Pressure Cooker

I did it.

I bought one. 

6 quart Fagor Pressure Cooker. 

I will be making brisket in it tonight. 

I will let you know how it goes.

If you hear a really large explosion coming from a house near Bell School on Chicago's North Side - and the smell of brisket fills the air - you know what happened.  

Carmelized Apples, Onions and Leeks

Last night I had bigger plans for dinner than I was able to pull off.  I had originally thought I would have time to make a brisket, etc. etc...  As it turns out, the kids had bagels and cream cheese, yogurt, bananas, etc.

But! I did have time to make a quick salad for me and Jay.   I roasted some cored and quartered apples with quartered onions and leeks (cut into about 1/2 inch coins) for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  They were tossed with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then I scraped all the carmelized onions and apples and put it on top of a salad of frisee, baby greens and chopped romaine for some crunch.  A bit of vinagrette - and sliced baguette and voila! Light dinner.

This would also be terrific with some crumbled goat cheese for a more substantial salad - or as a side dish. 

Have fun! 

Crunchy Asian Salad

We eat  lots of salad.  But sometimes you get into a salad rut.  Yes.  Even if you use "fancy" lettuces - and make your own salad dressing.  So - here is a great crunchy salad that has boatloads of flavor (I adapted from a recipe by Lee Goss.)  You can adapt this in a number of ways because it holds up really well.  The first night I served this, I did an Asian theme - dressing, marinated some red snapper fillets in ginger, lime and olive oil, etc...  The second night I added romaine lettuce to whatever was left (I typically do not dress the salad - the kids prefer to dress it themselves) and made a basic balsamic vinagrette. 

So here you go- adapt/add/modify as you will!

1 cup arugula or other spicy type of lettuce
1 head of bok choy - chop into pieces including the green leafy part
1/2 savoy cabbage, shredded
1 cup of julienned carrots (I just use a cup from a bag of shredded carrots)
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch of basil leaves chopped
1 bunch of mint leaves chopped
1 bunch of italian parley chopped
1 English cucumber (seedless), sliced thinly into rounds (do not peel)
3/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts (you can omit these if you want)

Some things to consider adding:  thin sliced chili, 1-2 scallions cut on a diagonal, chopped watercress, chopped cilantro

Toss everything together with the Asian dressing below or your favorite dressing!

Asian Dressing

1 whole shallot - minced
1 clove of garlic - chopped finely
1 teaspoon of minced fresh ginger
Zest and juice of 2 limes
Zest and juice of 1 lemon or orange
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
3 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon of hot pepper sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons of honey (check for balance of sweet and sour at the end - add more honey if you like)

Mix everything together.

By the way - the kids loved the crunchiness of the salad (I served the peanuts on the side for them to sprinkle over) and they also tried the dressing - which they then proceeded to dip their veggies in!

Have fun and enjoy!!

Easy peanut butter cookies

So a couple of things.

First of all - Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone's year is filled with health, happiness, peace and good eating!

Second - I apologize for not keeping up with the blog.  I have been doing lots of cooking, but life has interfered with my writing stuff down.  My goal for this year is to put a new recipe/post up at least once a week.

Third - for those that have been reading and commenting on my blog - Thank You!  I am supposed to receive notification when someone e-mails and for some reason have not been notified.  I realized just the other day as  I was going through past posts that people other than my dad are reading this blog!

So - welcome to all!

Back to the post at hand.  I am not much of a baker, as many of you are aware.  However, I was recently provided with a wonderful peanut butter cookie recipe that is so easy I had to share.  The kids helped make the cookies and decorated them with sprinkles.  You can certainly add a cup of chocolate chips/chopped nuts/ etc.  The recipe will hold up.

Are you ready?

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of sugar
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix everything together until blended well (if you are adding chocolate chips/etc. do it now)
3. Drop in one teaspoon balls onto cookie/baking sheet (you do not need to butter the sheet)
2. Bake for 30 minutes.

Yes.  That easy - and they are pretty tasty too.  Very peanuty!  Enjoy!

Easy "en Papillotte" for the Working Set

As I have written about before, my kids - especially my son - love fish. Salmon is a particular favorite, and I think it is a hoot that the fish monger at our local store recognizes my 6 year old. It is his job to select the fish each week.

But, as much as I love roasted fish - it can get a bit boring. So I thought it would be fun to try a riff on fish en papillote. What is this (for those that don't know) - basically fish and cut up veggies with some sort of scant liquid then wrapped in a parchment paper package that is then baked. You open the package at the table and voila! dinner.

Of course I have parchment paper - but what could I do that would be easier than individual packages?

Lunch Bag.

Yes. The plain brown lunch bag makes a great substitute for traditional parchment paper.

Here is the recipe. Feel free to substitute fish/veggies/etc. This is just what I used because I had it on hand - the technique remains the same. Also, I used one bag with a larger piece - you could make "mini" bags with individual portions.

Salmon in a Paper Bag

Brown Paper Bag
Olive Oil
1 lb. center cut salmon - bones removed
4 slices lemon
1 brussel sprout - shredded
1 carrot - thinly sliced
1 zucchini - thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried herbs (I used herbs de provence)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brush olive oil all over the brown paper bag (on the outside only).
3. Season fish with salt and pepper and herbs.
4. Toss veggies in bag. Place salmon and lemon slices on top of veggies.
5. Close the paper bag and place on baking sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on thickness of salmon or fish.
7. Bring to the table and slice open the bag!

Enjoy!

Sauteed Shredded Brussel Sprouts and Apples

I know.

You are thinking - brussel sprouts? Really? But, when you either take the leaves apart or thinly "shred" the brussel sprouts and then saute them in some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper - they take on a whole different texture and flavor.

Tonight I got back later than expected from the office. The kids had been home all day with Dad because it is Columbus Day and of course they had off (health care does not close on CD). So as I was driving home I stopped at the local grocer to see what kind of veggies looked good. And honestly, the brussel sprouts were beautiful! Small bright green heads of mini cabbage goodness. So - with a few of those and some apples the kids picked earlier in the Fall, I concocted my plan. Pasta. Easy. Apples and parmesan - always a good combo. And cabbage (I like to think of the brussel sprout as a baby cabbage) and something sweet like an apple - classic.

So - here it is:

Shredded Brussel Sprouts and Apples

I tossed this with enough spaghetti for 2 adults - kids "tried" some (there was plain spaghetti on the side) you can increase the amounts of veggies/etc. to toss with a lot of pasta - or you can serve this as a side dish (if you do this, I would not add in the parmesan - that was more for the spaghetti mix...)

Spaghetti - Cooked/Warm
4-5 brussel sprouts - cut in half through the core and thinly sliced or "shredded"
1 apple, cored and sliced thinly
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan

1. Heat olive oil in pan.
2. Saute brussel sprouts and apples until wilted and slightly browned/carmelized.
3. Add pinch of salt and pepper
4. Toss with spaghetti
5. Add in parmesan cheese and mix together.

Serve it up!!

The best noodle kugel

So my favorite food magazine is closing: Gourmet. I can't believe it. Over the years I have collected, clipped, poured over, re-read, etc. etc. so many issues. I have to say that I thought some of the more recent changes to the magazine were not the best. However, the writing was stellar, the photography always beautiful, and so many of the recipes really were adaptable for "real life" - at least in my house.

At least the recipes are on-line at epicurious.

Sigh.

Anyway - as were are well into Sukkot, I thought I would pass along a great recipe I played with a bit over the holidays. I was never a fan of "savory" kugels nor do I particularly like ones with cheese. So, I always make mine "sweet" with more of an egg custard than anything else. It usually includes apples and "plumped" raisins - which are raisins soaked for about 20-30 minutes in either wine or grape juice. This year, I added some extra egg, used butter (the meal I was taking it to was dairy - you could use margarine to make it pareve if you need to) and also added in dried cranberries.

This one - a definite keeper.

Cranberry, Apple and Raisin Kugel

1 bag wide egg noodles
6 eggs
2 peeled, diced and cored apples
1/2 cup "plumped" golden raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
pinch of salt and pepper
1 stick butter (or margarine) cut into pieces
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp (or a bit more) sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 baking pan. (size doesn't really matter - this is what I had on hand).
2. Prepare egg noodles as directed on package and drain (I usually cook mine slightly under since they are cooked again in the oven).
3. While the noodles are cooking, in a large bowl, beat six eggs. Mix together with apples, raisins, cranberries, salt and pepper.
4. When noodles are drained and still warm, toss with egg and fruit mixture. Toss in pieces of butter (or margarine) until they are melted.
5. Place noodle mixture in prepared pan. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon all over the top.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes until set and golden brown.

YUM! (By the way - this can be served hot, warm, room temperature. I also like it cold. It will keep in the fridge for about 1 week.)