Quick and Easy (Sunday) Dinner

One of the things I have asked all my children to do upon moving out is to commit to returning every Sunday for dinner. We have always had a traditional sit-down dinner on Sundays, giving us a chance to catch-up, be civil, and practice our social graces. I did not want to see that end just because they moved out. And since they are all within 15 minutes away, it isn’t such a burden. We do a lot of traditional foods like leg of lamb, roast beef, roast chicken, and in the summer, big barbecues with potato salad, etc. They aren’t big on me changing the rules and making them guinea pigs on this one day a week. But I did it anyway. I tried to hedge my bets by not really telling them all the ingredients. I thought I would hear groans and see something pushed to the side of the plate, but I was more than pleasantly surprised to see everyone eat their meal in its entirety, so I consider this recipe a success.

What I like most about this recipe is that it requires little prep and cooks very quickly, meaning it can be prepared any night of the week. It is also very different, looks tasty, and is low in fat and calories. One of the things most people hate about low-fat foods is the lack of taste. I maintain that with the right herbs or spices, you can make most anything taste great and this recipe proves it. I cut it out of last July’s Gourmet magazine and it only took me a year to try it, and I am very sorry I didn’t do so sooner. Don’t be put off by the combination of ingredients, it really is wonderful. The Brady Bunch (plus 2) heartily endorse it.

Turkey Cutlets with Cilantro Almond Sauce
Serves 4 (I tripled the recipe without a problem)

3 T red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ t red pepper flakes
¾ t salt
¼ c olive oil
½ c sliced almonds (calls for toasted, but I didn’t bother!)
1/3 c cilantro, chopped
½ t ground coriander
¼ t cinnamon
4 turkey breast cutlets, about 1/3-inch think (about 1¼ lb total)

Whisk together ground coriander and cinnamon, 1 T olive oil and ½ t salt. Brush both sides of turkey cutlets and set aside to marinate.

Whisk together vinegar, garlic, red pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt, until salt is dissolved. Add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Then whisk in almonds and cilantro. Set aside.

Grill turkey cutlets, turning once, until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes total. Do not overcook. Plate turkey with spoonful of almond/cilantro sauce.

I served this with rice and grilled vegetables. Simple, but delicious meal.


Note: I used turkey tenderloins, cut them in half and pounded them down

Changes Afoot

I was horrified to see that I had not posted in almost two months. Shame on me! But then I looked at the last billing period for my paying job and saw how much I had been doing and realized one of the reasons for being such a slacker in this arena. The other reason is that our eating habits have changed a bit due to the season and a change in household. The big change is that we have become empty nesters. Our youngest son moved out in June and it was painful. Painful to see the last one go, painful to be amidst so much quiet in our household, and painful to have to adjust the way I cook. Even when there were only 3 of us in the house there were, more often than not, my son’s friends here to partake in the evening meal. I cooked for 6-8 every night and we had leftovers if it didn’t all get eaten. Now it is just two of us, and given our expanding waistlines, we are eating differently. And then there is the summer farmer’s markets we frequent, where what is fresh dictates what I cook. We have been winging it a lot. But this week I made a concerted effort to go through a whole clipping file and find some new recipes to try. So that is what you’ll be getting, as well as repeated apologies for the long absence……

Gringa Carnitas

Last weekend we had “make your own taco” night. I made black beans, rice, and 3 kinds of meat: grilled skirt steak, grilled chicken, and carnitas. I had never made carnitas before, but it is my favorite type of taco filling. I always order it at Rositas (Woodside Road, Redwood City) and figured I needed a challenge. Well, the challenge wasn’t in making the dish, but in finding a recipe for it. Brilliant Daughter surfed my cookbooks with no luck. So she went online and surfed websites. We came up with nothing remotely Mexican in origin. Or at least what I thought was like the carnitas I love. Short of calling Mr. Mendoza, who owns Rositas, we decided to punt and make what I call the “gringa carnitas.” It was a recipe she found online, which approximates the texture and flavor of carnitas, but does so without cooking it in extra lard or whatnot. As strange as the recipe sounded, we gave it a go and were very pleasantly surprised. It was delicious and not at all difficult. Simple ingredients, very little prep, long cooking time but very little steps. Definitely worth keeping in my stable of recipes, so I thought I would share. Meanwhile, I will keep my eyes open for a more authentic recipe…or maybe one of you can share one with me?



Gringa Carnitas

4 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs**
2 cups (or more) water
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice (prepared works as well)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup brandy

Cut pork pieces crosswise into thirds. Cut off any big chunks of fat from pork and reserve; leave small pieces of fat attached to pork. Combine pork, reserved fat, 2 cups water, and next 4 ingredients in deep 12-inch pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 45 minutes, adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if necessary to keep pork partially submerged.

Uncover; boil pork mixture until liquid is reduced by half, about 10-20 minutes. Stir in brandy; boil until liquid evaporates and meat browns and begins to get crisp, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cool meat slightly. Discard any loose pieces of fat. Tear meat into strips; return to skillet. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

You can reheat the meat in one of two ways:

(1) Add 2 tablespoons water to skillet. Cover and rewarm pork over medium-low heat, stirring, about 5 minutes.
(2) Put in ovenproof dish, cover with lid or foil and heat on 350 degrees in oven for 30 minutes. Uncover for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the meat.

**I had a blade pork roast, so Butcher Son came over and boned it out and cut it into large chunks.

Be a Part of a Culinary Challenge

Tasty Travels Runs: Third Annual Recipezaar Invites Everyday Cooks to Join Free Online Cooking Competition Exploring Cuisines of the World

Everyday cooks everywhere are invited to participate in Recipezaar’s Zaar World Tour – a free team-based competition that virtually explores recipes and culinary insights around the globe, all from the comfort of a kitchen at home. Designed as a fun way to meet other online cooks and try new culinary creations, the six-week tour kicks off May 24 and goes through July 9, with the winning team to receive $1000 toward a charity of its choice. Sign-ups begin today and a video sneak peak is available now at Recipezaar.com/sitenews.

This marks the third year for the Zaar World Tour, which was invented and organized by Recipezaar’s online community itself. A robust resource boasting more than 200,000 recipes, Recipezaar is based completely on user-submitted recipes, and has a community of millions of cooks who frequently interact similar to other social networking sites. From culinary contests, to cook-a-thons honoring other members, recipes exchanges, and special cooking community days, Recipezaar is a unique online cooking destinations where the community is at the heart of the site.

"Recipezaar has a huge community of cooks, and we are always amazed by the ways they invent to interact, learn from each other, explore the site, and try new cooking styles and techniques," said Recipezaar Community Director Kathy DesRosiers. "Community-driven content and activities are a growing Internet trend, as people are looking for new ways to use technology to better connect, share their knowledge, and celebrate common interests. Everyday cooks on Recipezaar are fully embracing this, and we’ve built up a strong sense of community where people can have fun sharing their cooking adventures with each other."

The Zaar World Tour works as follows:
. Participants sign up by visiting Recipezaar.com/sitenews for further instructions.
. Each participant is assigned to a team of roughly 10 people, as created by the tour moderators.
. Tour moderators guide the quest by announcing which regions will be visited – Australia to Britain/Ireland and North Africa to Scandanavia and beyond – then posting cooking challenges through the tour message board.
. When new regions and challenges are announced, participants work with their team to post recipes and cook various dishes from the local cuisine in order to earn points.
. The team with the most points at the end of the tour wins, and collects $1000 for their favorite charity.

Tour moderators anticipate hundreds of cooks will again join the tour this year. For a sneak preview, the 2006 tour cookbook is available online (Zaar World Tour II Cookbook), and includes 140 of the "best of the best" recipes used in the tour, as rated by the community. Visit http://www.recipezaar.com to learn more.

Salsaliscious

Back when our children were as small as our budget, we always had a big garden, which was supplemented by my godparent’s garden, my father’s trip to Lake County, and the occasional foray to the growers in Half Moon Bay. Spring, summer, and fall we had fresh lettuce, veggies, and fruit at next to no cost. I canned jam, put up pears, the kids ate homemade pizza topped with a variety of vegetables, and I made my own salsa. I would make big batches, keeping some on hand for use and for friends in the fridge, canning the rest. I have a distinctive memory of one particular canning day in the kitchen of our first house, probably eighteen years ago: Our friends Paula and Keith were over. We had onions, garlic and peppers from my godfather and had gone to the farmers market and bought a lug of tomatoes. We were chopping, chopping, chopping and decided to reward ourselves with a margarita while we worked. By the time all was chopped (by hand in those days), we were into our second margarita. We put the canning kettle on, prepped the jars and got ready for the production line. Something went wrong along the way and I got a nasty burn. I persevered, finishing the canning, helped along by another margarita to dull the pain. We finished up and had a bounty of beautiful salsa, and several hours later began to regret those margaritas! Lesson learned here: do not mix alcohol with hot liquids!

The last few years my garden has been small or nonexistent. With all the soccer-related travel for our son, the work commitments, etc., we just hadn’t the time. So canning and salsa-making took a backseat. But this year I have put in a garden, with corn, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, lots of herbs, and mint. We have also been making a few forays over to Half Moon Bay to the growers. And we began the canning and salsafying. Last Thursday I made the Sam (soupy/saucy/jam) and on Saturday I made Jam. Also on Saturday, Brilliant Daughter came over and made a huge batch of her delicious salsa. Far from being the labor-intensive fresh salsa of my past, she makes a roasted salsa, which basically consists of roasting and pureeing. Really, just two steps. Very easy, very tasty. And while local tomatoes are not really at their peak right now, you can hunt around and find some good ones at your local greengrocer, farmers market or fruit stand.

This salsa goes quickly, so we don’t bother to can it. Far superior to any canned salsa you can buy, it is worth the small amount of time it takes to whip it up. So next time you fire up the barbie, throw on the veggies and after dinner you can whirl them up in a food processor and, Voila!, you have salsa for the week.

10 medium tomatoes
10 jalapenos
1 1/2 red onions, peeled
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons white vinegar
3 teaspoons salt (to taste)

Heat your barbecue to medium-high. Peel paper off of whole onion (trim stem if necessary) and rub all vegetables with olive oil. Once grill is heated, put veggies on the grill, turning as they get charred. Once soft and mainly charred (with tomato skins starting to fall off), remove from grill. Let veggies cool until you are able to handle them.

Peel tomatoes, then break apart and put into a food processor. Puree on high until no chunks remain. Pour into storage bowl. Stem and de-seed the jalapenos, chop the onion (both the roasted and raw), and add these to the food processor. Add in the garlic, cilantro, and vinegar and puree on high until mixture is smooth. Add the pepper mixture to the tomatoes and stir well. Add salt to taste (keep in mind that tortilla chips may be heavily salted) Cover and chill for several hours or overnight.

Note: Jalapenos vary in their heat – so you may need to adjust the number based on this factor. When roasting, the peppers should have a paper quality to them, but still slightly soft.

Beehive Behavior

The kitchen is a beehive of activity this weekend, with almost everyone getting in on the action. My busy bees include Brilliant Daughter who slaved over a hot barbecue, roasting tomatoes, jalapenos and onions for her homemade salsa. While she was out there, she threw on a couple of our homemade chaurice sausage for us to nosh on as we worked. Busy Bee #2, Butcher Son, came over to cut up the pork shoulder roast so that I could make carnitas for our Sunday dinner (build-your-own-taco night). And I would be Busy Bee #3, spending Saturday making the black beans for dinner, simmering the carnitas, and putting to good use the lugs of strawberries I bought over in Half Moon Bay. In the last few days we have enjoyed roasted strawberries with mint chantilly cream, roasted strawberries with dark chocolate (both of which only took 15 minutes, start to finish), and one batch each of sam and jam. Sam, you ask? Well, the first batch of strawberry jam turned out a bit soupy, more like sauce, so husband named it Sam.

Today I will cook some chicken for taco night, make some Mexican rice and guacamole, and grill some skirt steak. Am I feeding an army? Well, one never knows around here. We could have 5 or 15 people for dinner, which is the fun of it. Five means we have leftovers to eat all week long, fifteen means we have a great time and fill a lot of bellies. And that leftover liquor from last weekend’s Jen and John party…it will be put to good use today I am sure.

The strawberry results are below: Sam on the left, Jam on the right.