image from www.istockphoto.com

While I’m away on my imaginary vacation, I’m leaving the pantry stocked with posts from Exit 51 that would have been part of the Flashback Friday series. The following originally appeared on 7/8/09 at Exit 51.

Alton Brown’s Ginger Glazed Carrots

image from www.istockphoto.com

While I’m away on my imaginary vacation, I’m leaving the pantry stocked with posts from Exit 51 that would have been part of the Flashback Friday series. The following originally appeared on 7/15/09 at Exit 51.

Intersection

Here at Exit 51, like in life, it’s funny how sometimes totally unrelated things intersect.  One day I’m going on and on about pickled this and pickled that.  The next I’m gushing over my glorious mandoline.  And today, I shall bring the two together.

Because nothing makes a more perfect combo than thinly sliced cucumbers and onions bathed in a pickley brine.  Yeah, chocolate and peanut butter are two great tastes that taste great together and I do love me some salty sweet watermelon with feta.  But none of them are especially suited for the mandoline.

Cucumber salad was a summer staple in our house.  It was served in small china saucers with most every dinner as soon as local cukes started hitting store shelves. Every week my grandmother broke out her box grater, the vinegar cruet, and sugar.  Onions and cucumbers got sliced, seasoned with pepper, and dressed with sugar and vinegar.  Her method was a hybrid of  measured tablespoons and what looked right.  When it finally occurred to me to ask her for the recipe, her instructions were pretty vague, something along the lines of slice your cucumbers and onions and add sugar and vinegar until it tastes right.  Pretty straightforward and flexible yes, but also pretty vexing too.

Vexing because I did not learn to cook by memory or feel, the way countless women did without  structured recipes.  That trick is one I have yet to master.  You know how a novice piano player stumbles and stutters his way through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while a prodigy can play a complicated sonata after only hearing it once or twice?  If the kitchen was a piano, I’d still tend to be the struggling novice that focuses intently on the notes on the page or the position of my hands on the keys, not being able to see them both at the same time.  I think that’s why, despite SFC’s best efforts to teach me how to gracefully waltz like Arthur Murray, I remain stuck staring at my feet the whole time.  I need to see where I am and where I go next.

Even when I’m making a dish that I almost know by heart, I have to have that recipe in front of me.  Just in case.  When it’s a new recipe, I read it and re-read it before I begin.  And then I’ll still stop along the way just to make sure that I haven’t taken a wrong turn or missed a step.  What I really need is to just get out of my own head long enough to let some sort of collective memory take over.  This, then that.  One, two, three; one, two, three; one, two, three.  I think this intersection is as good a place as any to start.

Since fans of cucumber salad seem to be pretty strictly divided into two distinct camps – creamy vs. vinegar – I have a recipe that should appeal to you no matter what side of the line you’re on.

MamMom’s Sweet and Sour Cucumbers

This salad, with its crisp rounds of fresh cucumber and raw onion slices, will forever taste like summer to me.  Make it as sweet or tart as you like.  The ground black pepper brings a nice bit of heat to an otherwise cool dish.  Refrigerated, these will keep for a week.  But why would you do something like that?

• 2 cucumbers, peeled or unpeeled, sliced into rounds
• 1 medium or large onion, sliced thin
• 5 heaping tablespoons sugar
• 7 tablespoons white vinegar

Slice cucumbers.  Add a big pinch of salt and sliced onion, set aside.

In a jar, mix sugar and vinegar.  Add more of one or both to get desired taste.  Add pepper to taste.  Squeeze liquid from cucumber and onion mixture and add to jar with sugar and vinegar.  Keep refrigerated.

{printable recipe}

Mr. Frank’s Creamy Cucumber Salad

Mr. Frank is my friend Jamie’s dad.  I’ve known them for as long as I can remember.  After tasting his creamy cucumber salad a few years ago, I asked for the recipe.  Again, this is one of those recipes that depends less on actual quantities than on personal taste.

• 3 to 4 thinly sliced cucumbers
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• Mayo
• White vinegar

Start with a spoonful of mayo and add a little vinegar until the mayo emulsifies.  Add additional mayo and/or vinegar until you have enough loose dressing for your cucumbers.  Season to taste with a pinch of salt and pepper.

{printable recipe}

The following originally appeared on 5/30/08 at Exit 51.

Good Karma Risotto

Ok, so maybe this risotto recipe won’t bring you good karma, but I think sharing it with you can’t be bad for mine. Besides, every time I have served it, it’s been a big hit. Huge.

The final dish is creamy with a tender grain and comes without the aggravation of having to stand over a steaming pot stirring and stirring. Cooking doesn’t have to be hard work you know?

I’ve even made it without the dried mushrooms for those adverse to the ’shroom and it does not disappoint. If you do opt to do this, be sure to add one additional cup of liquid in lieu of the mushroom water.

The recipe I modified this from had a combination of chicken broth and white wine. I found it easier and just as good to use all chicken broth. But feel free to experiment with the combinations you like best.

And if my guests are any indication, there will not be leftovers. So maybe you’ll wanna sneak a little aside for later or even make a double batch.

Mushroom Risotto

Adapted from Dave Lieberman – Food Network

• 1-ounce dried mushrooms
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1 ½ cup chicken stock, heated (DL’s recipe called for 1 cup stock and ½ cup white wine)
• Few pinches salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Place mushrooms in a bowl and pour boiling water over them; cover and let sit 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sweat until they start to turn translucent in color, just a couple minutes.

Add rice and stir around until all the grains are covered with oil. To the rice, add the stock and wine.

Remove the mushrooms from their liquid, reserving the liquid, and chop them roughly (instead of this, I broke the dried mushrooms into pieces before soaking them). Add the mushrooms with their liquid to the pot. Add salt, raise heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Stir well, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring once more after 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter, pecorino, and parsley.

{printable recipe}

image from www.istockphoto.com

I don’t eat out a whole lot.  And when I do eat out, I try and avoid the fast food trap.  But sometimes, every so often, I indulge.  As a creature of habit, my fast food weaknesses usually take the form of either a Whopper Jr. with Cheese from BK or the Carnitas Burrito Bowl from Chipotle. I can’t defend either of these choices.  They are just what calls to me from the menu board.  They are the sirens that I cannot ignore.

Like secret lovers, we meet randomly.  I get my fix and then try to forget how good it is.  I will go weeks, months, without a taste of rice perfumed with cilantro and lime or flamed broiled goodness.  But I always end up going back for more.

Is there any hope for me or am I destined to live a life of fast food loving shame?  Should I don a scarlet letter to denote my flaw?  Or can I somehow be forgiven for these weaknesses?  When y’all have decided my fate, let me know.  But don’t be surprised if you have to track me down at Chipotle to tell me.  I’m a sucker for those burrito bowls like you wouldn’t believe.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

BAH Note: My first impression of this rice is that it’s nice but not exactly as good as what the folks at Chipotle serve up.  Somehow, their rice is drier and not as sticky as mine was.  But in a pinch, when I can’t sneak out to secretly rendezvous with my beloved Chipotle’s, this will get me through.

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add the rice and stir.  Return to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

While the rice cooks, place the cilantro, 2 tablespoons water, lime juice, olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Blend until smooth and set aside

Once the rice has cooked, add the cilantro lime mixture and butter to the rice and stir to combine.

{printable recipe}

This is not due to a lack of vegetable recipes in my test folders.  I think we’ve just gotten a bit lazy about it.  The only solution seems to be just to get back with the program.

Step One was admitting we’d gotten off track.

Step Two was Ina’s Roasted Carrots.

I’m still looking for Step Three.

While I’m looking, you can enjoy Ina’s Roasted Carrots.

Ina’s Roasted Carrots

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

• 2 pounds carrots
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh or dried cilantro (optional)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Peel the carrots and slice them into 1 1/2 inch long pieces.  Cut the thicker slices in half lengthwise as well.

Place the carrots on the foil lined sheet pan and add the olive oil and salt.  Toss to combine.

Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until the carrots just start to brown and become tender.  Garnish with cilantro, if using, and serve hot.

{Printable Recipe}

My apologies for the crazy lighting in that picture.  In the middle of winter, daylighting photos is a crap shoot.  And daylighting when the sun is bouncing off of nearly two feet of snow outside the window is even harder.  What’s not hard is Roast Chicken with Sweet Potato Wedges.  And they do make being trapped inside your house on a snowy weekend taste much better.  Of course, you don’t have to wait for a blizzard to commence in order to make this.

Roast Chicken with Sweet Potato Wedges

• 4 chicken breasts (bone in, skin on)
• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh thyme
• Kosher salt
• Pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Scrub the sweet potatoes and cut into wedges (approximately 6 – 8 per potato).  Place sweet potatoes and chicken breasts on the sheet pan.  Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and mix to coat everything well.  Place several sprigs of fresh thyme on the chicken and potatoes.

Bake for 1 hour or until the chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

{printable recipe}

Posted in Chicken, Cooking, Food, Main Course, Photo, Recipe, Side Dishes Tagged: Roast Chicken with Sweet Potato Wedges ]]> http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/21/roast-chicken-and-sweet-potato-wedges/feed/ 4 pmf1852 Roast Chicken and Sweet Potatoes http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/20/squashed/ http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/20/squashed/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:00:11 +0000 Wendi http://bonappetithon.com/?p=1002 Continue reading →]]>

It wasn’t until recently that I discovered winter squash.  For me, squash was yellow or green and you ate it during the summer.  End of story.  Like white shoes, there was no squash after Labor Day.

And then I began my kitchen adventures and was rewarded with butternut and acorn and spaghetti squash.  Roasting is my go-to method of preparing butternut.  I know there are other ways to fix it but, call me stubborn, I like it how I like it.  Spaghetti squash and I haven’t become friends yet.  We met once and didn’t get off on the best foot.  I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.  Maybe then we can put the past behind us and start fresh.

That leaves acorn squash.  I clearly remember thinking stuffed acorn squash would be a great alternative to turkey for Thanksgiving a few years ago.  So I made a lovely mushroom stuffing, filled my squash halves, and eagerly anticipated the meal to come.  You know where this is going, right?  It was dreadful.

The squash took so long to cook that the stuffing, which had been lovely and moist when it went in the oven, was dried out and tired when it finally arrived on our plates.  Considering how hungry we were after waiting so long, we would have eaten just about anything.  Thanksgiving is always an adventure at our house.

But thanks to Savory Sweet Life, the next time I get a hankering for stuffed acorn squash, I will not be disappointed.  And neither will you.  This recipe will give you tender cooked squash in no time flat.  How you finish it off is up to you.  Not only did I throw it under the broiler with some brown sugar and butter but then I filled it with quinoa. Those red bits in the picture?  They are diced red chile pepper.  The sweet also packed some real heat.

Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar Butter Sauce

Savory Sweet Life

BAH Note:  To get the squash to lay flat in the baking dish, carefully slice a bit off of the sides of the squash.  Depending on the size of your squash, start checking for doneness after 10 or 12 minutes.  After 15 minutes mine was  starting to get a little mushy in places.

• 1 acorn squash, cut in half with seeds removed
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 to 6 tablespoons brown sugar

Pour the water into a microwave safe casserole dish large enough to hold the squash.  Place the squash halves flesh side down in the dish and microwave for 15 minutes.  Carefully remove the hot dish from the microwave.

Heat your broiler to High.

Transfer the (hot) squash halves, flesh side up, to a baking sheet covered in foil.  Place 1 tablespoon butter in each half and carefully rub it over the entire fleshy surface (I used a silicone brush for this and it worked great).  Let the butter melt down into the middle of the squash.  Sprinkle each half with a small pinch of salt and half of the brown sugar.  Make sure some of the sugar lands in the pool of butter at the center of the squash.

Broil for 5 minutes.  The edges of the squash should start to brown and caramelize.  If not, broil for an additional 3 minutes.

Enjoy this as is for a side dish or stuff with something savory for a main course.

{printable recipe}

Screen Shot From Our Life In The Kitchen

For Christmas dinner, I decided to shake things up and made risotto instead of our usual brown rice.  I figured if I couldn’t indulge at Christmas then when could I?  So I printed out Our Life In The Kitchen‘s Butternut Risotto recipe and was all ready to color inside the lines and follow directions.  Until I went to cook the squash and remembered that it needed to be baked at 350 but the oven was in use for an ungodly amount of time at 170 with the roast.  At that point, I started winging it.  The squash got cut into small cubes and spent a portion of the afternoon keeping the roast company in the oven.  Then it took a soak in the chicken broth as it heated on the stove.

As if that weren’t enough improvisation, I discovered that I didn’t have white wine, sage, shallot, or bacon.  I guess I was paying more attention to getting ready for Christmas than getting ready for Christmas dinner.  At that point, OLITK’s recipe became more of a general roadmap than my actual route.

But that’s ok.  Because in the end, I was the only one at the table that knew there was ever any other destination.  Oh, except now you know too.  Promise me you won’t tell The Mistah.  He thinks I usually know what I’m doing in the kitchen.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Inspired by Our Life In The Kitchen

BAH Note: I’m including the squash prep from OLITK’s recipe even though I prepared mine differently.  In a perfect world, I would have baked the squash the night before since the oven was otherwise occupied the next day.

• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 medium butternut squash
• 6 – 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the squash in half from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds and strings.  Place the squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Once cool enough to handle, remove the flesh from the skin and cut into small dice.

Bring the chicken broth to a simmer on the stove.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pot or dutch oven.  Add the rice and stir, coating the grains in the melted butter.  Cook over medium low heat until the rice begins to turn translucent.  Add a few ladles of the hot broth and stir until the liquid is nearly absorbed.  Continue to add liquid a ladle or two at a time and stir until the rice is tender.  Season to taste with salt.

Just before serving, stir in grated parmesan cheese.

{printable recipe}

Posted in Cooking, Food, Recipe, Side Dishes Tagged: Butternut Squash Risotto, Our Life In The Kitchen ]]> http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/14/butternut-risotto/feed/ 5 pmf1852 screen shot http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/13/hug-it-out/ http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/13/hug-it-out/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:00:16 +0000 Wendi http://bonappetithon.com/?p=709 Continue reading →]]>

Some people believe that your astrological sign determines facets of your personality.   If you were to ask The Mistah to describe my personality, I’m sure he’d find a polite answer that didn’t involve the phrase ‘crankypants’.  But I’ll tell you the truth, I AM a crankypants.  I must have been born under the sign of Cactus instead of Cancer because there are days, when for no good reason, I’m just all prickly.  Simple questions come out of my mouth with the tone of an interrogation.  Every question that gets put to me receives a reply drowning in sarcasm and impatience.  The Mistah has gotten good at reading the stars and knows that when Cactus is rising in the Seventh House, it’s time to hug it out.

His solution to get the stars to right themselves is to hug the crankypants out of me.  Some days, I’m am stubbornly grounded in my orbit and can’t be realigned. Other days, there is a total hug it out eclipse which completely blocks out the rising Cactus.  I’m not sure what it would look like on an astrological chart, but in the kitchen, it looks something like Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken.  I swear it’s the truth.

I was in full crankypants mode one day when The Mistah asked if he could help with dinner.  I said sure and then I did something I’ve never done before.  I pulled out all the ingredients, put them with the recipes, and walked out of the kitchen.  I just didn’t want to be there.  I didn’t want to deal with browning chicken, making sauce, basting the chicken as it roasted in the oven, or glazing carrots.  Since I think food tastes like the mood of the chef, if I’m in a prickly mood it’s going to show up on the plate.  The flavors may taste rushed or forced.  On a really bad day they may be bitter or sharp.  Seems to me the better idea is to just walk away and not infect the food with my mood.

So The Mistah was completely in charge of making dinner.  Those words have never before been written.  Usually on nights when he “cooks” I’m in there as sous chef. I prep and chop and mis en place.  I stir and generally keep an eye on things.  This time, I sat on the sofa keeping an eye on a magazine.  I resisted the urge to get up and “suggest” that he do this, that, or the other thing.  He was going to have to learn to navigate the kitchen universe by himself.

I only went into the kitchen at his request, and even then we had to hug it out a few times.  No, we do not handle raw chicken and then pick up spice jars or dig into the salt cellar without washing our hands.  No, I do not have patience for someone asking me “what do I do now” when the recipe is sitting right there.  Just read the damn thing first and see if that doesn’t answer your question.  No, we do not stand by watching as the liquid we’re cooking down to a glaze is about two seconds away from scorching.  That is not how I roll.  And no, we do not live by the timer.  If the recipe says to do ‘x’ for five minutes, check for doneness, and then do ‘y’, we do not move straight to ‘y’ just because the recipe doesn’t explicitly say to keep cooking if it’s not done after ‘x’.  Even typing that, I feel like I need to hug it out.  And that makes me feel bad.

Because the meal that he served me tasted like love.  Tender and sweet, one bite of the chicken and glazed carrots and crankypants vanished. You  know what, he even gave me his crispy, sticky glazed, chicken skin.  I mean really, how can you be prickly when someone loves you that much? The Mistah was most definitely born under a good sign.  And I must have been born under a lucky one.

Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken

Melissa d’Arabian, Food Network

• 3 skin on, bone in chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 4 tablespoons honey

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large skilled over medium high heat and sear the chicken, skin side only, until brown and beginning to crisp, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the orange juice concentrate, honey, and salt and pepper to taste in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Boil for 3 minutes and remove from heat.

Once the chicken is browned, turn each piece over and brush all over with glaze.  Turn the chicken skin side up again and transfer the pan to the oven.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 to 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  Halfway through, brush on more glaze.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.

{Printable Recipe}

Glazed Carrots

Melissa d’Arabian, Food Network

BAH Note: The recipe says to make this in a small skillet.  I prefer using a 12 inch frying pan with lid.  We used an entire one pound bag of baby carrots.  Since we did not cut them into coins, they needed a longer simmer to become tender.  We also added a teaspoon or so of the orange juice concentrate to the liquid as it was cooking down and substituted dried cilantro for the fresh parsley at the end.

• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 3/4 pound carrots, cut on the bias into coins
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

In a small skillet, combine the broth, water, butter, brown sugar, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the carrots, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until just tender, about 5 minutes.

Uncover the pan and let the liquid cook down until it reduces to a glaze, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Toss the carrots to generously coat them with the glaze.  Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

{Printable Recipe}

Posted in Chicken, Cooking, Food, Main Course, Photo, Recipe, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: Astrology, Crankypants, Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken, Food Network, Glazed Carrots, Love, Melissa d'Arabian, Seventh House ]]> http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/13/hug-it-out/feed/ 13 pmf1852 Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/12/sweet-and-spicy/ http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/12/sweet-and-spicy/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:00:31 +0000 Wendi http://bonappetithon.com/?p=1828 Continue reading →]]>

I’ve been doing more cooking that writing lately, the holidays will do that to you.  So I’ve got several recipes to post.  While I would prefer to write something witty and special for each of them, I’d rather get them up before next Christmas.  The recipes will just have to speak for themselves.

Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloins

• 2 whole pork tenderloins
• 4 ounces apricot jam
• Salt
• Pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Dry pork with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Tie the tenderloins together with kitchen string for easier handling.

Heat an oven safe frying pan or grill pan over medium heat and lightly coat with vegetable oil.  Add pork and sear on all sides.  Remove from heat and spread apricot jam over the top of the pork with a spoon.

Cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until the pork registers 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  Tent loosely with foil and let the pork rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

{printable recipe}

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

BAH Note:  If you like things spicy, go ahead and chop up some of the chipotle peppers and add to the mashed potatoes.

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from one can chipotles in adobo sauce)

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks.  Fill a large sauce pan with about an inch of water, place a steamer basket in the pot, and fill the basket with the sweet potatoes.  Cover, bring the water to a good simmer over medium heat, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.

Carefully remove the steamer basket and mash the potatoes with a ricer.  Add the butter, honey, and adobo sauce and stir to combine.  Season to taste with salt.

{printable recipe}

Posted in Cooking, Food, Main Course, Photo, Recipe, Side Dishes Tagged: Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloins, Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes ]]> http://bonappetithon.com/2010/01/12/sweet-and-spicy/feed/ 9 pmf1852 Apricot Glazed Pork with Chipotle Sweet Potatoes