Salsa, salsa, salsa

Back in my college days we used to crowd around a tv in the common room of our dorm to enjoy weekly episodes of Seinfeld.

Yes, this was long ago. Before the time of a tv in every room. Before the time of On Demand, Netflix and streaming. We are talking the early days of email and listserves. We thought our phone was "smart" if it had caller id. But, I digress....

The point here is that those Thursday evenings in the common room were a sacred, social event. Watching shows such as Seinfeld as a group, we developed our own language -- much as today's college students' language is influenced by texting and tweeting, ours was colored by "Seinfeld-isms." No soup for you! It's really quite refreshing. Vandelay Industries. The list goes on, but one of my favorites is "salsa, salsa, salsa." Saying this one little phrase just makes my mouth happy. So does one bite of this roasted tomato and black bean salsa.

Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
This is a forgiving recipe.  Love bell peppers? Chop one up and throw it in there! Don't like beans? Leave them out. Want a little extra heat? Add a splash or two or two of hot sauce (I have at least three different types in my fridge at all times) or more diced jalapeño. If you are in the mood for sweet crunch, add some corn. I'm looking forward to the summer, when we can roast up an ear of fresh corn on the grill and add that into the mix.

1 can diced, fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 or 4 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 jalepeno, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime
1 tsp. ground cumin
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

If you don't want soupy salsa, take the time to pour your canned tomatoes into a mesh sieve to drain excess liquid. Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Summer Dining Continued: Mrs. Young's Shishkabob

Keeping with the same theme of "sometimes simpler is better," this weekend we enjoyed one of our favorite summer dinners: shishkabob. This feast requires a commitment to prep work, but the ingredients are simple and most of the effort is needed the day before your barbeque, freeing up your day-of-event for cooking other dishes, or cleaning, or relaxing.

The Young's have been family friends for ages and Linda traditionally served this dish every Independence Day. She developed the marinade while living in Greece and was kind enough to share the recipe with me several years back. It's another instance where it seems like there should be more involved, because the result is guaranteed to please. The beef kabobs are served with grilled veggies, pita bread and tzatziki sauce. We also usually cook up a bowl of rice pilaf as a side dish.

Since we were entertaining family from out of state that we haven't seen in nearly two years, I wanted to really make this afternoon's meal special. So, I decided to try some shrimp in the same marinade, in addition to the traditional beef. I started marinating the shrimp about three hours before grilling (rather than the 24 hours that I give the beef). The result was outstanding. I will definitely include shrimp again in the future as I am undecided as to which I like better -- the beef or shrimp.

Marinade (for 2 lbs. of beef, cubed)
1 T. minced onion (I find that grating the onion provides great onion flavor throughout the marinade without a bunch of little chunks of onion)
2 T. olive oil

Splash red wine vinegar (see note below)
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (see note below)
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Note: through the years I’ve strayed from the original and added a splash of red wine vinegar and juice of half a lemon. Both of these allow for a shorter marinade time, if needed, and add good flavor. 

For best results, marinade beef for 24 hours. And, if using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them 30 minutes before use.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cucumber (chopped and seeded)
1/2 onion, minced (again, I grated the onion and only needed 1/4 onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. sour cream or plain, greek yogurt

Combine ingredients and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving to allow flavors to marry. I sometimes add a little fresh parsley since I have it on hand for the marinade.

A Summer Staple: Potato Salad

Why is it that we always like our mom's potato salad the best? More so than any other dish that I can think of, there seems to be a consensus that for this summer staple, mom's version is the one to which all others are measured.

I have not done any scientific research on this, of course, but every summer I seem to hear the refrain, "this is almost as good as my mom's." How often do you hear that said about baked beans? Maybe because most moms pop open a can for that!

I think the magic is in the dressing. Any dish that requires "from scratch" dressing seems to take on a special quality from the chef. (Even if that dressing is simply a combination of Hellmann's mayo and Catalina salad dressing.)

I once asked my mom to share her recipe for potato salad and this is what I got...

boil potatoes, peel, chop
4-5 hard boiled eggs
green onions (2 bunches)
celery seed (1 1/2 tsp.)

dressing: Hellmann's mayo mixed with Catalina. (approx. 1/2 c. mayo and 1/4 c. red dressing)

My response: that's it? There is no special, magic ingredient? No. Sometimes simpler is better.

Welcoming Spring -- Time to Fire up that Grill

Now that we are enjoying a little more sunlight in the evenings, my thoughts turn to grilling. Yes, I have been known to grill chicken or a steak during the cold winter months. But, as we approach the first day of Spring, Mother Nature starts whispering in my ear, "Get out there and grill, girl!"

Everyone has their old standbys. Mine include chicken breasts marinaded in Italian dressing or a yummy sesame teriyaki sauce; burgers and dogs; shishkabob; corn on the cob; and London broil. Traditionally, I take the easy route with London broil and marinade the meat in Italian dressing. I always have a bottle on hand and it tastes good, but doesn't really knock your socks off.

This week, I did a little research on London broil. My goals were simple: use ingredients I have on hand and create a memorable feast for our inaugural Spring grilling. One of the first recipes I stumbled upon was by Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network site. It received great reviews and used items found in my pantry (a big bonus).

Ok, so I didn't have all of the ingredients, but found enough to create a delicious marinade using his recipe as a starting point. I call my version "Pantry Raid Marinade" and am pretty sure it would work well with some ingredients missing or replaced. Maybe next time I'll try adding some fresh citrus, chili pepper and ginger in replace of the mustard and cajun seasonings.

Note: Some people might find the vinegar taste to be a little overpowering. I like vinegar and felt it was balanced by the other ingredients, but my husband is not a fan of vinegar so next time I'll try just 2 Tbs. of wine vinegar.

Pantry Raid Marinade
1/4 c. (or 2 Tbs., depending on taste) white wine vinegar (or red wine, or balsalmic)
1/4 c. red wine
2 T. olive oil
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. worcestershire sauce
2 T. brown spicy mustard
2 tsp. cajun seasoning
1 tsp. each fresh ground salt and pepper
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced

Whisk ingredients together. Marinade meat for several hours, or over night. Preheat grill or broiler. Remove meat from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Grill or broil meat about 6 to 8 minutes per side (depending on desired rareness). Let stand at least 5 minutes before cutting thin slices (against the grain).

If desired, place reserved marinade into sauce pan and reduce to create a sauce. (Before doing this, I browned some pearl onions I had hanging around in a little butter and olive oil. Then I added the marinade liquid and simmered for about 15 minutes.)

A Challenge: "Julia's Boeuf Bourguinon"

During the holidays, I often find myself longing to spend some quality time in the kitchen.With all the hustle and bustle, it is nice to slow down a little and prepare a special something for my family to enjoy. This year, in addition to the usual cookies and Christmas morning brunch, I experimented with a new appetizer, improved upon my French Onion Soup and took on the challenge of "Julia's Boeuf Bourguinon."

Surprisingly, up until last week I had never seen the movie Julie & Julia, nor read the book or the blog. I remember hearing about the blog several years back (before my blog reading days) and thinking, "Wow, she's crazy!" The movie was quite charming, the cast was excellent and the food looked good enough to eat off the screen. As the credits rolled, my husband and I looked at each other with the same hungry look...we had to try that Boeuf Bourguinon. 

The next morning I pulled out my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and started studying. It turns out, to make "Julia's Boeuf Bourguinon," you must also master two additional French cooking techniques: mushrooms sauteed in butter and brown-braised onions. Both processes call for a healthy (or, unhealthy?) amount of butter and result in pure yumminess (not a word, I realize, but if you ever tried it, you'd agree.)

Now, this is not a recipe you just whip up on a whim. Start to finish, I spent 5-plus hours in the kitchen that Sunday afternoon. Most of that time I was actively cooking. The meat takes 3 or 4 hours to cook in the oven. Having completed the dish once, I probably could complete the prep-work a little faster -- allowing for some time away from the stove.

As this dish gains much of it's flavor from the red wine used in preparation, I decided to go to the experts at Moore Brothers and let their knowledgeable staff steer me in the right direction. What a good decision! I bought two bottles from the same vineyard, one to cook with and the other a little higher quality for drinking. I wish I had thought to write down the name of the vineyard, but Moore Brothers keeps track of what you buy, so I should be able to figure it out and post back with that information.

The other ingredients were fairly easy to come by. My local grocery does not carry Rump Pot Roast, Julia's first choice, so I went with her second choice: Chuck Pot Roast. In addition, I needed: carrot, onion, beef stock, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, bacon, and the previously mentioned mushrooms and pearl onions. The recipe calls for a 6-oz chunk of bacon, which I could not find, so I improvised by making lardons out of regular, sliced bacon. The main difference was that I did not have a bacon rind to throw in with the cooking meat. 

So, was it worth it? For me, yes. I had a great afternoon in the kitchen with limited distractions from the kids. (Thank you Mark!) And the end result was delicious. The gravy was amazing and the meat was falling-apart tender. Am I going to make "Julia's Boeuf Bourguinon," again? Not any time soon. Next time I have a free afternoon for cooking, I think I'll try a new recipe. Part of the fun for me is experimenting with different cooking techniques and flavors. Of course, as I write this, all I can think about is that luscious gravy and how sad I am that there are no more leftovers...

Mark's Sticky Buns

Mark has been making these sticky buns since he was a kid -- once making them at school for a class project. It's the type of simple recipe that turns an ordinary morning into something special. They don't take a whole lot of prep work, so no need to save this treat for special occasions. Any occasion will do -- today we celebrated the short work/school week.

Just make sure you plan a bit in advance. These need to rise in the fridge over night.

Mark's Sticky Buns
10-12 frozen dough balls
1 package vanilla pudding mix (not instant!)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted

Arrange dough balls (still frozen) in a greased bundt pan. Mix together in a small bowl pudding mix, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over dough balls and pour melted butter on top. Cover and let dough rise in the refrigerator over night. Take the pan out of the fridge in the morning and let rest on the counter while preheating the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Cocktail Party Food

Last night we had a great time visiting with old friends and getting to know some new ones. It's nice to feel connected to our neighbors and the parents of our kids' classmates.

Jessica put out quite a spread of delicious food and drinks and many of the guests brought tasty treats. I contributed two appetizers: pepperoni bread and crab empanadas.The pepperoni bread is quite easy to make (especially if you use frozen pizza dough). The empanadas take a little more work, but I found a few shortcuts that made a big difference in preparation time without sacrificing taste or presentation. The biggest shortcut is using frozen puff pastry, rather than making the traditional empanada dough (a combination of flour, salt, butter and water). My other trick is to doctor up jarred salsa in place of a from-scratch mango relish.

Pepperoni Bread
1 package frozen pizza dough, defrosted and risen
1/4 lb. sliced pepperoni
1/4 lb. sliced mozzerella (you can use shredded cheese)
1/4 lb. sliced provolone
2 Tbs. grated pecorino romano
egg wash

Roll out the dough to form a rectangle. Spread half of the pepperoni and cheeses over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Lightly wet the edges and roll up the bread into a loaf shape, folding under the ends to help seal in the cheese. Repeat with second dough. Place onto baking sheet, brush with egg wash and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, repeating the egg wash after 15 or 20 minutes.

(forgive me, the poor quality of this photo is because it's from my phone)


Crab Empanadas with Mango Salsa
2 packages frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1 lb. picked lump crab meat
8 oz. goat cheese
big handful chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp. thyme
a few splashes of Tabasco (I used the garlic flavored version)
salt and pepper to taste
Mango Salsa*

Heat olive oil and saute onion and jalepeno over medium heat for about 5 minutes to soften, adding garlic in last minute. Set aside. In mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients (except salsa) with the onion and pepper mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Working with one sheet at a time, roll out puff pastry, sealing any tears with water. Using 3-inch cookie cutter, cut circles. (I was able to get 9 circles from each sheet of pastry). Fill each circle with approximately 1 Tbs. of filling. Moisten edge and fold over pastry to form a half-circle, pressing together edges to seal. Place on baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for about 20 minutes, until starting to brown.

Serve with mango salsa.

* I purchased a mango-habanero salsa that was quite spicy. To sweeten it up a little, and play up the tropical flavors of this dish, I added some diced mango.

Note: This makes more filling than needed, even for 4 sheets of puff pastry. For a tasty treat, try tossing the remaining crab mixture with pasta.