, the berries, the pickles… so many flavors to wash down with an ice cold American brew. Snobbishly unwilling to drink any form of mass-produced light lager, we went with two ales from the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, based right here in Queens. I enjoyed a pale ale, as per my modus operandi, while my mate enjoyed a belgium-style brew as per his. Yes, it’s a little douchy. Yes, we’ve embraced it. Yes, it complimented the cheese and fruit perfectly. And we knew it would pair well with the little challenge we’d arranged for ourselves at dinnertime: Re-create the Ring of Fire Burger at Queens Comfort, with this we decided to make buttermilk battered baked onion rings (try saying that 3 times fast).

buttermilk battered onion rings, baked onion rings, 4th of july recipes

1 egg, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup flour, cayenne, salt and pepper

buttermilk battered onion rings, baked onion rings, 4th of july recipes

Dip in the batter, dredge in the breadcrumbs, then onto a plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baking the onion rings rather than frying them had very little to do with calories, as should be made obvious by the fact that they are battered in buttermilk (Thank you, Martha Stewart). It was mainly because we don’t possess a deep fryer and we have only one skillet suitable for pan frying many things as once. So I battered and dredged the vidalia onion rings and put them on an oiled cooking sheet before popping them into a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes (flipping them halfway through).

fried jalapeños, ring of fire burger, queens comfort, 4th of july recipes

Jalapeños 2.0: Battered and Fried

fried jalapeño burger, ring of fire burger, queens comfort, bleu cheese, avocado, buttermilk battered onion rings, baked onion rings

Our take on the Ring of Fire burger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’ll remember, the Ring of Fire Burger at Queens Comfort has fried jalapeños and sriracha and was incredibly well-recieved by my person. It was his idea to recreate the burger, adding avocado obviously (since it would appear we don’t really know how to eat meals that don’t include this fruit). I added bleu cheese to mine for funsies and it was ta-styyy. A bit wider and flatter than the one at Queens Comfort, but all-in-all, I’d say we made our forefathers proud. Happy Birthday, America!

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June 15, 2012 · 1:29 pm

Ginger-Soy Steak & Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Indulging myself in my recent sushi obsession for the umpteenth time, I did something I can only imagine is offensive or at the very least mocked by the Japanese: I ordered extra wasabi. In case you haven’t noticed by now, spicy food and me? We’re married. So you can imagine my delight when the “extra” wasabi I ordered was a laughably large amount. I loaded up each piece of my ever-exotic salmon-avoacado roll with too much wasabi and still I had so much left over. Then, as I eyed two lonely potatoes in my kitchen, I remembered I had once enjoyed wasabi mashed potatoes at a restaurant, and thus this recipe was born:

Cut potatoes in half and boil them for 20 minutes.

Add butter, cream, wasabi, garlic, salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can use whatever kind of potatoes you like, I had both red and yellow here so I made a mixture. I cut them in half, boiled them in salty water for 20 minutes (until fork tender), then mashed-eems up with about 1 tbs of butter, 1/2 cup of half and half, 2 tsp of wasabi, and salt and pepper. I’m told the leftovers make delicious potato pancakes — stay tuned for that.

Marinade the steak in garlic, ginger and soy sauce.

Crank that heat up and onto a DRY pan for 2-3 minutes per side.

For the marinade, I grated the ginger and garlic into a bowl with some soy sauce. I salt and peppered the steaks and then let them sit at room temp in the marinade for 30 minutes. While that was sitting, I got the potatoes together and I didn’t throw the steaks on until the potatoes were already finished boiling. Once the pan is hot, and I mean really quite hot, drop the steaks down onto a dry pan to ensure proper browning. I did two minutes per side and they came out medium rare (although a bit on the rare side), so if you’re more of a medium, do three minutes.

Sauté asparagus in butter for 5 minutes.

All for less than $5 per serving! POP POP

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recommend letting the steaks rest a few minutes before you cut them. This is the perfect amount of time to lower the heat on that pan, throw on a little butter and quickly sauté up some asparagus to complete this steak and potato dish with a little asian flair. Who has two thumbs and really dug this meal? This guy:

Find @jaredmolten on Twitter #thatsmyman

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June 8, 2012 · 12:44 pm

Mustard and Herb Glazed Salmon

Some people like to eat healthy in the summertime because it’s beach season or whatever. I like to make eating healthy a game with cancer. I’m playing my hand, which is strong, so cancer’s going have to work hard to get me. With that said, I live in New York, so there’s no telling the amount of carcinogens that ravage me without me knowing. Because of this, I’m always upping the ante with cancer; my latest re-raise has been adding a serious amount of salmon to my diet. There is a lovely fish market in my neighborhood, so last weekend, we ventured in and purchased some fresh wild salmon. I also bought some yellow potatoes and some red potatoes, some shiitake mushrooms and asparagus for a side dish, which I had to start first for this meal:

Mix potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, thyme and sage. Then into a 450 degree oven.

After 20 minutes, add the mushrooms, then 10 minutes later, add the asparagus and garlic.

I rubbed the salmon with lemon, then topped it with a mixture of: 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp whole grain mustard, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2  tsp thyme, some breadcrumbs and a little parmesan cheese.

You can either take the side dish out or leave it in when you put the salmon in (depends on how well-done you like veggies), but the salmon goes in at the same temperature (450) for about 12-15 minutes. A little tip: just keep an eye on it, a minute or two can make or break the doneness of this delicate fish.

Top salmon with mustard, rosemary, thyme, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese (optional).

It’s silly that I captioned the photo “cheese (optional)” because everything on this blog is “optional.” I view all recipes as merely jumping off points, ripe for adjustments and modifications. I do hope you’ll view these recipes in a similar manner. Remember: Can’t nobody teach you how to do you; you just gotta do you.

Delicious + Healthy = WINNING!

Suck it, cancer.

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June 5, 2012 · 1:07 pm

Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza

Last weekend, after some inspiration from friends of ours that this can indeed be done without a lot of fancy cooking equipment, we decided to make homemade pizza. This was partly inspired by the fact that my herbs are finally grown up enough to eat, so I used them to both make the sauce and to season the dough.

This was the first use of my lovely garden herbs!!

I made the sauce with onions, green peppers, garlic, oregano and basil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I began by making the sauce, which was from a can of tomato sauce and half a can of tomato paste, to which I added onions, garlic, green peppers, oregano and basil. I let it simmer; the longer, the better.

Test the yeast in some warm sugary water.

I then mixed flour, salt, water, olive oil and yeast with some fresh herbs and garlic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the scariest part for me and it turned out to be the simplest. If the yeast doesn’t get foamy in the water within 10 minutes, it’s dead, so try again. The recipe I used called for 2 cups of wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour, a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, along with the water and yeast. I added some fresh herbs and garlic to the dough for extra yumsies.

Then cover it with a towel for 1 1/2 hours.

Roll the dough out on a clean, floured surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After about an hour and a half, the dough should double in size, indicating that it’s ready to be rolled out. You can make the crust as thin or as thick as you like. Me I like it thin, so we rolled it out tenderly and topped it up.

We did half Margherita and half Mediterranean.

We popped this baby into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes and pizza came out the other side!

Homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil from my garden.

Pesto, red onions, white onions, green hot peppers, red bell peppers, olive-marinated chicken and feta cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not one to toot my own horn, but for a couple of first timers making homemade pizza, this was a big victory… TOOT TOOT.

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May 29, 2012 · 4:24 pm

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

If you’ll remember a week or so ago, I bought a rotisserie chicken to make some particularly delicious crunchy tacos. As I mentioned then, I only used half of the chicken for that meal. This is what a did with the other half:

I was in the mood to make a lettuce wrap, something I always thought sounded nice but had never actually made. A few months back my housemate purchased a bottle of buffalo sauce that we used for one meal and haven’t touched since. We were short on time this particular evening, so I decided buffalo chicken would be a fun foray into the challenging world of lettuce wraps. Since I wasn’t making the sauce myself, I decided the homemade part of this meal would be the bleu cheese dressing.

First grate or finely chop garlic, onion, celery and carrot

Mix in greek yogurt, lemon juice and bleu cheese crumbles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added the carrots and the celery to the dip to mirror the flavors typically served with buffalo wings. I used yogurt here for the dressing because I saw this as a healthier version of the traditional wings and bleu cheese. Once the sauce was finished, I shredded the chicken and warmed it through on the stove with the buffalo sauce.

I heated the rotisserie chicken with the buffalo sauce

I know many people use iceberg lettuce for lettuce wraps, but I hate iceberg lettuce so I used romaine and it worked just fine. As a final flourish, I shredded some carrots and celery for either a side salad or wrap topping, it’s up to you! These made for a pretty meal that was healthy, tasty and took less than 20 minutes to prepare. POP POP.

Served with a salad of shredded carrots and celery

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May 18, 2012 · 12:33 pm

Margarita Thursday!

To honor my mother’s birthday, May 17th, I knew only one thing: our evening meal had to go well with margaritas. Whenever I was home, especially in the last few years, my mother and I would celebrate the most mundane of days by putting the word “Margarita” in front of them. If Monday was particularly boring, we’d turn it into “Margarita Monday,” you see the distinction?

And thanks to my new boyfriend, Pinterest, I found the perfect dinner for this, what we’ll deem “Margarita Thursday”: crunchy tacos made with corn tortillas. I decided to serve this with the regular guacamole as well as a spicy mango salsa I found (also on Pinterest).

I marinated the chicken in spicy chipotle salsa for one hour.

Filled with chicken, black beans, avocado and cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a rotisserie chicken, I know it’s sort of cheating, but Rachel Ray does it so ppbblllttt… I used half of it here for this dish (stay tuned for what happens with the other half). I added a spicy chipotle along with some adobo sauce and some salsa to the chicken.

To cook the tacos, I filled the skillet with olive oil, and carefully assembled them in this order: chicken, black beans, avocado slices, then cheese (easy to make veggie, just leave out the chicken!) Then I carefully pressed them with a spatula so they keep their shape. They cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crunchy.

The two dips start the same: garlic, onion, cilantro, jalapeño

Avocado and tomatoes go in one, mango in the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since these two dips start the same, save yourself some time and chop the garlic, onions, cilantro and jalapeños only once. Then you add mango to one and avocados and tomatoes to the other. The mango salsa gets the juice of one lime and the guacamole gets the juice of one lemon and voila! Two different, yet equally delicious dips for your tacos.

Damn those look gooood!

Margaritas made from scratch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a slight variation of your classic margarita:  I mixed 1 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar to which I added the juice of 8 limes and 1 lemon. I skipped the orange liqueur because I didn’t have any, nor did I have the will to purchase any. Instead, I added the juice of one orange, silver tequila, ice and guess what? They were delicious. POP POP.

Cheers to you, Jeanie! This one’s for you.

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May 16, 2012 · 11:36 am

Lentil Soup a la Loren Lieberman

I apologize for my absence; I’ve been in Texas where I ate all sorts of wonderful food (blog to come) but for today I am going to share a wonderful recipe I was given by the lovely Loren Lieberman, beautiful mother of my dear friend Arielle.

During a happy hour date with Arielle, I expressed my desire to make my own soups, to which she replied that her mother made an excellent lentil soup. I was intrigued. You see, I have recently developed an affinity for lentil soup, which I had been buying in cans from the supermarket. Then a few weeks ago, to my horror, I discovered I had been paying $4.50 per can of soup! Never again!

I was ecstatic to try this soup made with lentils, carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, and a jalapeño.

Add everything to the pot, add parsley, bay leaf, salt, pepper

The recipe calls for any kind of stock, so I used veggie both because that’s what I had in the fridge and to introduce a few more vegetarian meals into my diet. The ratio of liquid to lentils is supposed to be 5:1. If you are in possession of a large pot, this is no problem for you. I only have two small pots, so I ended up adding too many lentils, making this soup a little thicker than intended, but it was still delicious!

I let the liquid come to a boil, then added the lentils while I chopped the other veggies. I then added everything and lowered the heat to a simmer, covered and let sit for one hour.

After an hour, I separated this into two pots, added a little more liquid and it turned out beautifully!

The biggest challenge with this soup was that I needed to freeze a portion of it because I was going out of town and I can’t count on my housemate to eat leftovers. I wasn’t sure how it would freeze, but I am currently enjoying a bowl of the de-frosted soup and it’s just as tasty! I believe I got about 8 portions out of this recipe and the total cost was less than $10. POP POP.

 

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May 2, 2012 · 12:53 pm

Gnocchi with Lamb Bolognese

I was feeling rather bored with all the typical dinner choices this week. Everything seemed meh until my man suggested something he loves that I’ve never really given a chance: gnocchi. I consented, albeit rather hesitantly.

Then, as we were walking through the super-est of the markets in our neighborhood, we happened up some ground lamb. YES! Something new. I was elated.

I made the tomato sauce with garlic, onions, basil, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper

I cooked the lamb with garlic and onions. Drain the fat before adding it to the sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never having cooked lamb before, I wasn’t exactly sure how to do it. But it looked like beef so I just did it like beef and guess what? It worked. I kept it a little pink in the pan because I knew it would cook more in the sauce.

Let the sauce and the meat simmer together for 20-30 minutes.

I added the gnocchi just at the very end and then a little romano cheese on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This being my first time really eating gnocchi, I didn’t think it best to try my hand at making it, so we bought a package and dropped it in some salty boiling water until it floated to the top, which I’m told indicates it’s finished. It was tasty and potatoey– a very decadent dish.

Served with salad and a nice Chianti... yes I considered fava beans... no my man did not get the joke... did you?

This salad was actually rather intense, it had your basic lettuce, tomato, carrot, onion, cucumber, but I also had some left over avocado, asparagus and feta in the fridge. WINNING.

It was a tasty supper and something we’ll definitely be doing again 🙂

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April 27, 2012 · 11:18 am

Mushroom and Feta Stuffed Chicken

Last week, a discussion was had in my home regarding the lack of vegetarian dinners had by us. I suggested we do a mushroom-based dish, which is a big concession for me because I don’t particularly care for mushrooms, but I thought it might be a nice change. Somehow, after vast discussion, we decided on mushroom-stuffed chicken. Yes, I realize that’s not vegetarian. No, I’m not sorry. Why? Because it was delicious. And it was insanely cheap. We bought one portabella mushroom ($1), a small hunk of feta ($1), thinly sliced chicken cutlets ($3), one potato ($.50). We already had the olives and the asparagus.

Chicken brushed with olive tapenade, filled with feta cheese and mushrooms.

First, I sautéed the mushrooms with garlic, ginger and olive oil. Then after brushing the chicken with the olives and throwing a hunk of feta down, I scooped in as much of the garlic-ginger-mushroom mixture as I could.

Wrap them up carefully, pin with toothpick, roll in breadcrumbs and douse with butter!

I’m sure this would taste fine non-breadcrumbed and buttered, but I’ll never know for sure cause it’s too delicious like this 🙂

It goes into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, giving me just enough time to get the side dish together!

Potato and Asparagus Hash

We were originally going to have just grilled asparagus, but having once enjoyed a potato and asparagus hash at a restaurant, I thought, “I bet I can do that! It’s just cutting up everything into small pieces.” And I was right. I threw in the potatoes first, let them brown, then threw the garlic in, let it crisp a little, then only did the asparagus for the last five minutes so it stayed nice and crunchy.

I put food on top of other food because it makes me feel fancy.

This was a very pretty dinner we had that was packed, and I mean PACKED, with flavor. It was crispy and gooey and crunchy and yummy. AND it cost less than $3 per serving. I dare say… POP POP.

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April 19, 2012 · 10:13 am

Spring Time = Healthy Eating

So it’s springtime and for many people, some residing in my home with me, it’s a time for eating healthier and yes.. gym going. This post will not deal with the gym going, whether it’s a 6am or not, but instead with my newest task: healthy food that doesn’t taste like it’s healthy. Challenge accepted.

When all your meal consists of is veggies, chicken and pasta and everything has to be lightly grilled, creativity must take over. First you need a variety of vegetables, pick different colors.

1 red pepper, 1 zucchini squash, 1/2 purple onion, 3 cloves of garlic

This is whole wheat pasta. Rice noodles are also really good with this dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First I grilled the more sturdy vegetables in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes while the pasta water boiled. Then once the pasta goes in, scoot the veggies to the side and add the chicken to the skillet.

I marinated this chicken in sriracha cause we're a spicy household.

Then I added broccoli and a chili pepper, soy sauce and a spicy thai peanut sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you prefer to use two pans, do that, but eventually you’ll need to throw everything together into one. Once the chicken is finished, throw in the broccoli and the chili peppers. I wait until the end to add these because broccoli is a delicate veggie that will be trashed if you put it in at the beginning and I like the chilies to retain their spice, which overcooking can prevent. Then I toss it with some soy sauce, low sodium (much to my chagrin), and this yummy spicy thai peanut sauce, but all that’s up to you!

This dish is easily made vegetarian, just leave out the chicken!

Here’s the finished product. To be honest, I prefer it with the rice noodles, but whole wheat isn’t bad and it’s definitely healthier if that’s your game. This is an easy, extremely versatile recipe that is healthy and packs a big punch of flavor. What sort of stir fry do you enjoy?

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