Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of sliced scallions
4 tablespoons of red Thai curry
1 14 ounce can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 cups of roasted, cubed sweet potato
1 cup of cubed pineapple
lime wedges
Directions:
1. Make sauce by cooking 1/2 scallions in oil until fragrant. Add curry paste and stir. Add coconut milk and fish sauce. Simmer for a few minutes to blend flavors.
2. Add pineapple and roasted sweet potato and toss gently to warm, coat and season.
3. Serve warm, topped with cilantro and lime wedges.
Optional: Serve over rice or noodles.
Cauliflower Puree Pierogi with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Brussel Sprouts
This was an adventure...
I recently ate at my friend's restaurant and they served the most delicious cauliflower puree. I left pleasantly full and inspired. Also, since I now live in the land of pierogi, and have wanted to try making them for awhile now, I had the novel idea to marry the two concepts.
On my first attempt I totally messed up the dough (see recipe below), and they turned into a mushy, doughy, disgusting mess.
It made me realize two things; one, I didn't have time to remake the dough for that night's dinner, and two, I had to add something with texture.
Luckily, I found a package of wonton wrappers hiding in my bin (problem one solved); then I added the caramelized onions and the roasted brussel sprouts for texture (problem two solved).
The recipe was good...would I make it again?! Maybe.
But like Todd said, they would probably be better with a large pork chop....
Ingredients:
Cauliflower (4 cups)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup of milk
One large Onion, sliced + Caramelized (slice, saute in oil until golden brown; season with s/p)
Brussel sprouts, roasted (toss with olive oil, s/p in oven on 375 until browned)
Won-ton wrappers
Egg white
Butter for sauteing pierogi
Directions:
1. Boil cauliflower until fork tender; blend until smooth with s/p, butter and milk. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
2. Caramelize onions and roast brussel sprouts
3. Assemble pierogi: add a dollop of puree to wonton wrapper. Seal edges with egg white, folding the wrapper over on itself.
*Here is a better recipe for pierogi dough with directions on how to do this the right way....
4. Saute the pierogies in butter, along with the onions until golden brown on both sides
5. Serve warm with brussel sprouts and onions.
Black Bean and Poblano Soup
This recipe is adapted from 'The Moosewood' cookbook; one of my favorites from college, and a go-to for anything vegetarian.
I included the link for the recipe, however I tinkered with the ingredients a bit...I encourage you to follow their recipe first, as they do not disappoint, then if you feel like it, follow the minor changes I made.
The only things I did differently are, 1. I used a red bell pepper instead of a green bell pepper (oooo...big change)! and 2. I used poblano peppers instead of chipotle peppers (ooo...another big change)!
I doubt either of these changes altered the flavors much, but my fridge called the shots on this one.
Enjoy!
Chili!
This is my go-to chili recipe. It seriously makes enough to feed a small village, so either adapt to your crowd, or be ready to eat chili for the next month. I usually do make it with meat, however I just omitted it from this week's batch. It still made our bellies happy, and even cut in half we had enough left over to make nachos for the big game.
Of course, Todd would contend that it is better with the meat, so I'll include it in the recipe in case you are a meat lover too. Just feel free to skip it if you choose vegetarian.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. group veal/beef mix
1 lb. sirloin, cut into one inch cubes
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons, cumin
2 tablespoons, chili powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cayenne
18 ounces of tomato paste
2 tsp. sugar
3 cups of diced, fresh tomatoes (or canned san marzano tomatoes)
3 cups diced onion
3 cups diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced roasted poblano pepper
3 cups beans (3 cans, drained)
*I added 2 more cans of beans since I omitted the meat in this batch
1 cups chopped cilantro
1 cup beef broth
Optional for serving: more chopped cilantro, garlic bread/chips, grated cheese, sour cream, jalapenos
Directions:
1. Cook sirloin and garlic with olive oil. Add ground meat and cook until brown. Drain.
2. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and cayenne
3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for +- 10 minutes
4. Add tomatos, tomato paste, onions, peppers and sugar and simmer an additional ten minutes
5. Add beans and cilantro
6. Simmer; add broth to desired consistency. Adjust spices if necessary.
7. Serve warm.
Optional: Top with cheese and melt under a broiler. Serve with additional cilantro, garlic bread/chips, sour cream, jalapenos....
I hope you guys enjoy these recipes.
It was a fun week, so stay tuned for more to come!
