blue artichoke

This once was a food blog, but it sure has been a long time since I've blogged about food. The January diet halted the Ultimate Snackdown recipe contest and our renewed commitment to healthy eating, coupled with a busy schedule, has thrown a wrench into the weekly Wandering Gullet meals.

I'm currently trying to put in a full day of work on several projects while still carving out time for reading and cooking. I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, about her sustainable living project. I'm on the fringe of the organic/slow food/locavore movement, interested more by the health considerations than any environmental or political concerns. As I sliced a cantaloupe yesterday to mix with some blackberries, I considered how much out-of-season food I eat, grown thousands of miles away and shipped right to my shopping cart at the local grocery store. I don't really see anything wrong with that; it allows me to eat a varied diet every day.

Almost every month, I've been posting a list of what foods are in season (though I think I forgot to do it this month). I read over the list, get excited to see something new or sad to see a favorite go, but it doesn't really affect my shopping habits. Though I don't buy winter tomatoes, I'm still buying apples (fall produce), berries (late summer produce) and asparagus (spring produce). I can eat the entire year in a single meal.

Looking through my pantry, I have a lot of food I consider winter fare. Hearty, filling and dense, I have lots of dried beans, wild rice and polenta. All of these items were no-nos on the January diet. Though they are allowed now, I haven't been eating much of these starchy foods. This brings me to a conundrum. I like my new diet of mostly meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts and don't want to add a lot of starch back into the mix. On the other hand, I hate wasting food. All of the containers are open, so I can't donate them to the food bank, and some make up only a few portions. My solution, I think, will be to add some starch back, in small portions, for no more than three meals per week until the starch stores are gone, or until the weather warms up and we can't stomach such filling foods. Whichever comes first. We've already eaten some pasta and a really thick and hearty white bean soup this week, and tonight had red lentil soup. Next week we'll dip into the jars of wild rice and polenta. Hopefully we'll have empty cupboards and trim waists by the end of winter.

White Bean Soup with Greens and Rosemary

SuperFoods Rx
I used chicken stock instead of water or vegetable stock and used dried thyme in place of fresh. I also added 1 # turkey kielbasa, sliced and sautéed with the carrots and onions. Delicious.

1 c. dried white beans
4 c. veggie stock or water
1 bay leaf
1 T. olive oil
2 med carrots, cubed
1 med onion, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 ½ t. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 t. chopped fresh thyme
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
1b bunch spinach, kale or chard (10-12 oz.), rinsed and stemmed
3 T. grated Parm, optional

To prepare the beans, put them in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover by 1-2”. Set aside to soak for 6 hours and up to 12 hours. Change water 2-3x during soaking. Drain the beans.

In a stockpot, combine the drained beans, stock and bay leaf; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until beans are tender but not mushy.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the oil over med heat and sauté the carrot and onion for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook 5 minutes, or until softened. Transfer to the pot with the beans.

Cook the soup for ~15 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rosemary, thyme, pepper and cayenne; cook 15 minutes longer, or until the flavors meld. Add the spinach and cook for ~5 minutes or just until wilted. If using kale, allow 10 minutes for it to wilt.

Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with cheese, if desired, before serving.

Serves 6.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday was our first snow day of the winter, beginning around noon and tapering off by 5:00pm. It started in spurts, but turned into a beautiful wintry day, with big flakes and maybe an inch or two of accumulation. I opened up the blinds in the living room and watched our quiet neighborhood become blanketed in white. That is, until a huge white bakery truck parked right in front of the house, totally blocking my view. Argh.

For dinner, I made spicy shrimp and grits, which somehow seemed fitting for the first snow. If you can't warm up by a roaring fire, try this dish. Hot and spicy, indeed. GC liked it so much, he wanted to send the recipe to the food editor of the local newspaper...

Spicy Shrimp And Grits

Bon Appétit | November 2007

6 cups water
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk (do not use fat-free)
1-½ cups quick-cooking grits
1- ½ cups (packed) coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese

5 bacon slices, chopped
2 cups sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms (4 to 5 ounces)
1 cup chopped onion
¾ cup chopped green bell pepper
2-¼ cups chopped plum tomatoes, divided
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce

Bring water and milk to boil in large saucepan. Gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until grits are thick, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Mix in cheese; season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, sauté bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Add mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, and 1-½ cups tomatoes to drippings in skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium-high heat until vegetables are tender and sauce is thick, about 12 minutes. Add shrimp, hot sauce, and ¾ cup tomatoes to skillet. Sauté until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 4 minutes.

Spoon hot grits onto plates; top with shrimp and sauce.

Makes 4 servings

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight, Gentleman Caller and I plan to watch the UFC fights on pay-per-view. Usually, fight night = pizza night, but tonight I'm making a badass meal to complement the fights. While soup isn't usually known for it's aggressive style or heavy hands, this soup has knockout power. It's a five lily soup, containing onions, leeks, shallots, scallions and garlic, all members of the lily family.

Not only does this soup provide TKO-breath, it's actually quite healthy. Especially the garlic. The smell associated with garlic comes from allium, which is an antibiotic, an intestinal antispasmodic, a decongestant and an expectorant. Garlic lowers the levels of blood cholesterol and triglycerides, lowers blood pressure and reduces blood clotting (as do onions, leeks and shallots). It stimulates the immune system and is an antioxidant, as well as a germicide, fungicide and intestinal worm killer. What a heavyweight powerhouse! Onions, leeks and shallots contain antibacterial agents. The stuff in onions that make you cry also breaks up mucus congestion. And all members of the lily family generally promote heart health and prevent various cancers.

All of these lilies are available throughout the winter, so take advantage of this soup's medicinal qualities to help you weather winter colds and sniffles.

Five Lily Soup

The ingredient amounts are mere suggestions. This is what I happened to use for tonight's soup, but feel free to increase or decrease amounts according to what's in your fridge and how much crying you can stand, chopping all those oniony ingredients!

1/4 c. butter
2-3 leeks, whites and light green parts, diced and rinsed properly
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, whole
1 shallot, diced
2 green onions, sliced (I used the white and light green parts in the soup, then used the darker green ends for garnish)

Sweat together. This means cook over low heat until soft, but not browned.

+ 1/4 c. flour. Stir and let flour cook a little bit to make a roux.

+ 1 can chicken broth
1/2 c. heavy cream
Bring to simmer.

For a more refined soup, strain through china cap or strainer and whizz with an immersion blender. I prefer a more peasant-style chunky soup, so I just correct the consistency by adding more chicken stock or water if the soup is too thick and season with salt until it's just so good that I can't stand it. (Plus, I don't have to clean a strainer or blender. Aces!)
Done.

It is possible to OD on garlic, as GC found out after a visit to a garlic-themed restaurant in San Francisco when he suffered some gastric distress. We both had garlic-scented sweat for days after that glorious meal. That garlic smell is difficult to remove. Some say rubbing your hands on stainless steel or rubbing them with cut lemon removes the odor. I'm not convinced. I'd say just feed garlic to your friends and family so, in the words of UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, everyone's "bref stank."

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I haven't been cooking very much this week. I'm lazy and we have a freezer stuffed with leftovers, so why bother? Yesterday, though, I made a traditional French beef stew, Daube de Boeuf.

It all started with a leftover roast chicken. Yesterday was trash day, so I wanted to pull off the remaining meat to freeze and throw away the chicken carcass. Usually, I put that sort of trash in the freezer because it stinks up the kitchen trash can between pick-ups. But, you see, my freezer is too full to add trash to it, so I decided to go ahead and use the beef roast I had been thawing in the fridge and throw out the packaging and trimmings right away. This recipe takes a while to prepare, because the meat needs to marinate for at least three hours. Perfect! I trimmed the meat and prepared the marinade in the wee hours of the morning, in plenty of time to take the trash out to the curb. Late afternoon, I drained the meat, chopped the rest of the vegetables, layered them in my Dutch oven, poured in the reserved marinade and beef stock, and put it in the oven to cook for several hours. Though it takes quite a while to assemble, the long marinating and cooking times give you plenty of opportunity to clean up the mess you make in the kitchen.

Daube de Boeuf

Like most stews, this gets better the next day. Don’t be intimidated by the lengthy ingredient list. It’s actually quite a simple recipe.

3# rump pot roast or chuck pot roast, cut into 2 ½” squares, 1” thick
1 ½ c. dry white wine or dry white vermouth
¼ c. brandy, eau de vie or gin
2 T. olive oil
2 t. sea salt
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. thyme leaves
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
2 c. thinly sliced onions [I used a food processor to slice the onions and carrots.]
2 c. thinly sliced carrots
½# lean bacon, cut into ¼” thick strips and 2” long, simmered in water 10m, drained and dried
1 ½ c. sliced mushrooms
2 ¼ c. canned whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 c. sifted flour, on a plate [I omitted the sifting. It's just too much work, and not necessary.]
1-2 c. beef broth

In a large nonreactive bowl, combine beef and next 10. Cover and marinate at least 3h, stirring up frequently.

Remove the beef from the marinade and drain in a sieve. Preheat the oven to 325.

Line the bottom of a deep 6-qt casserole with 3-4 strips of bacon. Strew a handful of the marinade veggies, mushrooms and tomatoes over them. Piece by piece, roll the beef in the flour and shake off excess. Place closely together in a layer over the veggies. Cover with a few strips of bacon and continue with layers of veggies, beef and bacon. End with a layer of veggies and 2-3 strips of bacon.

Pour in the wine from the marinade and enough stock almost to cover the contents of the casserole. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, cover tightly and set in lower third of the oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers slowly for 3-4 hours. The meat is done with a fork pierces it easily.

Before serving, skim off excess fat. Correct seasoning. The daube can be served with boiled baby white potatoes, lightly crushed and seasoned with melted butter, coarse salt and chopped parsley.

Cooking for Mr. Latte: A Food Lover’s Courtship, with Recipes, by Amanda Hesser, adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1, by Julia Child.
Daube for 6.

Blanched bacon, while smelling good, looks gross. It contributes a deep smoky and meaty flavor to the daube, but is rather disgusting to find on the end of your spoon. I picked it out of my bowl. I wouldn't omit it from the recipe, it contributes too much to the dish, but if serving this to company, I might think about picking it out afterwards, though tedious. Or, if serving it to good friends or family, I'd just issue a warning and let people pick it out themselves if they wish.

This made plenty of leftovers (more things to add to the freezer!). If it's true that this stew gets better the next day, than it will be outstanding, because it's pretty darn good on the day it's made.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As soon as I spy Brach's candy corn on the shelves, I snatch up a bag and, along with Halloween-colored M&Ms, make up a batch of this snack mix. I took a batch to Rhode Island with me (that's where I've been for those who wondered about my many days of silence); it didn't last very long. Try it and you'll see why.

Autumn Snack Mix

4 cups toasted corn or rice squares cereal
2 cups pretzels
1-cup peanuts
1 cup Brach’s Autumn Mix or candy corn
1 cup Pumpkin Patch Mix M&Ms
¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup corn syrup
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon vanilla

In a large, greased roasting pan, gently mix together the cereal, pretzels and peanuts.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil for five minutes, without stirring.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda; the mixture will bubble.

Stir well and pour evenly over the cereal mixture, stirring to coat. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely, occasionally stirring to break up the larger chunks. When completely cool, add the Autumn Mix and M&Ms. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 9 cups.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home fall 2005 "Cooking School Cookbook."

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It stormed last night; today it is sunny, cool and breezy. Cool enough, I think, to turn on the oven. I have some plums at the peak of ripeness, too many to eat before they all go bad, so I think I'll make some sort of delicious baked plum dessert today.

Last night during the storm and while I was making dinner: "Uh oh, some of the ceiling fell down... Oh my God! Is that a ham crust?" It did indeed, and it was indeed. I made a Canadian Bacon-and-Brie Quiche, aka Real Men Clog Arteries. A Canadian bacon crust filled with a mixture of mayonnaise, Brie and eggs. Whew! Delicious, but I'm glad we don't eat like that often.

Canadian Bacon-and-Brie Quiche

16 Canadian bacon slices
1 (8-ounce) round Brie cheese
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Garnishes: edible flowers, fresh rosemary sprigs

Arrange bacon slices on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9-inch pieplate, slightly overlapping slices.
Remove rind from Brie, and cut into cubes. [I left the rind on; if you choose to undress the Brie, freezing it for ~15 minutes will make it easier to cut].

Stir together eggs, cubed Brie, mayonnaise, and next 3 ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture into prepared pieplate.
Bake at 375° for 30 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let quiche stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2004

By the way, the ceiling is fine.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I've never really been a "joiner." Neither is GC, and that's one reason we get along so well. I might have joined Y-teens in middle school, the International Club in high school and the Outing Club in college (not to mention a rather disastrous year in a sorority), but my membership in those organizations was either calculated or half-hearted. I'm just not a group person. I'm a lone wolf. But this week I joined two groups. The first is a ladies' disc golf league. I enjoy playing disc golf with GC, but more for the company and exercise than a love of disc golf. I don't hang out with a group of girls very often though, so thought I'd give ladies' league a whirl. Let me tell you, girls talk about the weirdest things. It would be too girly for me to repeat them here, but I had fun, wasn't the worst one in the group, and will go back again next week.

The second group I joined was a Muay Thai class. For a long time, I've wanted to learn how to drop someone with a kick. It's a good skill to know for self-defense, and for general bad-assery. My class is for beginners, ages 8+. I was afraid I'd be the only adult, but there is a lady older than I am, a dad, his two sons and another boy, age 10. We do circuits, and I've learned that I suck at push-ups but can churn out a surprising number of sit-ups/crunches. But my favorite part is hitting the heavy bag and working the mitts with my instructor. We just worked on punches today, but get to learn kicks next week. I already feel like a Thai warrior.

Both of these new activities go on the 30 New Things list:
1. Roast a duck
2. Learn to make glass beads
3. Swim in an underground river
4. Sea-Trek
5. Touch a sea turtle
6. Make a chocolate meringue pie
7. Eat collard greens
8. Cirque du Soleil: Ka
9. Make ice cream
10. Eat lunch with a down's syndrome guy
11. Learn to post pictures on my blog
12. Wear shorts, a tank top and a thong on purpose, all day and in public
13. Join a Ladies’ Disc Golf League
14. Begin Muay Thai lessons

Because both of these new groups are in the evenings, this means a lot of make-ahead and crock pot meals that can be put on the table soon after I get home. We had a chicken and rice crock pot meal tonight that was less than spectacular. Last night, though, we had a great make-ahead dinner. Oat cakes. Not oat pancakes, but oatmeal cakes. You make a batch of oatmeal, using the super-good-for-you-and-cholesterol-lowering-but-long-cooking steel-cut oatmeal, put it in a 13x9" pan and let it cool and harden, cut into squares and pan-fry. Here's a more detailed recipe:

Griddled Steel-Cut Oatcakes

3 1/2 cups (or more) water
1 3/4 cups steel-cut oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup plus additional for serving
1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Melted butter (for brushing)
2 pints strawberries, hulled, sliced

Butter 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan or rimmed baking sheet. Bring 3 1/2 cups water to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add oats and salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until oatmeal is tender but still firm to bite, stirring often and adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if too thick, about 30 minutes. Add cream, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, sugar, and vanilla; stir until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Spread oatmeal in prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Cut chilled oatmeal into squares or triangles. Heat griddle or heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush griddle with melted butter. Cook oatcakes until golden brown and heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Divide oatcakes among plates, drizzle with maple syrup, spoon strawberries over, and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings

Bon Appétit | September 2007

Yum! I served it with sausages, making it a breakfast-dinner. Had I used turkey sausages, it would have been a healthier meal, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite make-ahead meal?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm not really a morning person, but once I wake up, that's it, no going back to sleep for me. Such was the case yesterday; I can get a lot accomplished when I wake up early. I can make desserts. Still on the pie kick, I turned a crate of quickly ripening giant peaches into an awesome peach pie, with a double crust. The pie was particularly exciting, as it was my first double crust pie. It was much easier than I expected, and looked amazing. I took a picture of the little beauty cooling on the windowsill, but I was salivating too much to hold the camera steady. Just picture the cheeriest golden-brown topped pie you can imagine; that's what it looked like.

Summer Peach Pie with Vanilla and Cardamom

No need to peel the peaches – the peel provides great color, texture and flavor. Just gently rub off the peach fuzz with a kitchen towel.

2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
½ vanilla bean, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (scant) ground cardamom
3-¾ pounds firm but ripe unpeeled peaches, halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 slices (about 10 cups)
2 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disks*
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Whipping cream (for glaze)
Vanilla ice cream

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean in processor; blend until vanilla bean is very finely minced. Sift vanilla sugar through strainer into large bowl; discard any large bits in strainer. Mix flour and cardamom into vanilla sugar. Add peaches to flour-sugar mixture and toss gently to coat.

Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Spoon peach mixture into crust; dot with butter. Roll out second pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Drape dough over peach filling; trim overhang to 1 1/2 inches. Fold top and bottom edges under, pressing together to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Using small sharp knife, cut 2-inch-long X in center of top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust lightly with whipping cream; sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, peaches are tender, and juices bubble thickly through cut in top crust, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool until lukewarm, about 2 hours.

Serve pie lukewarm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Serves 8.

Best-Ever Pie Crust
2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
½ cup chilled lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½” cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Makes 2 pie crusts (enough dough for 1 double-crust pie, 1 lattice-topped pie, or 2 single-crust pies).

Bon Appétit, July 2007

To go along with this awesome pie, I made homemade vanilla ice cream (round 2). This batch was much better than the first in the flavor department. It used only 3 egg yolks and a real vanilla bean, so it tasted more like traditional vanilla ice cream and less like the vanilla-flavored egg custard I made the first time around. The texture, though, was decidedly subpar, more like iced milk than ice cream. It had none of the smooth creaminess of the first batch, probably because it used 5 fewer egg yolks. I'll try adding another egg yolk or two in the future; perhaps I'll be able to find the delicate balance between the vanilla flavor of the second batch and the creaminess of the first batch.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Substitute two teaspoons pure vanilla extract if you don't have a vanilla bean. The most reasonably-priced vanilla beans I've found are at World Market.

3 1/3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 (6-inch) vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks

Combine milk and half-and-half in a medium, heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean; add seeds and bean to pan. Bring milk mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Remove bean; discard.

Combine sugar and egg yolks; beat with mixer at high speed until thick and pale. Gradually add half of hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over medium-low heat 2 minutes or until thermometer registers 160°; stir constantly.

Place pan in an ice-filled bowl. Cool, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

CALORIES 213(30% from fat); FAT 7.1g (sat 4g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 5.9g; CHOLESTEROL 96mg; CALCIUM 186mg; SODIUM 76mg; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 0.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.1g
Cooking Light, JULY 2006

As if those desserts weren't enough, we had quite a tasty dinner that was healthy enough to justify such indulgent treats. This is a great summertime recipe because it is light and quick to prepare; also, it is one of the best assembled-from-packaged-foods meals that I've had in a while.

Greek Pasta With Tomatoes and White Beans

You can vary the recipe by using chickpeas instead of cannellini beans and grated Romano cheese in place of feta. I used the called-for cannellini beans and a whole package of feta, which I think is 4 oz. I also used spinach penne, and plenty of salt and pepper.

2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach, chopped (about 8 cups)
4 cups hot cooked penne (about 1/2-pound uncooked tubular-shaped pasta)
½ cup (2 ounces) finely crumbled feta cheese

Combine tomatoes and beans in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Place 1 cup pasta on each of four plates; top each serving with 1-¼ cups sauce and 2 tablespoons cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 474 (12% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 2.5g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.6g); PROTEIN 22.5g; CHOLESTEROL 13mg; CALCIUM 343mg; SODIUM 1553mg; FIBER 10.6g; IRON 8.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 84.7g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 1998

Getting to Know All About You: Have you ever been mugged?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday didn't lend itself to fancy cooking, so we will wander to Costa Rica tonight and I'll post the results tomorrow. Last night we had Latin-Style Flank Steak and Argentinian Grilled Eggplant leftovers from Saturday night, for the first time I can remember serving leftovers the day after serving the original meal. I did make a new side dish, though, so it wasn't a complete repeat meal. Using the extra corn I had grilled, I made Creamed Grilled Corn. The steak and eggplant were pretty good too, so I'll share all three recipes.

Latin-Style Flank Steak

Steak had a really nice flavor, but I overcooked it somehow. I grilled for ~15m and it temped 137 in the thickest part; removed it from the grill and let it sit for ~10m. It was well done in the thinner part and medium-well in the thick part. Next time, I'll check it after 10m. Flavor was really good, though, and it was easy to prepare. Chipotle butter was good on the steak (and in the omelet I made the next morning). I have a lot left over; so halving the butter would be better. It’s pretty hot, even with decreasing the amount of chipotle.

Rub:
2-½ T. ground cumin
1 T. chili
1 T. ground coriander
1 ½ t. freshly ground black pepper
½ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. dried oregano
Steak:
1 ½ - 2# flank steak, trimmed of any excess fat and membrane
1 t. olive oil
1 t. kosher salt
1 recipe Chipotle Butter*

Rub: Mix all in a small bowl.
Grill: 30m before grilling, coat the steak with the oil and pat on all of the rub, coating evenly. Heat a gas grill to med high (you should be able to hold your hand 2” above the grate for 3-4s) or prepare a med-hot charcoal fire. Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt. If your grill has a hot spot, position the thicker end of the steak near the hottest spot. Grill until med-rare, 12-15m, turning steak every 3-4m to ensure even cooking. The thickest part of the steak will register 135-140 on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 3-5m. Slice as you like. Portion onto dinner plates. Immediately cut the chilled butter into ¼” slices and set a slice or two on each serving while the steak is warm, using a scant T. of butter per serving.

Serves 4-6.
Serve with beer, such as pale ale.

*Chipotle Butter:
¼# (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, completely softened at room temp
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, stemmed, seeded and minced
2 T. fresh lime juice
Scant t. ground cumin
½ t. kosher salt; more to taste

In a small bowl, cream butter with a wooden spoon ‘til smooth. Add rest, blending until evenly incorporated. Taste and add more salt if needed. Using plastic wrap to shape and smooth, mold butter into a log ~1 ½” in diameter. Wrap well in plastic and transfer to the fridge (or freezer if in a hurry) to firm.

Yield: ~8 T.

Use leftover chipotle butter on hamburgers, grill pork tenderloin and corn on the cob.

Fine Cooking, June/July 2003

Argentinian Grilled Eggplant
Used one white and one purple-and-white-speckled eggplant from the farmer’s market. Good. Had too much spice blend; should have halved it, but the eggplant grilled well, didn’t stick to the grate and wasn’t oily tasting at all. Omitted hot red pepper flakes because I was serving the eggplant with Latin-Style Flank Steak with chipotle butter. Thought hot red pepper would be too hot with the chipotle butter too.

2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. olive oil
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
½ t. dried thyme
1 t. hot or sweet paprika
½ t. hot red pepper flakes (optional)
3 eggplants, cut crosswise into ½” slices
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat grill to high.

Mix minced garlic with oil in small bowl. Mix herbs, paprika and pepper flakes together and set aside.

Brush one side of each eggplant slice with garlic oil and place oiled side down on grill. Brush top side with oil. Cook slices until browned, 3-5m; turn. Sprinkle eggplant with herb mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 3-5m. Serve hot.

Serves 6-8.

Creamed Grilled Corn

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 50 min (includes preparing charcoal grill)
I used skim milk and 4 ears of fresh farmer’s market corn, grilled and cut from cobs the day before. This dish comes together really quickly. I used my Magic Bullet blender to puree the corn with the milk, so it didn't make a lot of dirty dishes. Excellent. Really sweet, but naturally so; rather light and refreshing. I love corn.

4 ears corn (2 lb total), shucked
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 1 to 2 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes.

Grill corn on lightly oiled grill rack, uncovered, turning, until kernels on all sides are tender and browned in patches, 10 to 15 minutes total.

Cut corn off cobs (discard cobs) and purée 1/2 cup kernels with milk in a blender until smooth. Pour purée into a 2-quart heavy saucepan and stir in basil, salt, pepper, and remaining corn kernels. Cook over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Cooks' note:
•If you aren't able to grill outdoors, cook corn ears in a hot lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat. Each serving contains about 96 calories and 2 grams fat.

Makes 4 servings.

Gourmet, August 2003

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)