Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts

We tend to get into a real rut with side dishes, typically leaning towards a steamed green vegetable or roasted root vegetables. So, when we were figuring out what to have with a roast chicken this week Matt said he wanted different. We remembered the brussels sprouts Matt's mom had served at Thanksgiving, that everyone loved, and decided to try to replicate them.

Actually, it ends up these were super easy to make and super tasty too. The chili sauce give the brussels sprout the perfect mix of sweet and sour flavor. A touch of soy sauce cuts through the sweetness a bit. Make sure to cook the sprouts until golden brown to bring out their nutty flavor.

Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts

1/2 T olive oil
3 c brussels sprouts
1 T sweet chili sauce
1/2 T soy sauce

Stir the sweet chili sauce and soy sauce together, set aside. In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the brussel sprouts. Stir while cooking until the sprouts are golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the sauce mixture.

Makes 2 servings
Approximately 110 calories per serving

We served the brussels sprouts with a serving of forbidden rice and 3 oz of chicken for a 420 calorie dinner. This was one of those meals where everything tasted really good mixed together.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Chicken and Potatoes in Parsley Sauce

Well, we have jumped right into our new eating plan for 2013. It is taking a little getting used to keeping track of everything, but we are already seeing a difference on the scale which is satisfying. Eating at home is, of course, the easiest and I feel like I'm eating more than I did before actually. What we really have to learn is how to eat out and still stick to our goals. Other than that, the biggest change has been giving up my many trips a week to Caribou Coffee for Chai Lattes and Dark Chocolate Mochas. All and all though, we are still eating very well.

Yeah, does this dinner look like we are suffering? The sauce for this meal came about because I had a ton of fresh parsley leftover after making homemade chicken noodle soup over the weekend (by request of a sick Matt). The sauce is quite delicate and fresh, but a little pinch of cayenne really boosted the flavor. I liked it much better on things, than by itself. I also like the fact it was a good sauce for the main and side.

Chicken and Potatoes in Parsley Sauce

1/2 T olive oil
salt & pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 t unsalted butter
2 T diced shallot
1 1/4 t all-purpose flour
3/4 c skim milk
1/2 t Dijon mustard
pinch or two of cayenne
2 T chopped fresh parsley (or more to taste)
270 grams small red potatoes, boiled, hot

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, add to the skillet and cook through. Remove to a plate and tent to keep warm.

Add the butter to the skillet and melt. Stir in the shallot and sauté until translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots. Stir while cooking for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk until the sauce is thicken and bubbily. Stir in the Dijon and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley.

Serve the sauce over the hot chicken breasts and potatoes.

Two servings. (If you just served the sauce over chicken or potatoes, not both, you could get 4 servings)
96.5 calories per serving for the sauce alone. 238 calories with a chicken breast. 135 grams of potatoes comes in a 100 calories. For a total of 338 per serving.

Oh I should mention, last week I said I wasn't thrilled with the Loseit website, but after the first of the year rush it is working much better. I have to say I really love the recipe function where I can put in ingredients and get the calories for a recipe. This works great for people like us who don't eat much prepared food.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2013 Kathy Lewinski

Cornbread Pudding

This past New Year's Eve we got together with family for a late dinner of barbecued ribs with corn bread and slaw. There was a lot of cornbread leftover, so I decided to turn some of it into a bread pudding type side dish for another night.

A little milk, egg, bacon and cheese later and we had the best leftover cornbread. It's sweet with a hint of smokey saltiness from the bacon. The custard keeps it wonderfully moist. The only things I might add to it next time are some frozen corn kernels and maybe some scallions.

We had two different kinds of cornbread to start, one was plain and the other had green chiles and spices in it. Both were great in the puddings.

Cornbread Pudding
This recipe makes about 3 cups of pudding. You can easily adjust it to make more.

2 sliced bacon, chopped
3 c pieces of torn cornbread, packed
2/3 milk (or half and half for extra richness)
1 egg
2-3 T grated smoked gouda or cheddar (we used a smoked gouda because we had it on hand, but it was the least smoky gouda I've ever tasted)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain and set aside.

Divide the cornbread between two 1 1/2 cup ramekins.

In a small bowl whisk together the milk and egg. Stir in the cheese and bacon. Season with a little salt and pepper. Check to see how salty your cheese is before adding too much salt.

Pour the liquid mixture over the cornbread. Mix lightly to incorporate. Press down a bit with the back of a spoon. Let sit for 5 - 10 minutes for the bread to absorb all the liquid.

Bake for about 30 minutes until puffy and golden.

Makes 2 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski

Maple Squash with Gorgonzola

I'm trying to get Matt and I out of our potatoes as a side dish rut, especially when we are having something like roast chicken. We always forget how much we love the orange vegetables, squash and sweet potatoes.

This side dish was inspired by a salad we saw in the deli case at our local grocery store. It is super simple to make with very few ingredients. But oh, do those ingredients pack a punch, sweet, spicy and salty with that special gorgonzola funk.

Looking for a different side for Thanksgiving, this one would be perfect. You could have the squash all prepared in the oil and maple syrup ahead of time and just roast it while the turkey is resting. I also think this preparation would be great with sweet potatoes instead of squash.

Maple Squash with Gorgonzola

10 oz butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
olive oil
1 T maple syrup
1 t cayenne
crumbled gorgonzola

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Put the squash in a small roasting pan. Add enough olive oil to just coat them. Stir in the syrup and cayenne. Roast for 30 - 40 minutes until the squash is browned and soft.

Serve topped with the gorgonzola.

2 Servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Warm Lentil and Beet Salad

When we picked up beets at the farmers markets, I take them home and cut the beets from the greens before storing them since this will help them last longer. But, I don't throw away those greens. To us, those dark, leafy greens are as much a treat as the red jewel at their roots. Did you know they are basically the same thing as rainbow chard? We like then sautéed as a side dish, thrown in soups and stews and stir-fried.

This is an earthy, hearty salad with a hint of smokiness from the cheese which makes it perfect for a vegetarian main course. It's colorful with lots of textures. I especially liked how the cubes of smoked mozzarella became just a little runny and stringy from the heat of the rest of the ingredients. It would also make a a wonderful side dish with a grill steak.

We used lentils du puy when we made this salad because we love their texture and flavor. They can be rather expensive and harder to find here in the States. We picked up a few pounds in Sweden because they are so much cheaper in Europe. They'll be one of those things we pick up every time we travel. Anyway, You can use any lentils you like.

Warm Lentil and Beet Salad
We used beets that were roasted ahead of time for this salad so, keep that in mind when making it.

6 oz lentils
1/2 T olive oil
3 - 4 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 c roughly chopped beets greens and tender stems
1 c chopped, roasted beets
4 oz smoked mozzarella, cut into 1/2" cubes

Dressing

1/2 t kosher salt
generous amount of fresh ground pepper
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 T white wine vinegar
3 T olive oil

Cook the lentils according to their directions, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are tender. Add the beet greens and stems. Sauté until the greens are very wilted, they will reduce in size a lot. Stir in the roasted beets until heated through.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until the salt in dissolved.

Mix the cooked lentil into the vegetables. Dress with as much dressing as you like. Stir in the mozzarella cubes.

Makes 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Reviewing the Recipes - Quick Salmon Tikka

We cook a lot of recipes from around the internet and various cookbooks that I don't write about because we don't change the recipe much or at all. I decided to start a series reviewing some of those recipes...

This Jamie Oliver recipe caught may attention when Jamie twittered that people were really liking it. As I'm always looking for new ways for us to eat fish this went on the weekly menu.

We were both a little skeptical but, it was absolutely fabulous! The recipe called for a particular brand of tandoori curry paste, we had some Fortnum & Mason korma sauce in the fridge so, that is what we used instead. Its flavor was perfect with the salmon (seriously, I'm going to want my salmon in korma sauce from now on). Other than that, the only change we made was to leave the fresh chili out of the yogurt sauce because I wanted the sauce to be cooling not spicy. It didn't look like a ton of yogurt sauce but the recipe ended up making twice what we needed.

I ended up calling this dish Indian Salmon Wraps because you eat the salmon, yogurt sauce and some cilantro wrapped up in naan. We found naan in the deli of our grocery store. It was quite good just heated for a few minutes in the oven. If you can't find naan another thick flat bread should do the trick, even something like Boboli. With the store-bought naan, quick yogurt sauce and small pieces of salmon that cooked up in no time this dish came together in less than half an hour, perfect for lunch or a fast dinner.

For a super easy side dish I made Cumin Roasted Cauliflower. The cauliflower is broken into florets then placed on a baking sheets where is it tossed with olive oil, kosher salt and dried cumin. Roast at 400 F until brown, about 15 - 20 minutes. I could eat cauliflower cooked this way for a snack instead of popcorn or potato chips.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Crockpot Beef and Beans over Spanish Rice

We made another big batch of our 24-Hour Crock Pot Beef last week which meant I was looking for ways to use all that shredded beef. My original plan was to use it in a Mexican inspired hotdish but, as I was formulating that plan I decided to just serve the meat over some Mexican rice. The result wasn't too far from eating a burrito without the tortilla.

When we moved here from San Francisco a few years ago, we thought there would be a lot of food we would miss. We were happily wrong & found Minneapolis to be full of wonderful restaurants & markets. There was one thing that we sorely missed though, the Mission-style burrito. Sure we can get a burrito here & we've gotten used to them but, they are just not the same. As I see it there are two big differences. First, in San Francisco they melt the cheese on the tortilla when they steam it (this might be my favorite thing). Second, they use Spanish rice which adds a big boost of flavor. So, I guess you could call this my tortilla-less version of a Mission-style burrito.

Whatever you call it this was a dish that was full of flavor & super easy to make especially if you've got the leftover beef. We reheated the beef with some pinto beans & a little of their cooking liquid. Then added some shredded cheddar & sour cream (ok, it's actually plain yogurt). Matt also added some hot sauce & salsa.

Spanish Rice

1 T olive oil
1 c long grain white rice
1/2 c chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 poblano pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 t Mexican oregano
1/4 t epazote
1/4 t ground chipotle
1 heaping T tomato paste
2 c chicken stock (or combination of chicken stock & water)

In a large stock pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice & toast for a minute, stirring to coat. Add the onion, garlic & pepper. Sauté until the onion is translucent. Stir in the oregano, epazote, chipotle & tomato paste. Add the chicken stock & stir to blend everything. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat & let simmer for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from the heat & let sit 5 minutes. The stock should all be absorbed & the rice tender.

Makes 4 servings.

Top the rice with any or all of the following; beef, chicken, beans, grated cheddar, hot sauce, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and sour cream.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Citrus Spice Pork with Honey Spice Sweet Potatoes

Sunday night I had a girlfriend over to knit, quilt & watch Downton Abbey while my manservant (um, yeah, Matt) prepared a wonderful feast for our dinner. He served us a pork roast that had been brined in a mixture of orange juice & chiles with a side of sweet & spicy mashed sweet potatoes. It was good so, I decided to keep him on a while longer.

It was really amazing how much the flavor from this brine came through in the pork. The chiles give it a smoky, pepper flavor but really no heat. The orange juice adds a wonderful brightness. This might be my favorite of the pork brines Matt has tried so far.

Citrus Spice Pork Brine

1 c orange juice
2 c water
1 heaping T kosher salt
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground ancho
1/2 t ground chipotle
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Mix everything together in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Enough brine for a 3 pound pork roast

We brined our roast for about 6 hours in the fridge in a plastic bag. Then it was roasted for about 1 1/2 hours. Matt says he's looking forward to doing a pork tenderloin with this same brine & then grilling it this summer.

These sweet potatoes were the perfect side dish with the pork. I know it may seem like sweet potatoes are sweet enough but the honey really balances the little bit of heat from the chipotle.

Honey Spice Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes
1 oz unsalted butter
1 T honey
1/4 t ground chipotle
salt

Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes until soft. Remove the skins. Put the hot potato meat in a bowl with the butter, honey & chipotle & mash. Season to taste with salt.

3 - 4 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Figgy Mac and Cheese plus a Figgy Giveway

This is a recipe that I was playing with while developing recipes for the Kitchen Play SideCar Series featuring Woolwich Dairy goat cheeses. It didn't make the final cut for that post because it wasn't really holiday oriented but, I thought it was still good enough to share with all of you.

Figs & fig jam are so good with cheese I thought why not add them to the ultimate cheese dish, mac & cheese. To step up the cheese flavor I used two types of cheese, cheddar & brie. Oh, what a rich cream mac & cheese. The goat cheese melted beautifully & has such wonderful flavor. The figs are surprisingly good in here & their sweetness cuts through the richness nicely. It's a pretty classy version of mac & cheese that I think would make a great side dish with a lovely steak.

Figgy Mac & Cheese

3 oz penne pasta, cooked
1 t unsalted butter
2 t all-purpose flour
6 T milk
1.5 oz Woolwich goat milk cheddar, chopped
1 oz Woolwich goat milk brie (I removed the rind. That is a personal choice but the rind won't melt as smoothly)
1 t white wine
salt & pepper
3 dried black mission figs, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour & stir while cooking for 1 minutes. Whisk in the milk & cook until hot, thick & bubbly. Next, whisk in the cheese until melted. Stir in the wine then season with salt & pepper to taste.

Mix the cheese sauce with the cooked penne & chopped figs. Pour into a small ramekin. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown & crispy on top.

One main dish serving or two sides.

Figgy Giveaway!

See those dried figs I used here & the ones in the Figgy (Bread) Pudding earlier this week? Well, those were graciously given to me earlier this year by the CA Fig Advisory Board. They are just so handy to have in the pantry to add a little something extra to recipes or make a quick appetizer. Now they want to send one of my readers a fig gift pack too. One winner will get dried Calimyrna and Black Mission figs, a fig t-shirt, a shopping tote & lots of fig recipes. Here's how to enter....

1. Leave a comment here telling us how you'd use your dried figs. You MUST have an email where we can contact you in the comment or on your profile. Comments need to be left on the post do not email us to enter.
2. Twitter about this giveaway & let us know with another comment.

We will chose a random winner from all entries on Wednesday, December 15th. Contest is open to US residents only.

Hey, while you are entering to win why not also vote for us in Iron Foodie 2010!?

Disclaimer: The CA Fig Advisory Board has sent me figs & a fig gift package plus a package to giveaway to a reader. They did not pay me in any other way to write about figs or tell me what to write.

Disclaimer 2: Woolwich Dairy compensated me through Kitchen Play to develop recipes using their goat cheeses.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

New Traditions with Woolwich Dairy Goat Cheeses

The holiday season is a time full of traditions. For many of us those traditions are centered around food; as you can imagine that is especially at our house. So, we were thrilled to be asked to participate in the Kitchen Play SideCar Series New Traditions sponsored by Woolwich Dairy Goat Cheese.


First of all, I was very intrigued by Woolwich Dairy and the varieties of cheese they make from goat's milk: Triple Creme Brie, Goat Cheddar, Goat Mozzarella and Fresh Chevrai. I was able to find all the varieties of their cheeses in Minneapolis at both Whole Foods and Kowalski's (I hear Trader Joe’s has them too). I've had Chevrai quite often but none of the others. Could they be as good as the cow's milk versions we were used to? Well, I'm here to tell you they are. I've tried all but the mozzarella now and was really pleasantly surprised by both the flavors and textures. I also like the fact the fresh Chevrai is made close to home in Wisconsin.

A friend of mine whose husband is lactose intolerant told me she often uses goat cheeses because he can eat them unlike the cow's milk versions. But, she said, she has never found one that melted well.

Look at that grilled cheese made with the goat cheddar. It melted beautifully! I also used it in a mac & cheese (recipe later this week) and had wonderful creamy results.

So, after tasting all the cheeses it was time to start thinking of how to use them to update some of our traditional holiday recipes or perhaps create some new ones.

I really wanted to do something with sweet potatoes. They are such a traditional side dish for holiday meals but never were for my family. Then last year, Matt and I made a sweet potato and maple dish that everyone loved so, I decided sweet potatoes should be on our holiday menu from now on. This version bakes the sweet potatoes with some maple syrup, cayenne pepper & fresh Chevrai for a dish that is sweet, spicy and tangy all at the same time. A lot tastier than that marshmallow version!

Maple Glazed Sweet Potato & Goat Cheese

1 1/4 lbs sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 c maple syrup
2 t brown sugar
1 t cayenne pepper
2 oz Woolwich Dairy Fresh Chevrai
salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix the sweet potatoes, maple syrup, brown sugar, cayenne, Chevrai and a few pinches of salt together in a bowl. Pour into a baking dish (an 8" square glass dish or pie plate would work well).

Cover with foil & bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil & bake 10 - 20 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender.

4 servings.

Then it was on to dessert and what could be more traditional than Figgy Pudding?! Well, traditional figgy pudding is really more of a fruit cake and we all know the reputation that fruit cake has. If there was a traditional holiday dish that needed updating this was it. So, I give you the Figgy (Bread) Pudding.

Custard soaked bread is layered with chopped dried figs and Triple Creme Brie in individual ramekins. When baked they rise up like miniature soufflés for a beautiful presentation. The flavor is savory with just a hint of sweet from the figs & brown sugar, a nice change from some of the overly sweet treats we get this time of year. It's a very sophisticated ending to a holiday meal that will have your guests singing, "Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding..."

Figgy (Bread) Pudding
These can be made earlier in the day and kept in the fridge then baked right before serving.

4 small ramekins (they should hold about 3/4 c water)

8 1/2-inch thick slices of bread (Use a really good hearty white bread.)
2 1/2 T Woolwich Triple Creme Brie
2 eggs
2 T brown sugar
pinch of nutmeg
1 c milk
8 dried figs, chopped

Cut the bread into 8 rounds that will just fit into your ramekins. (I used a biscuit cutter but you can use a cookie cutter, glass or even the ramekins themselves to cut your circles.)

Let the bread rounds sit out for an hour or so to dry out a little.

Spread the brie on one side of each bread round, about 1 teaspoon per slice.

Mix the eggs, brown sugar, nutmeg & milk together.

Put one slice of bread, cheese side up, in the bottom of each ramekin. Top with chopped figs and then another slice of the bread, also cheese side up. Add as much of the custard mixture as you can to each of the ramekins, pressing down to help the bread soak it in. You will most likely not use all the custard at this point. Let the pudding sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. At this point you will probably be able to add more custard as the bread will have soaked some up. (I ended up adding the custard two more time which is why I think mine came out so beautifully creamy.)

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Put the ramekins on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Serve hot.

Makes 4 individual puddings.

I'll have a few more goat cheese recipes for you later this week.

Disclaimer: I was compensated by Woolwich Dairy to create two recipes using at least two of their cheeses. I was not told what to write in any other way.

"Kitchen Play is devoted to connecting food bloggers and PR professionals through sponsored events such as the Progressive Party, the SideCar Series, the Pampered Pantry and more. Participating bloggers are compensated for their work creating original recipes or reviewing products." Visit them to learn more about how you can participate.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Sweet Potato Hash

When Matt's parents were here back in October we took them to Corner Table for his dad's birthday dinner. We all had fabulous meals but the one dish that everyone kept talking about afterwards was the sweet potato hash so we knew we had to try making it at home.

We made it right away that weekend as a side dish for our Big Easy Chicken. It was a hit with everyone that night but I wasn't completely happy with the texture of the sweet potatoes. I had parboiled them & then fried them up with the onions & pepper. Instead of getting nice & crispy they kind of fell apart. Well, Matt's mom went home & tried making it only this time she roasted the sweet potato first. That was the trick! The roasted sweet potato gets brown & crispy on the outside & then gets added to the onions & peppers at the end.

I decided to make this as my dinner the other night. This time I added some bacon to the hash & served a poached egg on top. What an amazing brinner. All the flavors in the hash work together perfectly needing only salt & pepper for seasoning, then you mix in the richness of the egg yolk...too good. Like a little spice? Add a chopped jalapeno to the peppers.

Sweet Potato Hash
This recipe makes one serving but can easily doubled, tripled & so on...

7 oz sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1/2" cubes (we prefer white sweet potatoes but yellow or orange will work just as well.)
olive oil
1 slice bacon, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped, about 1/4 c or so
1 small poblano pepper, seeded & chopped, 1/4 - 1/2 c
salt & pepper
1 egg, poached (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put the sweet potato cubes into a small roasting pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil making sure all the cubes are coated. Roast for about 20 minutes until the cubes are starting to get crispy & brown yet soft in the center. Stir occasionally while roasting.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain leaving as much of the fat as possible in the pan. Add the onions & peppers to the pan. Cook until they are tender & the onion is starting to brown a little. Stir in the bacon & roasted sweet potatoes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

If desired, poach an egg leaving the yolk a little soft & serve on top of the hot hash.

1 serving.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Baked Beans

Ok, I know I said yesterday the pulled pork was the star of Saturday's Smokapalooza but these beans almost stole the show.

I've only ever eaten baked beans from a can but after making these I've realized how simple, & better, homemade ones are. Since I'd never made them before & was going to be serving them to a group of guinea pigs, I mean guests, I went to someone I trusted with beans for a recipe, Rancho Gordo. I figure they grow amazing beans so they must have the best recipes to use them. Of course, I had to tweak the recipe a little.

We decided to flavor the beans with the same dry rub we used on the pork. This meant we could leave the sugar, salt & some of the mustard out of the recipe. Let me just say, oh my gosh these beans were so good! Sweet but not too sweet, full of smoky bacon & so tender. Matt had a little bowl to taste them when they came out of the oven. That bowl turned into a second bowl which turned into "maybe we won't serve these because I want to eat them all myself."

Since these beans need to cook low & slow for a long time I made them the day before the party & kept them in the fridge overnight. A little before dinner we put the dutch oven right on the grill to heat the beans.

Baked Beans
(adapted from Heirloom Beans)

1 1/2 pound dry navy, yellow eye or european soldier beans or similar (we actually used a mix or navy, yellow eye & cranberry beans)
6 T dry pork rub
1 t dry mustard
2 T tomato paste
1/3 c + 1/4 c dark molasses
3 T maple syrup
3/4 pound good smoked bacon, chopped roughly
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
salt & pepper

Put the beans in enough water to cover them by an inch & let them soak for about 2 hours.

Pour the beans & soaking water into a large pot. Add more water to cover the beans but about an inch. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer uncovered until the beans just begin to soften, 45 - 60 minutes.

Drain the beans, retaining the cooking water. Add enough water to the cooking water to measure 3 cups. Whisk the rub, mustard, tomato paste, molasses & maple syrup into the water.

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Put 1/2 of the beans into a large dutch oven or similar pot. Top with half of the onions & all the bacon. Add remaining beans. Sprinkle the remaining onions over the top. Pour the sauce in. Cover & bake for 5 - 7 hours. Check from time to time to see if they need a little more water (mine never did). The beans should be VERY tender & the sauce should be thick & stick to the beans.

About 14 servings

I made 1/3 of this recipe this week for Matt & I & did it all in the crock pot. After the soaking I cooked the beans in the crock pot on high for about 1 1/2 hours. I drained the cooked beans saving the liquid. Then reassembled the beans with the seasonings, liquid, bacon & onions back into the crock pot. I let it cook on low for about 6 hours & they came out beautifully without heating up the kitchen at all.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Wheat Berry And Beet Salad

We are always looking for different cold salads to have in the summer along side the fabulous stuff Matt is cooking on the grill. We discovered wheat berry salad a few years back at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. We liked it so much we even cooked it for a friend's wedding rehearsal dinner we catered. When Matt picked up some wheat berries at the co-op awhile back I realized I hadn't made a salad like this in years. It seemed like the perfect use for my precious beets in the crisper.

We ended up with a simple salad full of lots of flavor. This is the time to pull out the best olive oil & balsamic you have because their flavor really matters here. I pulled out the 10 year-old balsamic from Zingerman's which is like eating candy, yum. Roasting the vegetables really brings out their sweetness, especially the onions. That sweetness combined with the balsamic plays beautifully with the nutty wheat berries. Then top it all with fresh thyme & salty feta for a perfect side dish.

Last time I cooked wheat berries it was quite time consuming & really heated up my kitchen with the soaking overnight & 1 1/2 hours of simmering on the stove. I decided to see if they could be cooked in the rice cooker. I googled around & found instructions from various places for just that. It worked perfectly giving us wheat berries with exactly the right texture in much less time (& with a lot less heat in the kitchen). I liked the step of toasting them before cooking, I think it gave them a slightly more nutty flavor.

Wheat Berry & Beet Salad
(I did the hot part of this salad in the morning while my kitchen was still cool then let in chill in the fridge until dinner time)

1 c dry wheat berries
1 1/2- 2 c bite-sized beet pieces
1 large onion, cut into large pieces (about 2 cups)
3 T olive oil + extra for roasting the vegetables
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
1 t fresh thyme
1/4 c feta

Toast the wheat berries on a hot skillet until they they get fragrant being careful not to let them burn, you might hear some popping. Put them into your rice cooker & cover with hot water. Let sit for one hour. Drain. Put the soaked berries & 2 cup of water into the rice cooker. After the rice cooker has finished the cooking cycle let the berries sit in it for 15 more minutes.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 400 F.

Put the beets & onions in a roasting pan & coat with a little olive oil. (I put the onions in a small tin foil tray in the pan to keep them away from the beets so they don't turn pink.) Roast for about 30 - 40 minutes until tender & the onions are just starting to brown.

Mix the roasted vegetables in with the cooked wheat berries. Let cool.

Whisk the olive oil & balsamic together. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Mix the dressing into the salad (I like to mix in a little at a time so as not to overdress it.) Stir in the thyme & feta. Chill.

4 - 5 servings

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

German Potato Salad

We were grilling up some beer brats this week & Matt requested a German potato salad to go with them. It is, after all, pretty much the perfect paring.

Of all the potato salads I've ever made, this one is definitely in the running to be my favorite. It's really all about the sweet & tangy dressing with that touch of bacon. I particularly like the flavor it gets from the celery seeds. Our version of the dressing was a little more sweet than tangy. Since everyone's tastes are a little different, I suggest tasting it before dressing the potatoes & adjusting the vinegar to sugar as needed.

This salad is really best warm or at room temperature. If you make it ahead of time & refrigerate it, make sure to let it warm up before serving or microwave it for a little bit.

German Potato Salad

16 (about 1 lb) baby waxy potatoes, quartered (we used Yukon Golds)
4 oz yellow onion, chopped
2 spring onion or scallions, chopped
2 sliced bacon, chopped
1/2 t mustard seed
1/4 t celery seed
3 T champagne vinegar (you could use white wine vinegar, cider vinegar or just plan white vinegar)
3 T sugar
salt & pepper

Put the potatoes & onion in a pot of cold salted water & bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 - 15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender. Drain. Set aside.

Crush the mustard & celery seeds a little with a mortar & pestle.

Cook the bacon over medium-high heat in a skillet until it is starting to crisp & has rendered its fat. Add the crushed seeds & cook while stirring for about 30 seconds. Stir in the vinegar & sugar. Season generously with salt & pepper. Let bubble for a minute. Taste for seasoning & adjust as necessary.

Mix the warm potatoes & onion with the spring onions in a bowl. Pour the hot dressing over the top & stir to coat.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

It's going to be hot & steamy in Minneapolis this weekend which calls for lots of grilling. We are planning on cooking up some beautiful Alaskan salmon fillets we got at the farmers market last weekend. What are you grilling up?

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Spring Onion Corn Muffins

It's that weird time of year in Minneapolis where it can be 75 F one day & 50 F the next so, even though we are moving more towards warm weather dishes, there are still plenty of chilly nights calling for something more winter-like. The other night was one of those so I whipped up a basic black bean chili & these tasty corn muffins.

These are pretty basic corn muffins that I dressed up a bit with some items I had on hand, spring onions & frozen corn kernels. Those two little additions just seem to take cornbread to the next level. I like the sweetness & texture the corn kernels (ours were minnesota sweet corn we had frozen last summer) added & that slight bite provided by the onions. They got a big thumbs up from Matt too.

This recipe makes just four muffins which is perfect for two people but you can easily double it to make more.

Spring Onion Corn Muffins
(adapted from Small-Batch Baking)

1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c yellow cornmeal
2 t sugar
1/4 t baking powder
1/8 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
3 T unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 large egg
3 T milk
3/4 t white vinegar
1 spring onion, chopped (a scallion would work as well)
2 T frozen corn kernels, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare 4 muffin tins with paper cups or by greasing.

Mix the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt together in a bowl & set aside.

Whisk the butter, egg, milk & vinegar together in another bowl. Pour into the dry mixture & add the onions & corn kernels. Mix until just combined. Let sit 5 minutes.

Fill the prepared muffin tins 1/2 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes & serve warm.

Makes 4

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Ad Hoc Potato Hash with Bacon and Melted Onion

We're cooking our way through Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home...

I realized we hadn't done an Ad Hoc dish in a while & since I was planning on making potatoes with the Cherry & Almond Glazed Ham I figured I pick a potato dish from the book. The final choice was mainly based on what recipe I had all the ingredients for.

Let's just start out by saying do not even look at this dish it you are trying to watch what you eat...butter, deep frying & rendered bacon fat!

First you slow cook onions in a lot of butter making them creamy & tender. The cheesecloth packet there contains bay, thyme, peppercorns & crushed garlic.

Then you deep fry diced potatoes until the are tender & golden brown.

Then you slow cook bacon cut into lardons letting it render its fat. The deep fried potatoes then go into the rendered bacon to fry up until crisp. Stir in the onions & bacon & eat. Really good but forget your diet for the day for this treat.

I have a little complaint about how the recipes are written in Ad Hoc. I find that often the order the directions are given isn't set up very well for the home cook. For example this recipe has you deep fry the potatoes for 8 minutes then has you render the bacon for 30 minutes. If you haven't read the recipe carefully (um, I would never do that, no never) then you find yourself having to wait for the bacon with the potatoes already done. When I write a recipe I like to list the things that are going to take a while to cook first so people can plan ahead & get those time consuming parts started first. I've been caught by this with a couple of the recipes in Ad Hoc so far. Now I just know to make sure to read everything carefully first & set up my own order of cooking.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Colcannon

When we were planning our menu for the week I asked Matt if he wanted something Irish like corn beef since it's St. Patrick's Day. He suggested we try making colcannon instead.

I had never heard of colcannon but discovered online that it is a traditional Irish dish typically made from potatoes, butter and cabbage. A cheap filling dish. Lots of things can be added to it & some of the more typical are milk, bacon or ham, kale and leeks. We had potatoes, half a cabbage, some kale & bacon on hand so it seemed like a no brainer for us to make this. Matt said he had seen a version on Serious Eats that put a soft egg on top. We thought that would make it more of a meal instead of a side dish so we added that as well.

This was surprisingly good. There's no one strong flavor in it but the cabbage is mildly sweet & the bacon adds a little salt. The potato is quite creamy. The egg on top added a nice richness to the dish. I think we would probably make this again but maybe add a little more bacon or perhaps some leftover ham (oh, there's an idea for Easter leftovers).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Colcannon

2 slices good bacon, chopped
2 russet potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled & quartered
1/2 head green cabbage (about 1 lb), cored & thinly sliced
2 green kale leaves, stem removed & thinly sliced
6 T unsalted butter
1/2 c warm milk
salt & pepper
2 poached or soft fried eggs (optional)

Cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel & set aside.

Put the potato in a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil. Let boil until tender, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cabbage & kale. Let boil until the cabbage turns a bright green, about a minute. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pot. Reduce heat, cover & let simmer for 2 more minutes. Drain throughly.

Drain the cooked potatoes & return to the warm pot. Add the remaining butter & the warm milk (start with a little less milk & add more as you need it). Mash until smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Stir in the bacon, cabbage & kale. Taste for seasonings again.

Serves as a side dish or top with an egg for a main dish.

2 servings

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Maple-Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Bacon

We had a pretty traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year. Matt brined a turkey & then rubbed it with an herb butter before roasting, He made gravy, adding the reserved bacon fat from this dish to it for extra flavor. My sister made mashed potatoes & the basic onion & celery bread stuffing (my family will never have any other stuffing). My mom made creamed onions, broccoli & cranberry/cherry relish. The whole thing was followed up by pumpkin pie of course.

My one contribution was this sweet potato and apple bake. Matt found the basic recipe from the local restaurant Fire Lake on Heavy Table. I decided a little bacon would only make it taste better.

We weren't sure how this would go over since sweet potatoes are usually part of my family's Thanksgiving dinner but it was a hugh success! Every single bite was eaten. I have to say my favorite part of it was the apples, they got such a wonderful texture from the baking & their flavor was the perfect compliment to the sweet potatoes & bacon. We won't wait until next Thanksgiving to make this again. Next time though we might add a little heat like some cayenne.

We used an apple called Frostbite, a variety developed at the University of MN, & maybe my new favorite. The Frostbite is a very sweet apple (some people compare eating it to eating sugarcane) that is crisp & good for baking. Look for an apple with similar qualities when making this dish. (The original recipe calls for a tart apple but we liked the sweet.)

Maple-Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Bacon

2 slices bacon, chopped & cooked crisp (use good bacon!)
3 sweet potatoes
2 apples
3 T real maple syrup
2 T brown sugar
3 T unsalted butter
salt & pepper

Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on a paper towel & set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Peel your sweet potatoes & apples. Core the apples. Slice the apples in half top to bottom & the sweet potatoes lengthwise. Cut both into about 1/2-inch slices. Arrange the slices in a baking dish (our dish was a little smaller than a 9" x 13"). Drizzle the maple syrup over the top. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Season with salt & pepper. Scatter the bacon over the top. Cut the butter into slices & place around the top.

Cover with foil & bake for 1 hour. (We baked ours earlier in the day & then reheated it while the turkey was resting.)

Serves 6 - 8

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

A Tale of Two Sides

The other night we made a Pot Roast in our crock pot which was very nice but to me it was the Fall sides that really stood out in this meal.

Brussel Sprouts often get a bad wrap & I'll admit I was never a fan of them myself. Then one year I went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival & tried these amazing sprouts cooked until brown & tender with bacon & garlic & I was sold. Cooked right, brussel sprouts might just be one of my favorite vegetables now. Even Matt who told me he was not a fan of them ate these happily.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Garlic

1 slice bacon, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 c brussel sprouts, halved or quartered depending on their size.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon & cook until begins to render some of its fat. Add the olive oil, garlic & brussel sprouts. Cook for a minute or two. Cover & turn heat down to low. Let cook for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the brussel sprouts are tender & browning.

Serves 2

Celeriac or celery root will never win any vegetable beauty contests but flavor-wise it's certainly a winner. Its wonderful in soups & I hear makes a great fritter but I decided to try this gratin I found in Jamie at Home.

I do have to say this recipe was not edited very well in the cookbook, with ingredients that never get used & some ingredients added twice in the recipe. I was able to figure it out because I've made gratins before but for a newer cook it would be pretty frustrating. Luckily, the finished result was very tasty & a great pairing with beef. I used buttermilk instead of the typical cream to add a little extra tang. I also used thyme instead of the called for sage because I was using thyme in my beef as well.

Potato & Celeriac Buttermilk Gratin
(adapted from Jamie at Home)

1 lb potatoes, peeled & cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 lb celeriac, peeled & cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 c buttermilk
2 T fresh thyme, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 oz Parmesan, grated
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put the potatoes & celeriac into a pot of cold water. Salt & bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Drain & let sit a minute or two. Return to the pot & mix with the buttermilk, thyme, garlic & half of the cheese. Season with salt & pepper.

Layer into a butter baking dish (I used a 6 x 8 glass baking dish). Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until brown & bubbly.

Serves 3 - 4

You can make this earlier in the day & refrigerate it until ready to bake.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Faux Fried Chicken and Hoecakes

Matt pointed out Art Smith's recipe for Barbecue Chicken Hoecakes in this month's Bon Appetit to me while I was planning this week's menu. He said he was mostly interested in the hoecakes. I thought they would be good with a little maple syrup in them with some fried chicken, I don't know why but it made me think of chicken & waffles.

For the chicken, I cooked up two breasts using this Faux Fried Chicken method. I kept the seasoning simple by just adding salt, pepper & fresh thyme to the breading. This is really just the best baked chicken.

We ended up having to make the hoecakes twice. The first time the batter was just too runny & never set while cooking. The second time we added more flour & that seemed to do the trick. They were really tasty with the chicken. Matt said it was like a quick version of cornbread & he liked them with butter. I though they were good just eaten with a piece of chicken, though a little more maple syrup would be good too.

Maple Hoecakes
(adapted from an Art Smith Recipe in Bon Appetit Sept. '09)

1/4 c yellow cornmeal
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 t sugar
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 c water
1 t maple syrup
1/2 T unsalted butter, melted

Mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Whisk in the water, maple syrup and melted butter.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Coat it with a little butter. Spoon the cornmeal batter on into four pancakes, spreading the dough out. Allow to cook until brown & then flip & cook until the other side is brown, about 5 minutes total.

Makes 4 cakes.

Matt made the Creamed Chard side dish & it was wonderful. He sautéed chopped chard leaves with some crushed garlic until wilted. Then he mixed in some half & half & Parmesan cheese. Let it reduce a bit & its ready.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski