Ok, this is a photo from the web, but we took this stir fry to a Chinese New Year party and it was a hit- so good! I forgot to take pics. We all made dumplings together- so delicious!
Emeril's Broccoli and Cauliflower Stir-fry
1 cup long grain rice
2 Tb veg oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
3/4 pound broccoli- cut into bite size
3/4 pound cauliflower- cut into bite size
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
red-pepper flakes
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup oyster sauce
Cook rice according to instructions. Meanwhile, in a wok or large skillet, heat oil over high. Add garlic, cook 10 seconds. Add broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, about 4 minutes. Add broth and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add oyster sauce and cook, stirring to combine, 1 minute. Spoon over rice and serve immediately.
(review: Made as is, and everyone loved it. I doubled it. Just in case you haven't used it before: Oyster sauce is not fishy tasting (unlike fish sauce)- it's rich and slightly sweet and a ton of Chinese dishes you love probably have it in them.)
Roasted Red Onion and Squash Pasta2 medium red onions, cut into 6 wedges, layers separated
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 Tbs coarsely chopped fresh sage leaves
1 Tbs olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 pound short ridged pasta, like rigatoni
1/4 cup grated fontina cheese (2 oz)
Preheat oven to 450. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss onions, squash, and sage with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until tender, about 25 minutes, rotating sheet and tossing vegetables halfway through.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot. Add vegetables and cheese and toss to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta.
(review- I liked this, although I did use fontina cheese and it wasn't my super favorite of textures. We had this totally random winter squash that seemed dense like a butternut squash, so I used that instead of butternut and it was ok- butternut would have been even better. I used dried sage- not going to pay $2-3 for an herb for a meatless dish when I already splurged for the cheese. No thanks.)
Onion Focaccia3 Tbs plus 1 tsp olive oil
2 pounds store bought or homemade pizza dough
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Ramano
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 425. Coat an 11 x 17 inch rimmed baking sheet with 2 Tbs oil. Place dough on sheet, stretching to fit (if dough springs back, let rest 20 minutes and repeat.) Drizzle edges of dough with 1 Tbs oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over med-high. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden brown in spots, 12 minutes. Add vinegar and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, 1 minute.
Remove plastic from dough. With your fingertips, poke dimples all over dough, then top with cheese, browned onions, and red pepper flakes. Bake until golden brown around edges, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes. Cut into 20 pieces and serve warm or at room temp. (to store, wrap cooled focaccia in plastic and keep at room temp for 2 days).
(review- We all LOVED THIS. Stephen served his mission in Italy, so when I told him that I was making focaccia for dinner, he got excited- they used to buy it by the square over there from shops for lunch or snack. When he asked about the dough recipe and I told him I was to use my pizza dough recipe he was a little concerned ; ). Turns out focaccia should not be the same texture as pizza. So I added some extra yeast and left it pretty thick when I rolled it out- who stretches it on a sheet, I don't know? He deemed it perfect when he tried it. He really dislikes Romano, so we used parmesan which I always have on hand. One other thing that occurred to me- I just found out a year or 2 ago that when a recipe reads "skillet" they mean like a stainless steel pan or cast iron or something other than non-stick skillet. When they want you to use a non-stick, they say non-stick. They cook so differently, it really does matter.)
Ham, Zucchini and Gruyere Frittata1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped ham (5 oz)
2 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch half-moons (2 cups)
coarse salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese (1.5 oz)
Preheat oven to 425. In a 10 inch-oven proof non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium high. Add ham and zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook until zucchini starts to lightly brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Add eggs and gruyere, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed until edges are set, about 2 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top of frittata is just set, 10-13 minutes. Invert or slide frittata onto a plate and cut into 6 wedges. Serve warm or at room temp.
(review: ok, this is one I made one night when I didn't have a dinner plan. So gruyere did not happen- cheddar had to suffice. I was also short 2 eggs! So I did a hunt through my fridge and decided the full fat sour cream I had on hand might be thick enough to sub for some eggs. I did a search online before I started and found that yes, sour cream was an ok substitute. The sour cream did make it a little grainy in spots- I did not whip in the sour cream, it was left a little chunky. It was enjoyed by all and I LOVE that this issue has 4 different fritatta variations- we love cooking with lots of eggs).
Almond Date SmoothieBlend 3 Tbs almond butter, 4 pitted dates, 1 cup low fat plain yogurt, 1 cup apple cider or juice and 1 cup ice.
(Review: Weird- the texture and taste were both kinda strange. I liked it better than Stephen who apparently thinks smoothies should always be berry/citrus based lol. We probably won't make it again, but it was enjoyable enough.)
Pasta with Eggplant-Tomato Relishcoarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound short, ridged pasta
1 recipe eggplant-tomato relish
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in relish and reserved water, then season with salt and pepper. Top with feta and serve warm or at room temp.
Relish:
Preheat oven to 450. On a rimmed baking sheet, stir together 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes torn into small pieces, 2 unpeeled garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp ground cumin and 1 Tbs olive oil. Place 1 globe eggplant (1 pound) on top of tomato mixture and roast until eggplant is very tender when pierced with a knife and tomato juices are thick- 30-40 minutes. Let cool. Transfer eggplant to a cutting board and halve lengthwise. Scrape out flesh with a spoon (discarding as many seeds as possible); roughly chop flesh. Place in a large bowl. Peel and chop garlic and add to bowl. Stir in tomato mixture and 1/2 small red onion, diced small. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. (to store, refrigerate in an air tight container, up to 1 week.)
(Review: This was really good. The feta didn't seem to set right with this dish- I have NO IDEA why all the cheeses don't seem to be working for me on these dishes. Maybe I am buying too low quality of specialty cheese . . . hmmm. But I have a hard time thinking of what cheese I would use instead . . . )
Sweet and Sour Chicken with Green Beans1 cup long grain white rice
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
2 bell peppers seeded and diced large
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved
5 scallions, thinly sliced
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs chopped roasted peanuts
Cook rice. Meanwhile, in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat oil over high. Add chicken, bell peppers and green beans, cook stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.
Whisk soy sauce mix, add to skillet, and cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and serve over rice with peanuts on top if desired.
(Review: This was delicious, but I made some changes. Fresh green beans and bell peppers were way too expensive, so I opted to buy frozen instead. I got one bag of beans, and one bag of the bell pepper strips. I cooked the chicken by itself, and removed it from the wok. I then added the frozen veggies. The key to cooking with frozen veggies is to cook the water off and not cook them to death so they don't look too ugly. One method I use is to push the veggies into the edges of the wok to let the water cook off from the middle. Once I felt like the veggies were cooked but not over cooked, I added the chicken back and added the sauce. It came out pretty good. I am sure it would taste better with fresh, but just too spendy for me that week.)
Peanut-Banana Espresso SmoothieBlend 1 cup low fat milk, 1 Tbs instant espresso powder, 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter, 1 ripe banana cut into thirds and 1 cup ice.
Serves 2 (big glasses) Calories: 307
(Review: I did not use the espresso powder since we don't drink coffee in any form, but I did sub some of my special cocoa powder and I thought this was DELICIOUS. Stephen is more partial to the fruity kinds like I mentioned, but I think this is a great sub for a milkshake any day.)
1 comment:
Looks good, maybe you should start your own recipe book. I wish I still had your enthusiasm for cooking. It kind of dies as you get older.
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