Turmeric Black Pepper Chicken

Give your traditional bbq sauce the year off and give this tangy spice rub a try this holiday weekend…no matter what part of the chicken you’re planning on grilling.

For four pounds of chicken, mix together two teaspoons of ground black pepper, a teaspoon of turmeric, four teaspoons of kosher salt, and a teaspoon of sugar.  About an hour before grilling, use your hands to rub the spice mixture into the chicken.

What really makes this dish pop is fresh lime juice…once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the grill and squeeze two limes over the top then serve.

Happy 4^th!

Roast Squash with Chili Yogurt and Cilantro Puree

Once I turn off my furnace for the summer, I don’t care how cold it gets, there’s no way I’m turning it back on until Fall.  So, when the nights get cool, dinner is all about roasting, and this Ottolenghi squash recipe is one of my new favorites.

Start by washing a large butternut squash as you’ll be leaving the skin on. Wipe dry and cut it in half the long way, remove the seeds, then cut it into wedges 2 to 3 inches long by ¾ inches wide.  Place in a large bowl and toss with a third of a cup of olive oil, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of salt, and some black pepper. 

Roast skin side down on a baking sheet at 425 for about 40 minutes, or until soft, then take out of the oven and let cool.

For the Chili yogurt, stir together a cup of Greek Yogurt and a teaspoon or two of Sriracha. To make the cilantro puree simply combine a half a bunch of cilantro, a clove of garlic, a large drizzle of olive oil, and a few pinches of salt in a food processor. 

To serve, liberally dollop the yogurt and cilantro puree over the squash as well as some toasted almonds or pumpkin seeds…if you happen to have some in the pantry.

Refried Beans

Most of the time it’s the sides that takes grilled meat or veggies to the next level, and some homemade refried beans will do just that.

Drain two cans of black or pinto beans into a strainer and rinse well. In a pot with a little bit of vegetable oil, sauté a small diced onion and four minced garlic cloves until translucent. It’s not necessary, but if you want to add some cumin, chili, or chipotle powder, this is the time to stir them in.

Add the drained beans along with half a cup of chicken or vegetable stock then simmer uncovered for twenty minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, then remove from the heat and either mash them with a potato masher, or transfer them to a food processor and pulse until you’ve reached the consistency you’re looking for.

Put them back on low heat and stir in the juice from a lime wedge or two. Serve topped with some crumbled Queso Fresco of feta if you happen to have some handy.

Roast Broccoli with Everything Bagel Seasoning

 

There’s always so much to do this time of year, and making dinner often becomes more of a chore than the highlight of your evening. We live in an incredible place, but on nights like these, I just wish we could get a pizza delivered.

This is when you need to pull out your secret ingredients, for this one I recommend everything bagel seasoning. It’s all about the condiments, right!

Preheat your oven to 450, then cut up your broccoli and toss well with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and several generous shakes of salt and pepper. Mix it together with your hands, throw it in the oven, set your timer for 30 minutes, and go pull some weeds or get the kids in the bath. 

After 30 minutes, give it a quick toss and roast for another 10 to 15. You’re looking for some char around the edges. When you get it where you want it, set it on the stove and immediately hit it with the everything bagel seasoning.  Done!  Serve it right away or later at room temperature.

It goes great with cheese and olives too.

Soft Shell Crab with Lemon Aioli

Soft shell crab season has begun, and it’s a short one so don’t wait! Anyone that’s made them before knows how easy they are to prepare, as is lemon aioli, the perfect accompaniment. Whether you eat them hot out of the pan, or sandwiched between a grilled buttered bun, soft shell crabs mean the start of summer.

When you get your crabs, ask the folks at the fish counter to clean them for you…much easier. To cook the crabs, generously salt and pepper both sides, dredge in flour, and fry for a few minutes per side in a medium hot pan with just enough vegetable oil to barely cover the bottom. When they’re crispy golden, remove and drain for half a minute on a brown paper bag or paper towel.

The aioli can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Separate a room temperature egg then slide the yolk into a small bowl. Add the juice from a quarter of a lemon and a half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, whisk well.

Slowly drizzle about a quarter cup olive oil into the bowl while whisking constantly. If it starts to separate, hold off on the oil and whisk until it comes back together. When it’s about the consistency of a thin mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Depending on what else you’re serving, you may want to also whisk in a minced clove of garlic.

Vietnamese Sauce

This traditional Vietnamese sauce also doubles for a super flavorful marinade as well as a salad dressing. This time around I marinated the steak for an hour, the brown sugar makes for some awesome caramelization. I then served it with a small bowl of the sauce on the side along with some raw cucumber and radish. Yum!

No cooking required, just stir together a half a cup of fish sauce, the juice from three limes and the zest from one, two tablespoon of brown sugar, two minced garlic cloves, and a seeded minced jalapeno. 

Celery Parmesan Soup

 

This is the perfect soup for this time of year, almost spring.

In a large soup pot with some olive oil, sauté a chopped shallot, a minced clove of garlic, and a chopped head or two of celery…leaves and all. Give it about ten minutes then add a quarter teaspoon of black pepper and enough chicken stock to cover the celery by about an inch. As always, the better the stock, the better the soup.

Simmer for approximately thirty minutes or until the celery is very soft, then puree using a stick blender or transfer to a food processor.

Put the soup back on low heat and stir in a cup or two of grated parmesan. It depends on how much soup you made, but it’s hard to add too much. To finish, salt to taste.

Roasted Eggplant with Oregano

Meat, veggies, cheese, beer, salami, tortillas, rum, the list goes on.  The number of food and beverage producers here in the MRV is incredible! And if we cooks weren’t already lucky enough, we can now add dried herbs to the list of local products. The Mad River Botanicals’ dried oregano I picked up at Mehurons for this eggplant roast was the best thing to fresh I’ve ever found on a supermarket shelf.

Preheat your oven to 450 then slice about two pounds of eggplant into ¾ inch rounds. In a large bowl, use your hands to toss the eggplant with a tablespoon of salt and enough olive oil to coat well.  It may take as much as half a cup depending on how thirsty your eggplant is.

Place the slices on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for approximately 45 minutes.

While those are cooking, mix together six to eight minced anchovy fillets, a tablespoon plus of red wine vinegar, a minced garlic clove, two to three tablespoons of olive oil, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, and a half a teaspoon of salt.

Pull the eggplant from the oven when they’re golden on the outside and creamy all the way through.  Set aside to cool, then gently toss with the anchovy mixture, a quarter cup of chopped parsley, and a tablespoon of dried oregano. 

Scallion Chicken

This one may look familiar, it’s an exceptionally tasty recipe I saw recently in NYT Cooking. I used a couple of pounds of boneless chicken thighs.

Preheat your oven to 450 while you stir together 4 thinly chopped scallions, 3 tablespoons each of Dijon mustard and fresh minced ginger, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, a tablespoon of white miso paste, 2 teaspoons of lt. brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of black pepper, and 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil. 

In a large bowl, toss together the chicken and sauce until it’s well coated.  Spread the thighs out in an oven proof baking dish or sheet pan and roast on until they’re cooked through, approximately 25 minutes. 

Crispy Potato Veggie Melt

Crispy bottom, creamy middle, gooey top, that’s why you should always throw in a few extra potatoes for later in the week when you’re making baked potatoes. 

Preheat your oven to 500.  Place your fully baked potatoes in an oven proof dish, squash them flat with a potato masher, salt, pepper, and drizzle generously with olive oil. When your oven reaches temperature, roast on a lower rack for approximately twenty minutes.

While your potatoes are cooking, slice up some mushrooms, scallions, spinach, kale, or leftover veggies you may have in the fridge…broccoli, cauliflower, or peppers…nearly anything will work. Sauté together until they’re soft and wilted, then salt and pepper to taste. You could add some chili flakes too for some heat. 

When your potatoes are crispy on the bottom and around the edges, pull from the oven and cover with the sauteed veggies and some shredded cheddar, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack cheese.  Turn the oven down to 350 and bake for another fifteen minutes.

Carrot Ginger Dressing

It was incredibly difficult to hide my emotions when I saw my first bag of local spinach at the market last week, big thanks to those that helped me get back to my feet. 

After I gained my composure, I couldn’t get home fast enough to make a salad. I wasn’t even out of the parking lot before I knew what dressing I’d be going with, carrot ginger…one of my favorites. It’s a sure thing whether you toss it with spinach, kale, iceberg, Brussel sprouts, endive, or grilled asparagus.

Roughly chop a couple of carrots and pulse a few times in a food processor. Add an inch or so of chopped unpeeled ginger, a couple tablespoons of fresh lime juice, three teaspoons of honey, a teaspoon or two of sesame oil, a quarter teaspoon of salt, a third of a cup of extra virgin olive oil, and a third of a cup of rice vinegar. Run until smooth, add more salt to taste.

Support your local farmers!

Bacon and Pea Pasta

 

This pasta is reason enough to always have bacon and peas in your freezer.

Cut a half pound of bacon into quarter inch slices and sauté over medium heat. Once it starts to brown, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add a large finely chopped shallot to the hot pan with the bacon fat and sauté until translucent. Slide in a couple of minced garlic cloves, cook for another minute then turn down the heat to low. Stir in the defrosted peas as well as the cooked bacon and leave on the heat while the noodles are boiling.

Before draining the pasta reserve a cup of the pasta water in a measuring cup and stir in a teaspoon of concentrated chicken stock.

Add a half a cup of the chicken stock to the bacon and peas scraping any bits up from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the drained pasta and a cup of grated parmesan or pecorino. Toss well, adding the rest of the chicken stock as to loosen things up. 

Let it sit for minute, top with a little more cheese, and serve.