Turkey Basil Home fries

Ingredients: Potatoes Turkey Sundried-Tomatoes Parmesan Basil Garlic Shallots

When searching for cooking info, I find myself looking up preparation videos much more than recipes. We already know most of the recipes, simply by eating out and ordering off a restaurant menu.  What we lack is the behind-the-scenes magic.  I attached to this blog every video that I used when preparing this brunch recipe.

Dicing: Keep your potato stack tight and structured.  If you're having trouble, let your knife do the work and make longer, lighter pressure cuts.  If things get too shaky, it's ok to disassemble and finish the job with each individual piece.

Par-cook:  That means partially cook.  If we don't do this, the potatoes will take forever to cook in the pan.  Wash your potatoes to get rid of that starchy film.  Microwave chopped potatoes for about 3 minutes.

Pan finish: Get that pan as hot as possible before adding a layer of olive oil and your potatoes. You'll want to alternate with a lid on, lid off, tossing them around with each switch. Be patient! Let them sear for minutes. You know you're done by the color.  Add salt and ground pepper during this process.  Don't expect a color as dark as the restaurants. That is achieved with butter and an industrial kitchen.

Basil and turkey chopping: Living on my own, one bunch of basil will soon spoil if I don't eat a ton each time.  That's fine with me! Roll the leaves up and chop.  I used the same technique for the deli turkey.

Garlic and shallot frying: I learned this from my mom. It's a great way to garnish any dish, providing a strong punch of flavor without overwhelming rawness. Start with a thin layer of olive oil in a small pan, high heat.  Mince garlic and shallots (this will take practice, I grabbed the big bag of peeled garlic from Costco just for this purpose)  Add to oil. Remove in about 20 seconds (maybe even less, it happens fast!).  Let it rest in a bowl to complete the cooking process.

Final assembly: The last steps all happen in the span of 30 seconds.  When the potatoes are done, add the turkey, the sundried tomatoes.  Toss.  Add the parmesan and the garlic and shallots.  Toss.  Plate and cover with chopped basil.

Steamers Farfalle

After a failed attempt to make a clam linguine, it took me a month before I could stomach up the courage to try again.  I'm very happy I did.

Start boiling your pasta.  Keep an eye on it; you want to remove it at about 90% cooked, so shave a few minutes off your regular time.

Prepare your clams.  I bought a prepackaged kind from Costco.  It had some seasonings in there already and I just had to microwave 5 minutes.

Make your sauce: choose a nice large pan.  It is going to hold both pasta and sauce.  Start browning some chopped onions at the bottom.  When they're about ready, add canned diced tomatoes, minced garlic, crushed red peppers, and the clams (with all their juice) on top of them.  Allow that to simmer and reduce while you wait for your pasta to cook.

Assembly: When the pasta is about 90% cooked, pull it out with some tongs and add it to the pan as well.  Continue to simmer until pasta is al dente.

Plating: top off with chopped basil.

Comments: 1) The clam water really elevates this dish.  By keeping it in the sauce, you get a fuller flavor that transforms the pasta into something special.
2) You know how Italian food makes great leftovers?  That's because of the extra time and cooking that melds all the flavors.  Thanks to Special K, I now always add the pasta to the sauce as the finishing step.
3) If you're using a nonstick pan, be gentle with the clamshells while mixing.  They could scratch up the coating.
4) A good pair of tongs is essential.  Get one with silicone tips so you can use it on every pan.  Lock the tongs together to push or stir; open them up when you need precision. They're so versatile that I find myself hand washing them to avoid dishwasher lag.

Blueberry Banana Bread

Please forgive my absence. We started this blog the week of my finals AKA the week of staying up 20+ hours at a desk, soaking up all 40 free hours of Pandora Radio, and studying everything but cookbooks. So now, it's my time to shine. Now we've seen the breakfast bacon, we've seen the lunch sandwiches, but have we seen a dessert or sweet item? Not until now, ladies and gents.

A little background: I've had migraines on a regular basis since I was 4. I'm type O blood type. I'm the only type O blood type in my family and even more strange, I'm the only one in my family with these horrendous headaches. Why is this important? No, I'm not adopted.

In the last year or so, my brother has turned into the encyclopedia of all things health related. So the moment he read about type O's and their inflammatory response to Gluten he called me. I was skeptical at first because there is no proof that a migraine can be classified as an "inflammatory response," but I also thought of the infamous freshman fifteen. Type O's have a tough time digesting gluten (wheat, barley, rye), so the first efficient way to lose weight is to adhere to a gluten-free diet. Since that call from my brother, I have maintained a gluten-free diet to see if my migraine headaches diminish.

This Blueberry Banana Bread was a great turn out for my first experiment in gluten-free cooking. Most gluten-free breads I have tried are dry. That seems to be the biggest turn off I've encountered so far. I used greek yogurt in this recipe instead of applesauce to add a bit of dairy and moisture (also, I didn't have any applesauce). Also, my gluten free flour was a rice flour. I added 1/2 cup of blueberries to give it something fun too. This recipe offers a great banana bread that fulfills a gluten-free diet that's moist, tastes great, and a beautiful 140 calories per slice.

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour.

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

4 eggs

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4-5 medium)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Mix flour, baking soda, salt in a separate bowl.

Beat eggs, bananas, sugar, applesauce, oil, and vanilla in a bowl

Add the dry ingredients into the wet until just moistened

Transfer mixture to a greased baking pan

Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

let it cool for about 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan onto a wire rack

Until next time, keep cookin', good lookin',

G(anache)

Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs

I almost gave up on this recipe because of how difficult it was to scrub the saucepans, but after discovering a nonstick pan, I'll make this again.

Bourmont Lemonade

For the past week, Chicago has been experiencing a nasty heat wave. Walking out the front door is like walking into a smelly sauna right before the spa is about to close. I daydream of watermelon chilly from the fridge, cucumber salad, and This Drink.

But before we get to This Drink, I first need to breakup with The Other Drink: For the past few summers, the Moscow Mule has been my cocktail of choice. It's easy and refreshing and it's so fun to say. But while I loved it, I didn't love love LOVE it. I can't stand the taste of vodka for one thing. And it's always seemed a bit weak on flavor -- haven't yet found the perfect ginger beer. We drank and ordered it all the time, but I knew deep down in my heart that something wasn't right. We weren't a perfect fit.

But like so many doomed relationships (unfortunately) turn out, I needed to meet This Drink before I found the courage to say goodbye to MM.

You squeeze some lemons. Stir in some maple syrup. Pour over lots of ice with a splash of bourbon. Take a sip. Splash on some more bourbon. Relax. Ask yourself if you've ever tasted anything more delicious. Shake your head no.

I'm obsessed with This Drink. It's smooth and a little dark but still bright from the lemons. I love the genius of maple syrup as the sweetener so I don't have to take on the hassle of hovering over a hot stove, waiting for sugar to melt into a simple syrup. I love that there are basically three ingredients. (Which is kind of what drew me to the Moscow Mule in the first place. You learn something from every relationship.) But this is probably my favorite part: the bourbon makes the drink taste better. It softens the sharp edges of the lemon and underscores the almost savory notes of maple. There's something about vodka that always makes me feel like I'm trying to get tanked. This Drink knows you've had a long day, a hot day, and you need to unwind, but you're still going to need to get up and act like an adult the next day.

Bourmont Lemonade*, adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 8 lemons)
2 1/2 cups cold water
1/4 cup maple syrup
Bourbon
Ice

In a pitcher, mix lemon juice with water and maple syrup. Taste and adjust for sweetness/tartness. Fill two glasses with ice. Pour maple lemonade over glasses, leaving some room for a shot (or two) of bourbon. Add said bourbon. Stir. Drink.

*Thanks to EAR for christening my new love

Turkey Ciabatta part 2

That's right.  I ate the same thing two days in a row.

Here's why:  When working on any new recipe/dish/ingredient, it takes time and experience until you get to know what you're doing, inside and out.  There's a ton of information to gather when you're new: What's the best way to wash and prepare the ingredient?  How does it respond to heat?  What other flavors are consistent with it?  You gain progress with each cooking attempt, but if you don't drive home the lessons with repetition, you'll lose what little you gained.  I remember the week of the potato, the month of the egg, the fortnight of the pasta.  Choose an ingredient and take the time to get to know it.  For me?  I'm resolved to tackle kale next.

And once you are comfortable with the mechanics and assembly, you can focus on balancing the tastes.  Today, I've added some chopped basil, used less turkey, and added more garlic.  By gradually introducing small ingredients, you can better detect what change, if any, they make, while ensuring that no single taste dominates.

Honestly, I'm simply duplicating combinations that I've seen in restaurants.  I try to scout dinner entrees for candidates that can be feasibly reproduced at home.  You can find an unlimited number of recipes online.  The map is there; all you have to do is follow it.

Ciabatta Sandwich

Ingredients come entirely from Costco:
Sliced turkey, freshly grated parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, pesto spread.  Assemble and enjoy.

Tips: You can freeze deli meat.  Costco sells turkey in two 1-lb bins.  I can't finish them quickly enough so I toss the first one into the freezer immediately.  Bonus, the containers they come in are perfect for reusable storage.

Cheese always seems to spoil on me.  I found that the less surface area, the better.  I keep the block in a plastic bag.  Also, the more accessible the cheese, the faster you eat it.  I grate a lot of the cheese at one time, and store it in a ziploc container.  That ways, I can quickly sprinkle it when I need it.

Sundried tomatoes and pesto are fantastically accessible luxuries.  They add a delicious flavor and are compatible with nearly everything (pasta, sandwiches, breakfast).  Because they have such a strong flavor, you don't need to worry about other seasonings.  They last long enough in the refrigerator that you don't have to worry about spoilage as well.

Steak, Potatoes, Mushrooms

Portobello Mushroom.  Drizzle a pan with olive oil.  Place the mushroom caps (destemmed) upside down on the pan on low heat.  Chop some vine ripened tomatoes and fry them in olive oil for a short while to warm them up.  Grate parmesan cheese.  Chop chives.  Combine them all together as pictured.

Pan fried steak.  I used New York cut.  The trick here is to carve and roll the steak to be extremely thin.  Trim the fat.  Add olive oil to a pan and wait until the oil starts to smoke.  Lay down the steak away from you.  If you've cut the steak thin, it should take only about 2 minutes for each side.  With steak, you must allow it to rest out of the pan for about 5 minutes.  Resist the urge to cut it open prematurely to check on cooking progress.

Mashed potatoes are kind of like chili.  You are free to throw whatever you have into them and experiment with cool flavors.  After washing and boiling potatoes with the skin on, I added a tablespoon of butter, a spoonful of Greek yogurt, chicken broth, chopped chives,  fried garlic and scallions, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  For the best cheese, the label of the cheese should read "parmigiano reggiano."  But this Parmesan works fine as well.  It's creamier than expected but the taste is still there.