running with tweezers

eat your vegetables

Everyone has their secret shame, right? I'm not talking about those photos from the 80's or the fact that you like Kenny Loggins. I mean a food secret shame. For some, it's Spam sushi - or Spam anything, for that matter. For others, it might be that late night (or early morning) 4 am run through the Krispy Kreme drive through. Then there is that lot of you that puts mayo/ketchup/mustard on everything. Weirdos.

My secret food shame for a long time was Brussels sprouts. I had them as a kid every so often growing up but they were always, umm, the frozen kind. I, like everyone else in their right mind who has had a frozen Brussels sprout, had been scarred just a little by that experience. As a teenager, though, I started getting into food and had them roasted in a very nice restaurant. Cabbagey but not - not to mention how cute they were - and caramelized and sweet from the roasting. I was hooked and have eaten them ever since. The problem is that many people think they don't like Brussels sprouts but haven't had them prepared in a modern and loving way...so when I say love Brussels sprouts, it's often met with an "Eeew."

This recipe will change your mind about Brussels sprouts, I promise. If you already like them, you'll love this. I wish I could tell you this recipe is more complicated than it is...but I whipped this together in about 10 minutes. Rustically cut, chiffonade the leaves or use a mandoline to shred the sprouts - I think it looks better and more rustic if some of the leaves are chunky or left whole.

A quick thing I did before putting the salad together was to pour semi-hot water over the shreds, leave for a minute, then drain off. Immediately after, I rinsed them with cold water to make sure they didn't wilt too much. That minute in the warm water softens them just a bit without boiling or steaming them & risking getting mushy.

The creamy Ricotta Salata makes this salad with a creamy, salty counterpoint to the veggies. If it's not readily available where you are, good quality feta will work, as well.  This dish is just screaming to be paired with a piece of grilled salmon.

Brussels Sprout Salad - serves 2 as a salad or 4 as a large side dish

• 1 pound of Brussels sprouts - washed then shredded/chiffonaded
• 2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1 lemon - Meyer lemon if available
• sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 4 oz. ricotta salata cheese, crumbled or sliced into 1 oz. portions

- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice. Taste before you season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. When seasoned to desired taste, toss in well-drained Brussels sprouts. Toss thoroughly to coat with the dressing. Plate salad and top with crumbled ricotta salata (or feta) or lay slices on top if you're doing it that way. Served immediately.

one potato, two potato

Remember that whole song and dance about trying to watch my carbs? Well I had one trip to the beach and that went right out the window! How can you have a Memorial Day holiday and not eat...well...carbs? Buns for burgers and sandwiches. Cookies and baked goodies. Potato salad. 

I have to say that I have a certain amount of snottiness and nostalgia about potato salad. No one could make it as well as my mom could. Her recipe? Some globbed up concoction of eggs, mustard, mayo and plain 'ol russet potatoes. Was it very good? Looking back, I'm not so sure...but that's how she did it so that's the way it should be!

This past holiday weekend, I made two different kinds of potato salads. The first was the Mesa Grill potato salad, courtesy of Mr. Personality - Bobby Flay. It was so spicy and complex and delicious. However, when all of the ingredients were combined, it looked like a CSI crime scene photo. It's definetely one from the "Looks Like Crap, Tastes Like Delicious" files!

The second batch was a Jamie Oliver recipe that I have been wanting to try for some time. I saw him make it on his show a long time ago - throwing handfuls of herbs and seasonings together all helly-nelly like. It was so loose and full of really fresh flavors. It seemed like it would be such a light and original version of what i consider to be a very heavy dish. I was right - the creme fraiche and the lemon just barely coat the potatoes. I just seasoned it with herbs and lemon zest to taste and added some dried red chili flakes for occasional heat. Some words of wisdom: be prepared to re-season after it sits - it seemed to soak up the salt and pepper as the flavors melded together.

Jamie Oliver's Purple Potato Salad - serves 6 - recipe originally found here on JamieOliver.com

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1–2 lemons, to taste
• 250g crème fraîche or fromage frais
• 500g baby new potatoes
• 500g purple potatoes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a bunch of radishes, finely sliced
• a handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• a handful of fresh chives, chopped

Make the dressing by mixing together the olive oil, lemon juice and crème fraîche or fromage frais. Cook the potatoes in plenty of boiling salted water for around 20 minutes until tender, and drain well. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, rub off the skins with a knife and slice into bite-size pieces. Mix with the dressing, then add the radishes and herbs and season well to taste.

a taste of yellow

It's that time of year again: Barbara at Winos and Foodies is hosting her annual event, A Taste of Yellow. This time around, she's added a new element - including a liveSTRONG wristband into your photo. I have been madcrazy busy with work, so I'm afraid that my photo is a little uninspired. However, I am still thrilled to take part. Thanks for the wristband, Barbara!

In honor of this awesome blog event, I made up a little yellow tomato salad (with a smattering of feta cheese) as a vehicle for my new favorite salad dressing in the world: a tangy, mustardy tarragon vinaigrette. It was originally used in a Salade Nicoise recipe from Tyler Florence (swoon)...but since my friend Tony and I made that salad, I have been thinking and thinking about the dressing. He made a batch for a salad the other evening and I fell in love again. It's the perfect salad dressing: flavorful and herby enough to compliment everything from mixed greens to slabs of fish. A word of advice though when making this salad dressing: double the recipe. Trust me.

Tangy Tarragon Vinaigrette - originally found here on foodnetwork.com

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To make the vinaigrette: combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Screw the cap on the jar and shake the vinaigrette vigorously to emulsify. Set the dressing aside while preparing the salad so the flavors can marry.

traditional take on tabbouleh

First of all, I must apologize for going MIA. I have been dealing, in the past couple of weeks, with some serious emotional stuff - and I ain't talking about grief counseling stuff. I've had some serious life changes happen the past few weeks and its taken me a bit to get my blog legs under me again. Even as I try to write this, it feels...weird. I'm sure I'll be back on the horse here in the next few days. I have a gripping exploratory of food-on-sticks up my sleeve that I will hopefully get to work on this weekend!

I have been on a serious Mediterranean food bender lately. In the past couple of months, I've experienced some awesome off the beaten path places, all of whom seemed to make exceptional tabbouleh. I've made a twist on this salad before - in the waaay back stages of this blog - and it's still a good option. Maybe I've become more of a purist or a traditionalist, but nothing is better than the parsley and lemon and garlic mixed with the simple bulgur. While I like eating it right when its freshly made, I think letting it sit overnight really lets all of the flavors mingle and get to know each other and really *shine*. A big scoop of this alongside some hummus and pita bread has become by comfort food meal-of-choice the past week or so.

Tabbouleh - serves 4  - recipe found somewhere on the Internet - oops :)

• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 2/3 cups boiling water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cucumber - peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste

   - Combine bulgur and boiling water in a large bowl. Cover, and set aside to soak for 1 hour.
   - Add oil, lemon juice, onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes, and cucumber; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

born to be wild

This is one of the most memorable non-recipe recipes I've ever come up with - for several reasons.

1) This is extremely tasty.

2) This is extremely tasty and very adaptable to a variety of palates, tastes, and events.

3) This is an extremely tasty source of party conversation. I know because I wolfed down about a metric ton of this stuff at a family reunion last summer. I spent a good bit of time scooping it into my piehole while obsessing about all the new people I was meeting and having social anxiety over and worrying about whether Aunt ______ liked me or not. Nothing helps break the ice like asking about a recipe with bits of food falling from your mouth. You should try it. Totally.

This is an adaptation of the orzo and wild rice salad that was made for said reunion. I was so wowed by it that I vowed to make my own version. That was 6 months ago. At least. Now, I've decided to finally bust out my own recipe for it to take part in this week's RootSource Challenge, over at CookThink, where there secret ingredient is orzo.

Having made it this many months later, I still love the idea of it and it is delicious. As I've said, you can really make this anyway you'd like. It's versatile and can be dressed with any sort of dressing, as well. I can totally see this being made a month or so from now using feta, fresh basil, and coming-into-season tomatoes. I think the wild rice is important for textural reasons. For my version, I used dried currants for some texture and tang, yellow and orange peppers for color and sweetness, and toasted pine nuts for a warm, nutty element.

Orzo and Wild Rice Salad - serves 4 as a side dish

• 1 1/2 cups orzo
• 3/4 cup wild rice
• 1 small orange bell pepper, chopped into small dice
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped into small dice
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• flat leaf parsley,  if desired

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp. honey Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

- Cook wild rice and orzo - separately - per instructions on packaging. Drain each well and allow to cool.
- When ingredients are cool, combine all ingredients except for the pine nuts in a mixing bowl and blend well.
- In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients well and then add to orzo and wild rice mixture
- Allow mixture to sit for at least one hour to overnight to give the salad time to soak up all of the dressing and for the flavors to intermingle
- Directly before serving, add additional salt and pepper to taste and stir in toasted pine nuts. Add fresh parsley or other herbs you have on hand, if desired.