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FOOD, TRAVEL, RENOVATION & HOME LIFE

Monthly Archive: May 2023

Food / Kristen Cooks

Weeknight Dinner – Warm Venetian Salad

During the week, I like to have some easy, but fun recipes in my back pocket. This salad checks all of the boxes…lots of greens, cheese, bread, nuts, fruit and protein. I originally saw this in a Rick Stein cookbook, called, “Rick Stein, from Venice to Istanbul”. I tweaked the cooking method for the chicken, as well as the dressing and a few of the ingredients, but the concept of variety and the element of the warm chicken remains.

The ingredients

2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts – pounded on thicker end to create uniform size, if needed

Salt and Black Pepper

2 Tbsp. Olive or Grapeseed oil – divided

2 cloves garlic

2 green onions, or 1/2 small onion diced

2 slices of hefty sourdough bread – cut to 1 inch cubes

4 slices prosciutto cotto – cut into strips

6 ounce of leafy greens. This Tanimura & Antle Artisan lettuce is great, as it comes in 4 heads of varied types. Local is always, best, but this brand has not disappointed me

2 Tbsp. pine nuts – toasted

4 ounce Mozzarella pearls – My grocery store typically has the Galbani pearls in water

1 ripe pear or alternatively peach, plum or apple

Instructions

Salt and pepper the chicken breasts liberally. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in sauté pan. When oil begins to shimmer, cook the chicken for 4 or so mins per side. Both sides should be nicely browned and the inner temp, with a thermometer, should be about 155. It will continue to cook once out of the pan, so will hit > 160 degrees. The key is not to overcook so you have super, juicy, delicious chicken!

While chicken is cooking, toast pine nuts in dry pan until browned and fragrant. Keep an eye here, they burn quickly

Assemble the greens, nuts, pear, prosciutto, and mozzarella pearls

Once chicken is out of the pan, add the remaining Tbsp. of oil, garlic and onion. Sauté until just soft. Add in the sourdough and coat with the garlic, onion mixture. Allow the bread to get nicely toasted, as you’d expect a crouton to be. Add additional oil, if necessary

Add bread to salad and toss. Slice chicken and set over or to side of the salad. Serve with additional olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Voila!

Appetizer / Kristen Cooks

Heirloom tomato parmesan bites

This is a quick and easy appetizer for any time of the day! I was inspired by the bright red and yellow tomatoes at the grocery store and could not help but buy them. I decided to make use of some items that I already had on hand to put together some yummy snacks and ended up with these heirloom tomato parmesan bites.

  • Heirloom tomatoes. I ended up using only 2
  • Basil plant on hand
  • 2 ounce parmesan grated finely
  • 2 tbsp. panko bread crumbs
  • 2-3 cloves garlic (per your taste) finely diced
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Slice tomatoes in half inch thick slices. Mix bread crumbs, oil, and garlic. Line a tray with aluminum foil. Divide mixture to top 6-8 tomato slices. Broil until parmesan mixture is crispy and garlic smells delicious! Top each with a basil leaf and salt and pepper, to your liking!

This would be a great dish to serve alongside the Easy, Amazing Pizza recipe here https://watchusdostuff.com/easy-amazing-pizza/, to add a bit of a lighter option or companion option.

Food / Kristen Cooks

Stuffed cabbage (golabki)

Growing up, I was an incredibly picky eater. So, some of the Polish and Lithuanian dishes that my grandmother made were enjoyed by all but me. Thankfully, over the years, I became far more food adventurous. These days, one of the true treats is getting together with my sisters and mom and having the pleasure of making and enjoying some Golabkis. For years making them seemed to be a daunting task. However, these days, I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the mantra of the roll & tuck of the cabbage leaves.

Stuffed cabbage means something different to everyone, and most cultures have some version of it. Check out this wiki page that lists some of the many versions existing across the world! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_roll

Just a note that this recipe is not for the faint of heart. It is simple and delicious, but it does not cut corners in terms of fat and calories. A special occasion, splurge kind of meal!

The ingredients

1.25 cups uncooked rice, cooked per brand instructions. I use basmati and rinse thoroughly before cooking. However standard white rice is more traditional

2 large heads of green, red or savoy cabbage, cored

12 oz. packaging of salt pork, rinsed thoroughly and cut to small cubes

2 large Vidalia or yellow onions, diced

4 cloves of garlic. I am pretty certain this is not typical, but I love the addition

3.5 lbs. 80/20 ground beef

Kosher Salt and Black ground Pepper

Note: You will need a large roasting pan with a lid. If you were to half the recipe, a Dutch oven would be a great, smaller option

Instructions

Prepping the cabbage

Fill very large pot of water and bring to boil. Core the cabbage by using a sharp knife to remove enough of the binding core that the leaves will separate once they are softened in the boiling water. Using a long pair of tongs, remove the layers, as they begin to separate from the head. Note that the longer the outer layers remain in the boil, the softer they get. It is key to get them out as they are still solid, but pliable. Too soft will result in tears and holes as you roll.

Onion and Garlic sauté

Sauté the salt pork in a skillet until it is crispy and browned. Remove all pieces of pork from the pan and set aside. There will be a lot of rendered oil left behind after pork is rendered. Collect 1/3 cup of the pork fat/oil and set aside. Add the onions to the rest of the fat and sauté until soft and lightly browned. Create an open spot in middle of pan and add in the garlic. Continue to stir until garlic is fragrant. Spread out mixture on a sheet pan to cool.

Assembling the mixture

Spread the beef out around the edges of a large bowl and sprinkle a tablespoon of black pepper and 2 tsp. salt around. Add the cooled onion mixture and half the rice into center and begin to combine. Add more rice until you have your desired ratio of beef to rice. I prefer a bit more meat than rice (perhaps 65/35), but have seen other recipes were exactly the opposite. Suit to your liking.

Rolling and getting into the oven

At this point, spread roughly of half of the pork fat that you put aside into the bottom of your roasting pan. Sprinkle in a third of the retained pork bits. This will be the base layer and will allow the bottom layer to have a browned bottom. And then you get rolling! For each cabbage leaf, you will cut a V at the base to remove the thick remaining bit of the core. Then, spoon in a reasonable amount of beef mixture, that will allow you to roll the bottom up, tuck in the sides and roll. It takes a few times to get the amount of fill and the rolling down, but once you get it, you are good to go. Place the seam of the cabbage roll bottom down in the pan. Tuck them in tight. This recipe made just about 2 full layers in a large roasting pot. When the first layer is full, pour another third of the pork fat and bits over and proceed to the second layer. Remaining fat and bit on top and into a 350 degree oven for 40 mins. Remove lid and allow to brown 10-15 mins more. Be sure to check that the beef is cooked through, using one of the larger rolls.

Some recipes serve with tomato sauce, vinegar or with sour cream. My family has always eaten them straight up with some additional salt or pepper to taste. Enjoy!!!

Home & Life

The Poems – Thanksgiving

If you have read the post regarding our first steps in getting our Brick Beauty renovated, you know that my husband and I spent a LOT of time trying to purge our house of the lingering bins and boxes of items that have been following me, house to house, over the past 20 years. Although the sifting and sorting was painful, there were some moments of joy and hilarity. I found items that I thought were long gone and some that I had forgotten had ever existed. The original post about the PURGE is here: https://watchusdostuff.com/the-renovation-first-steps-the-purge/

Do I have writing in my bones?

I have dilly-dallied around about starting a blog for ages, knowing that my love of cooking and presenting food, was not going away. However I was not sure of the writing bit of it. I am an Industrial Engineer by trade. Writing for me over the past 25 years has been process or support documentation, or most creatively, training and customer interaction docs. Not the most earth shattering writing, for sure. However, while digging through bins of “stuff”, I found so many written letters, postcards and cards from family and friends, as well as many letters that I had sent to John, well written and, admittedly, sappy as hell. I missed my soap opera writing calling, for sure! This is simple stuff, but it jerked alive memories of, indeed, writing for joy in my past. Writing for fun will be part of my life therapy going forward.

The pièce de résistance

One of the items we turned out while garage digging was a book of poems that I thought had been lost forever. A group of poems written in grade school that I took the time to bind into a folder for safe keeping. It is labeled on the front as “Poems and Stories”, in what seems to be #2 pencil, likely out of my school pencil box. Note that these were not poems written for class, but written for fun at home. Some of these poems, I remembered and have thought about through the years, as simple and ridiculous as they are. Others were funny to read at this point in my life, portraying a very different kid than the adult that I have become. Some are literally, laugh out loud. John and I have had a few returns to the pages, just to get a daily fill of giggles.

The picky eater knew there would be more food in the future

Well, I will stop short of saying that I am a clairvoyant or seer, but I will say, that for a kid that existed on cereal, cheese ravioli, Pastina and rice with butter and milk because of my fickle eating nature, I apparently knew, there would be more and bigger eating in my future. I am not sure if I was seeing this turkey dinner through my eyes or those of everyone else, because, other than the pie noted and the plain turkey, I am not sure I ate anything else until late in my teens. Note: my mom had a meal on the table every night of the week, with the exception of Friday when we typically got pizza or fried fish (I ate only the chips), so the limited diet was not due to lack of meals available, but my absurdly, picky nature.

Check out my Thanksgiving poem. An ode to the ability to get older and EAT MORE FOOD!

So, my venture into food and home blogging for fun, was somehow and weirdly boosted by the uncovering of a simple poem written by an 8 or so year old. It indicated to me that writing was always one of my things…and food was going to play pretty large in my future…what is my now. I am older and bigger now and have more room!

Kristen Cooks

Carne Asada lettuce wraps

One of my favorite cuts of beef is the flank steak. Properly marinated, this is a versatile option for eating as the star of a lunch or dinner dish, in a taco, burrito, or on a crusty baguette. The key is in the marinade used and how the steak is cut, once it is rested.

The marinade

I have tried dozens of different marinades and have yet to find one that disappointed. My favorite marinades for carne asada have the same core ingredients: citrus, oil, garlic and herbs. However, recipes can vary, some containing soy sauce, red wine, hot chilis and other ingredients that add acid, beyond what the citrus naturally adds.

I can recommend a couple differing recipes here that I have found in my recipe hunting. Both resulted in an amazingly flavored flank steak: https://www.crowdcow.com/recipe/aayi5sgk0/marinated-flank-steak and https://thestayathomechef.com/authentic-carne-asada/ The first is from Crowd Cow, which is an amazing meat and seafood delivery company and the second a fellow food blogger that based her recipe on one originally from world renowned chef, Rick Bayless. Note the Pro Tip in the second recipe: Be sure to always cut a flank steak against the grain to ensure it is served tender.

Grilling or Broiling

You will note in the above recipes that you can grill or, alternatively, broil the steak in the oven. I prefer to broil, mainly because I know my oven and can predict how long to cook on each side for a 1 pound steak (3-4 mins/side). The oven is ripping hot when broiling, which leaves the outside with beautiful sear and the inside medium and juicy. However, this is just a preference.

Serving

This is the easy part. Serve with whatever floats your boat! One of my favorite ways to serve Carne Asada is very simple. Butter lettuce, salsa, sautéed peppers and onion and some fresh, crunchy veg. In this case, sliced cucumbers for me and habaneros for John, who loves the heat.

Of course, tortillas, beans, cilantro and other typical Mexican sides would also be amazing.

My personal pro tip: Always top with a bit of course, crunchy sea salt!

Kristen Cooks

Asian inspired veggie salad feast

Crispy Asian pork with mixed greens, crunchy radishes, spicy Fresno chili, shaved carrot and squash. This recipe is pumped up with soba and rice vermicelli noodles. Soy/ginger dressing adds just the right amount of ZING!

The inspiration

I found a recipe in the Jamie Oliver “Everyday Super Food” cookbook, that beautifully combined brown rice noodles with any variety of greens and veg and crispy fried ginger beef. I have gone back to this recipe dozens of times, mainly because I love ground meat (I swap in pork) as a protein, but also because it is amazingly balanced. Protein, veggies, and carbs combine for a meal that you feel good about eating.

Check out the book here If you prefer online recipes, there are loads of free recipes from all of his books on the Jamie Oliver website. It is a great source for menu ideas. https://www.jamieoliver.com/

Recipe tweaks

The original recipe leaves the choice of salad vegetables to you, so the sky is the limit. I chose butter lettuce and red gem lettuce. As far as veggies, shaved carrots and summer squash worked out nicely. Rather than brown rice noodles, swapped in some soba and vermicelli rice noodles. I also use half the indicated sesame oil and sub in grapeseed to temper the taste.

The fun of this recipe is the absolute flexibility to make it as you want it!

Asian inspired veggie salad feast
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Asian inspired veggie salad feast

Recipe by kristenCourse: Kristen CooksCuisine: Salad, Noodle SaladDifficulty: Easy
Servings

5

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Calories

470

kcal

Note: calorie content is auto generated and may not be accurate

Ingredients

  • Half head of red gem lettuce

  • Half head of butter lettuce

  • 2 carrots, shaved

  • 1 summer squash shaved (do not include seeds)

  • 4 radishes, sliced

  • 2 green onions, chopped, green and white included

  • 1 hot chili of your choice, deseeded and sliced into rings (optional)

  • For the Pork

  • 1 lb. ground pork

  • 1 tbsp. sesame oil

  • 1 tbsp. grapeseed oil

  • 2 tsp. honey

  • 3 inch piece of whole gingerroot, rough chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 4 star anise

  • 6 oz. combination of rice, Soba, Udon, or other noodles

  • For the dressing

  • 2 tsp. fish sauce

  • 2 tsp. sugar

  • Juice of one lime

Directions

  • In small food processor add garlic and ginger and pulse until finely chopped
  • Cook the noodles according to package. Set aside
  • Heat oil in large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add star anise, and half of the garlic/ginger from the processor
  • When garlic is fragrant, but not browning, add in the pork and continually break up as it cooks. Once the pork is beginning to brown, add in the honey. Note: if there is too much liquid or oil in the pan, drain off most and then continue to brown until crispy
  • Add the soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice to the garlic and ginger mixture in processor. Whir until consistency of a dressing. Test and adjust. The original recipe called for far more lime juice, and no sugar. I adjusted here for my taste.
  • Arrange lettuce, veggies and noodles on tray. Add pork and sprinkle the green onion and chili pepper over. Dressing can be set to side to dress each individual plate, or over the tray to dress it family style

Notes

  • If you do not have a food processor, ginger and garlic can be mashed using a mortar and pestle

Kristen Cooks

Banana bread cake with pecans

This is a simple banana bread recipe that I put into a springform pan, rather than the typical loaf pan, to make removing from the pan and slicing easier. This bread is perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Banana bread cake with pecans
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Banana bread cake with pecans

Recipe by kristenCourse: Kristen CooksCuisine: Bread, Sweet bread, Breakfast bread, CakeDifficulty: Easy
Servings

10

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

45

minutes
Calories

340

kcal

Pecan banana bread cake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter

  • 4 small or 3 large ripe bananas

  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 2 cups flour

  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

  • 3/4 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

  • Mix the dry ingredients until combined
  • Mix the wet ingredients together, mashing the banana until fully combined
  • Use a basting brush to oil the sides and bottom of spring form with grape seed oil
  • Mix wet into the dry bowl and mix fully until there’s no sign of dry flour, but don’t over mix
  • Pour in and cook at 350 for approx. 45 mins. Check at 35 mins with toothpick to make sure not to overcook. When the toothpick is poked into center and comes out clean, the cake is ready. Let sit 20 mins before enjoying warm!