Posts Tagged ‘vegetables’
whole-grain mustard slaw
I’ve been home in KC for a few days for a quick visit in order to see the last Harry Potter film with my sisters. Naturally I was asked to cook while home and since my papa requested blue cheese burgers on the grill, I wanted to jazz it up a bit by making a few fun sides.
I love slaw of any kind. What I don’t love is overly mayonnaised, limp, room temperature slaw. I want it ice-cold, crisp, and refreshing. Even if the dressing is a little on the spicy side.
This slaw is spicy, sweet, and has that perfect sinus-clearing heat to it. I like to keep everything super chilled and separate until just before serving so the cabbage is crisp and the dressing is cold. Even if it sits awhile it will be delicious but try it extra-crispy for fun.
pork ‘n peppers with polenta
I love and loathe spring. The flowers and thawing is all well and good, but the flip-flopping weather is enough to drive anyone mad.
We had 90°+ temperatures last week only to have it plummet to 40° this weekend. It’s cold salads and iced coffee one day, oatmeal and hot cocoa the next.
Dinner like this, however, seems to fit in any weather. The thing that grabbed me the most was the use of anchovies in the sauce – one of my favorite and most underused ingredients out there. The crisp peppers and fresh rosemary make the whole dish very refreshing with the delicious briny sauce, and by putting it on thick, cheesy polenta, it’s still rich and satisfying. Half spring freshness, half hearty winter fare: perfect for our split personality weather right now.
rolled spinach omelet
I woke up this morning to sun, a blue sky, and 71° temps outside. I was grinning ear to ear as I rolled out of bed and decided to make myself a little something special for a real spring Sunday brunch.
I’ve had this rolled omelet bookmarked for a couple weeks because I always have some version of the ingredients around and knew I could throw it together at a moment’s notice. I used only one package of frozen spinach and added a little more Dijon because I’m a mustard addict, but it was still deliciously fresh and light, but paired with some hearty toast, a nice filling brunch. Making omelets can be such a pain so this dish would be fabulous to serve to a group without fussing with a lot of individual pots and pans. Or just one person with a hearty appetite and a love of leftovers.
vichyssoise
The first time I heard of vichyssoise was in 1992. I was 7 years old and watching “Batman Returns” (which I saw in theatres, which I now realize was probably totally inappropriate for my age). Bruce Wayne is sitting in the Batcave poring over information regarding The Penguin when Alfred brings him some supper. Upon eating a spoonful of soup he chokes, “Alfred, it’s cold!” Alfred gives him a dead stare. “It’s a vichyssoise, sir. It’s supposed to be cold.”
At the time I thought Alfred had said fishyssoise and the soup was a cold fish soup (blech!). It wasn’t until many years later I learned it was just cold potato-leek soup pureed into perfect smoothness. And now that knowledge has come in handy.
I’m getting the rest of my very impacted wisdom teeth removed tomorrow morning and this time it’s on both sides of my mouth and thus a liquid diet is on the horizon for a couple of days. My fridge is stocked with yogurt and the freezer has a pint of Häagen-Dazs, but I wanted one more thing to be able to gum down during my convalescence, so another pureed soup seemed smart. This recipe comes together very easily, has a lot of unattended cooking time, and if you use an immersion blender, is a one-pot-wonder. It’s unbelievably delicious and if you have some equally delicious bread to dip into it while you still can chew, I highly recommend it.
hasselback potatoes
Ahh, the baked potato. The dinner of so many cheap singles out there (yours truly included).
As much as I’d love to be showing this gorgeous spud next to an equally delicious and expensive strip steak, I’m just serving it up on its own since the budget is a wee bit tight lately. I’ve seen this method of baking potatoes all over the past year or so and it really has become my favorite way to eat a potato for dinner, as sad as that may sound. You still get that fluffy texture of a baked potato on the bottom but the wonderful chip-like crispy texture on the top. It’s like the mullet of baked potatoes (and we all know mullets are awesome, so…)
