Pigs on the Video Bar

Owing to a small household disaster I haven’t been able to cook the last few days. I couldn’t even make coffee. My Bodum thermal French press sat shivering like the little match girl behind sheets of protective plastic while a drywall guy patched my ceiling. The low point in a week that included death (of a kitchen, now resurrected) and taxes (blechk) was served to me in a 12-ounce paper cup: Starbuck’s new Pike Place Roast. If you haven’t tried it yet, well done. One, it’s always better to avoid advertising gimmicks and two, this stuff is no good.

Anyhoo, I spent the free time I accumulated not cooking watching the Swedish Chef. I also included him in the video bar (below, right) for your entertainment. I wrote awhile back about Food TV, namely how it’s failed to captivate me (well, Nigella captivates, but I think she could be hanging drywall under those soft lights of hers and enchant viewers) and asking what it's done for you lately.

If you’ll allow a Muppet digression…doesn’t John Hodgeman, the comedian who plays PC guy on Mac commercials look just like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew the Muppet scientist – Johnny to Beaker’s Ed McMahon?? (Disclosure: I had to Google “Muppet scientist” to produce the doctor’s name, but “Beaker” is burned on the brain.)

photo courtesy American Public Media

photo courtesy Muppet Wiki

The Swedish Chef accomplishes what food TV should: convey to the viewership that cooking is fun (and frequently funny). The Muppet has to have been based on Julia Child who defined food television and helped create the modern celebrity chef. She demystified the professional kitchen and haute cuisine for her viewers and arguably the country. She was likable, funny, and human. Possibly if it weren’t for her I would never have entered the culinary profession. That’s what Food TV has done for me.

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Pancake Hat-Trick: Cornmeal, cinnamon and blueberries for the win

Good things come in threes. This is my third pancake recipe following Crack of Dawn Pancakes and Daddy Pancakes. And the cornmeal, cinnamon and fresh blueberries (or in the case above, a quick blueberry compote since it's too early for good fresh blueberries) combine here for a great morning breakfast.

I developed this recipe when I moved away from Crested Butte, Colorado. I can't remember the name of the restaurant that served them, but I ate them every weekend for awhile. The cornmeal makes them heartier than your average buttermilk pancake.

In the summer I toss in fresh blueberries. Don't try it with frozen blueberries - they get all weird when the water is released.

Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberries and Cinnamon
Print recipe only here

Whisk together (yes, dry whisking works well, too. The cornmeal helps break up any flour lumps):

* ¾ cup all-purpose flour
* ¾ cup cornmeal
* 1 T sugar
* 1 t baking powder
* ½ t baking soda
* ¼ t salt
* 2 t cinnamon

Whisk together in a small mixing bowl:

* 1 egg
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1 T canola oil

Swiftly combine the liquid and dry ingredients without over mixing.

Cook on a preheated griddle. If using blueberries, ladle the batter onto the griddle, then scatter a handful of berries on top.

Quick Blueberry Compote
Whisk together over medium-low heat:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2T blueberry preserves (I like Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry preserves)
2 T sugar
Fresh lemon juice, to taste (start with about half a lemon)

Bring to a gentle boil, simmer for a few minutes. Taste and add more sugar or lemon as needed.

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Throwing a Lean Taco Party

It didn’t take reinventing the wheel to create a healthy recipe for traditional beef tacos. It just took some good lean ground beef. I use Trader Joes 96/4 ground beef for everything and can’t recommend it highly enough.

Tacos are an easy weeknight preparation. There are some critical components to add to your grocery list – namely ingredients for guacamole which is integral. I don’t put any dairy on my tacos so the richness of guacamole is an obvious substitute.

Beef Tacos
Print recipe only here

YOU WILL NEED:
Taco Shells – I like both the 365 label at Whole Foods and the Bearitos label of organic yellow corn taco shells. Blue Corn has been getting some good press lately for being higher in protein and having a lower glycemic index than white corn. Bearitos does make a blue corn taco shell and I bet they're good, too.

For the beef:
1 pound lean ground beef – 96/4
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1-2 T chili powder
2-3 t ground cumin
3-4 T tomato sauce (I keep the 8 oz cans for this)
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:
In a medium sauté pan or skillet, sauté the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of canola oil. Work over a medium heat.

After a few minutes add the ground beef. Turn up the heat a bit and brown until cooked though.

Add the dry spices, salt and pepper and cook for another few minutes. This helps release the full flavor of the spices.

Add the tomato sauce and cook another few minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve in warmed taco shells. I heat mine in the toaster oven for a few minutes on a low baking temperature – like 200-250° so they don’t brown.

Serve with:
• Guacamole
• Shredded lettuce
• Salsa or hot sauce
• Spanish rice

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6 Other Ways to Enjoy Pesto

The title introduces other ways since I've already covered my most common pesto preparation, Chicken Pesto Pasta with Haricots Verts.

On Monday I was planning to make salmon salad with pesto dressing. This fell apart when I ran out of prep time. But the dinner morphed into something we hadn’t enjoyed in awhile: roast salmon with pesto. I served it with a baby spinach salad and artichokes. It took me about 25 minutes to prepare and it was really good. Here are the components:

Roast Salmon with Pesto Sauce
Salmon – Rub with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at about 375° for 10-12 minutes. When plating, top with a spoonful of pesto and spread evenly, allowing some of the salmon to still be visible around the edges.
Pesto
Steamed Artichokes
Baby Spinach Salad

Another dinner we haven't enjoyed in awhile is pesto pizza made on Alvarado Street sprouted pizza crusts. For a quick, healthy meal make a half batch of pesto (per one pizza crust), top with mozzarella and bake at 450° for about 5-6 minutes or until mozzarella is melted. If only I could persuade Whole Foods to carry the crusts.

I make pesto fresh every time because it doesn't retain its awesomeness once it has sat in the fridge. If you want to test that opinion and refrigerate your leftovers transfer the same to a small bowl, spread to make an even surface, and cover with a generous pour of olive oil. The oil will act as an air barrier and will help retain color and flavor. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a fitting lid. The items listed below make excellent use of any leftovers:

1. Make it into a salad dressing with romaine, chicken, jicama, and lots of salad veggies. For dressing take 1/4 cup pesto and add ½ cup olive oil and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste.
2. Slathered crostini for an appetizer;
3. Stirred into Minestrone or other soup just before service;
4. Tossed with steamed green beans as a side dish

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5 Steps to a Better Pot of Coffee

Harmless. That’s what you call a non-fat decaf latte in a London café. I wish it would catch on here; a double tall harmless latte is so much quicker on the tongue. Plus, if you feel like showboating your cockney accent you can call it an ‘armless.

I’m a bigger fan of harmful coffee. Not so harmful that it burns holes in the gut or anything. Not quite as harmful as the sludge they brew at Peets (great beans but beware the drip!), and nowhere near as harmful as the angry brown water churned out by my old drip coffeemaker.

I’ve spent some time (too much time) perfecting the pot of coffee and have boiled it down to 5 essentials:

1. Meet your maker. I really enjoy the coffee from my Bodum thermal press. It keeps coffee warm longer than the glass variety and I don’t have to worry about breaking it. I picked up mine at Bed Bath & Beyond with one of the discount coupons they’re so generous with.
2. Know your roaster. Peets has been a favorite for many years, though they’ve changed their tune about the importance of fresh –roasting and the quality has slipped. The beans were way better before the company grew larger. I’m looking for a good micro roaster in Chicago.
3. Get a grinder. The grind is critical here - it needs to be coarse. I have a basic Krups grinder that I’ve been using since college. I just pulse the beans 9-10 times (8 pulses is easier on the plunger but I like the richness of the coffee with 9-10 pulses).What I really want is one of those groovy burr grinders. Alternately, have your coffee ground for French press when you purchase it. Once ground measure out 2 tablespoons per 8 oz. (1 cup) water and add to press.
4. Call your kettle. Our tea kettle lives on the back burner of our stovetop. It never moves. To make French press you need hot – but not quite boiling – water.
5. Set your timer. Four minutes steeping time is standard. Plunge and serve.

Mmmm…I’m enjoying a cup right now. Nothing better.

Further reading:
Starbucks co-founder and former Peet's owner Jerry Baldwin on why you need a press pot

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Hearty Vegetarian: Herb Fritatta con Pepperonata

Usually when I eat a vegetarian meal that doesn’t involve pasta I think, this is nice, but I’m going to need to eat again in 15 minutes. I’m sure my vegetarian friends don’t agree, but plants don’t quite satisfy. Obviously frittatas aren’t plants. They aren’t vegan either. But they do constitute a hearty vegetarian meal – and a delicious one at that.

Fresh herbs and a sweet-sour pepperonata make this a unique sandwich. And it’s easy to make year round. I made it recently after harvesting herbs from my thriving AeroGarden . Pepperonata is like a cooked antipasto or Mediterranean chutney. It's comprised of red pepper, red onion, tomato and garlic. A splash of red wine vinegar gives it a tangy punch.

The herb frittata comes - almost without alteration - from Evan Kleiman’s Pizza Pasta Panini, a cookbook spawned by her LA restaurant, Angeli Caffè.

Herb Fritatta con Pepperonata
Print recipe only here
Serves 4

Pepperonata
In 1-2 T olive oil, sauté over medium heat:
• 3-4 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped
• ½ red onion, finely chopped

After a few minutes, add:
• 2 red peppers, cut into long, ½-inch wide strips

Sauté for another few minutes, stirring frequently, until the peppers soften. Add:
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar

Cover and cook for a few minutes. Then add:
• 3 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped OR ½ cup Muir Glen canned fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

Cook uncovered for another few minutes until the tomatoes become saucy and the mixture thickens a bit. Add:
• 1-2 T sugar
• Kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Set the pepperonata aside to cool.

Frittata
In a mixing bowl, whisk together:
• 8 eggs

Add:
• ¼ cup Parmesan
• ¾ cup mixed fresh herbs
• Pinch kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat 1 T olive oil in a 10-12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Also spray the surface with canola spray.

Lower the heat to medium-low.

Pour the eggs in and using high heat spatula (or wooden spoon) stir eggs gently, scraping up sides and bottom, until the mixture is somewhat set (more solid than liquid).

To cook the top I find it's easiest to place the whole pan under the broiler – just keep a eye on it! Or feel free to attempt flipping (sliding the frittata out onto a plate and flipping that way works well).

When cooked, slide the frittata out onto a plate or cutting board.

Assembling frittata sandwich
Prep baguette or ciabatta, toasting if desired (you can also melt some provolone or mozzarella on the bread).

Drizzle a bit of the pepperonata sauce on the bottom half of the bread. Cut a wedge of frittata for each and place a piece on the bread. Top with a spoonful of pepperonata and serve.

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Coriander Dry Rubbed Steaks

Before I moved to Chicago a native warned me about the weather. Winter was too long, summer too hot and spring lasted approximately 48 hours.

It’s a tough cooking season, too. I’ve grown tired of winter food (soups, stews, slurpy hot things served in bowls) but it would be jumping the gun to cook from a summer menu, even if many items on my summer shopping list have started popping up at market.

This time of year I like to cook with lots of herbs, fresh and dried. Coriander Dry Rubbed Steaks and Herb Frittata con Pepperonata were both on the menu recently and deserve attention here. We’ll look at the dry rub today and the pepperonata tomorrow.

The steak is a direct result of a similar plate at La Cucina de Luz in Telluride where Lucas made it with a buffalo strip steak. I’ve done it that way too but usually opt for lean NY strip steaks over which I have more control at the grill.

A dry rub is just a blend of dry seasonings with no oil. Here the coriander and garlic comprise a thin crust on the steak and serves to lock in flavor and juice in the lean steak. Ripe avocado offers a nice contrast in the mouth.

Coriander Dry-Rubbed Steaks with Avocado Salsa
Print recipe only here

YOU WILL NEED:
* One strip steak per person
* Coriander and garlic powder
* One ripe avocado
* Fresh cilantro
* One lime

METHOD
Preheat grill.

On a sheet pan, measure out a heaping tablespoon of coriander and about 2 t garlic powder.

Add a pinch of kosher salt and a several turns of fresh ground pepper and stir to combine.

Trim all excess fat from steaks and coat the entire surface with the rub.

Rub grill with a thin film of grapeseed or canola oil and grill steaks (if desired you can coat steaks earlier in the day and reserve in the fridge).

Dice avocado and reserve in a small serving bowl. Add:
• juice of a lime on top
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 T chopped fresh cilantro

Allow steaks to rest for 5-10 minutes after grilling. Top with avocado and serve.

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