Korean/Japanese Birthday Fun Tonight!

Today is my boyfriend’s birthday. And for such a celebration of him turning the ripe old age of 26 (a youngin, I know!) we’ve taken the day off from work. We’re having a couple friends over tonight for some Korean/Japanese food.

Keldon is from Hawaii, so we *must* have Spam! Did you know Hawaii is the largest consumers of Spam? Thank you, WW2 & Hormel.

Plus, with this menu we can use a lot of the great produce we got at the Kingfield Farmer’s Market this Sunday: cucumbers, zucchini, green onions.

This is what we’re planning:
Korean Beef Bulgogi rolled up maki style

Chicken Katsu rolled up maki style

Spam Musubi (hooray! it’s Spam!)

Kim Chee

Green Onion Salad

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with this Asian Dressing

Cucumber Salad

I suppose I’ll be making some sort of guava or passion fruit martini to go along with this, but I have yet to come up with something. Stay tuned.

And of course, I have to rival the Spam cake I made last year…. so there will be a surprise revealed later.

Recipe: Lemony Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese

Here is another recipe included in the baby shower menu for my friend last week. It’s a Pip’s Plate original, and we sort of winged it last Sunday. It turned out incredibly yummy – this recipe is a great way to jazz up plain boring grilled asparagus.

We served this alongside Grilled Turkey, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwiches.

Lemony Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese
makes: 12 servings (6 pieces of asparagus per person)

Grilled Asparagus
3 bundles of asparagus (enough for 6 spears per person)
juice of 1 lemon
3 T olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Garnishes
1 lemon for zesting
3 oz chevre goat cheese

Directions
1. Prepare the asparagus by bending it from each end to determine the ripe part of the asparagus. Snap off the woody ends – you don’t want to eat these.

2. Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Dress the asparagus and let marinate in a plastic bag for at least 20 minutes.

3. Heat grill to medium high heat. Put asparagus directly onto the grill. Cook for about 8 minutes, turning occasionally to avoid burning.

4. Remove from grill. You can place them on a platter or you can put them on individual plates for serving. Either way, once the asparagus is on a plate, use a microplane grater to zest the lemon over the asparagus. You should use the entire lemon. Then, take the chevre and crumble it on top of the asparagus.

Recipe: Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

Here is another recipe included in the menu for my friend’s baby shower last week. It’s refreshing, but make sure you are making this when watermelon is in season – the success of this recipe is heavily dependent upon a great tasting watermelon.

We served this along side the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps as part of the first course.

served in ramekins so the juice wouldn't run into the lettuce wraps

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad
makes: 12 servings (about 1 cup each)

3 cups 2-inch chunks fresh watermelon
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 T chopped fresh mint

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl then serve. It’s that easy.

recipe adapted from epicurious

Recipe: Pressed Chicken Breasts with Squash and Tomatoes

I’ve been on a healthy food kick lately – which is a good thing. My boyfriend has lymphoedema, so he has to have an extremely low fat diet. He has challenged me recently to cook very low fat recipes that still have a lot of flavor – as if I couldn’t! Ha! Turns out, we’re eating better than we ever have AND we’re sticking to the low fat diet.

I’ve never cooked pressed chicken before, and I have no idea why because this is a really great way to cook chicken. Often when I cook chicken breasts in a skillet on the stove, it splatters all over the place. This cooking style avoids all of the splatter and it cooks the chicken evenly while adding a nice crust without having skin.

Here’s another healthy and low fat recipe that is full of flavor.

Pressed Chicken Breasts with Squash and Tomatoes
Makes: 6 servings
Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless hormone-free chicken breasts (about 4-6 ounces each)
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved
3 medium yellow squash
zest from half a lemon
3 T chopped fresh marjoram or thyme

Directions
1. Cut out a circle of parchment paper that will cover a large skillet.

2. Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle one side of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts to the pan seasoned side down. Sprinkle the tops of the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover with parchment paper, then top with another heavy skillet (like a cast iron pan), and top with about 2 pounds of weight (broth cans work well).

3. Cook chicken breasts for about 8 minutes on first side, then turn. Place parchment paper, skillet and weights on chicken again. Cook for another 8 minutes or until done.

4. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from the pan and keep warm. You can either put them in a 200 degree F oven, or put them on a plate and cover with foil.

5. Heat the remaining 1 T olive oil in the same pan that you just removed the chicken from. When hot, add garlic, tomatoes, squash, lemon zest, and 2 T marjoram. Saute for about 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Toss with remaining 1 T marjoram and pour over chicken breasts.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Recipe: Chili Lime Grilled Corn on the Cob

One of my favorite foods in the summer time is corn on the cob. I remember as a kid, my mom would give me and my sisters a paper bag and all the corn to sit on the back porch and shuck away.

It might be a bit early for corn on the cob and I spent a little more on it just to have it the other night. But it was totally worth it. The first nice day of 75 degrees in Minneapolis was begging for a grill out. So why not grill corn on the cob? It’s really easy and you can grill it while your burgers cook so you don’t have to go back into the house.

Chili Lime Grilled Corn on the Cob
Makes: 4 servings (easily doubled)
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
4 corn on the cob, shucked
1/2 T adobo chili powder
1 T salt
1/2 T fresh ground pepper
1/2 stick unsalted butter (you may not use all of it)
4 slices lime

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium-high heat (around 375-400 degrees).

2. To make the seasoning, combine the adobo chili powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. (If you have a shaker, make a lot of this and keep it for use throughout the summer.)

3. Place corn on the cob on the grill. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, turning every few minutes to ensure even cooking. The corn will blacken in some places – this is ok.

4. When the corn is done, remove from the grill and place on a serving plate. Set out the butter, limes, and seasoning. To finish the corn on the cob, butter the corn, then squeeze a lime over the corn, then sprinkle some seasoning over the corn. Now enjoy!

This recipe is a great side dish to serve with Garlicky Green Turkey Burgers and Strawberry Citrus Salad for a complete quick and easy grilling meal.

Recipe: Strawberry Citrus Salad

The latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine has a ton of great recipes in it, and this Strawberry Citrus Salad caught my eye and I just had to try it. It…is…AMAZING.

Talk about simple food being the best: this recipe has only 4 ingredients and it is packed with flavor. I think this would be pretty good over ice cream too…but I’m just sayin. Plus – it’s a super healthy salad.

Strawberry Citrus Salad
from Bon Appetit May 2009

Makes: enough for a small gathering (8-10 servings or so)
Time: 15 minutes prep + 30 minutes to marinade

Ingredients
2 packages strawberries, washed, cored and quartered
3 large navel oranges, segmented and cut into large chunks
3 T fresh chopped mint
1 T brown sugar

Combine everything together in a bowl, and let it sit for about 30 minutes to marinate and get mascerated goodness. I enjoy this salad by itself or as a simple dessert. In fact, it’s really good after a plate of fried eggs and turkey bacon.

This is a perfect side dish to Garlicky Green Turkey Burgers and Chili Lime Grilled Corn on the Cob for a complete quick and easy grilling meal.

4 Layer Hearty Chicken & Vegetable Lasagna

Nothing is more soothing on a cold gray day than a plate full of fresh-from-the-oven lasagna.

This version attempts to make lasagna a bit healthier than the traditional beef and cheese version. I’ve substituted ground chicken, added a ton of veggies, and cut down on the amount of cheese.

With all these veggies layered in between pasta and cheese, this becomes hearty and good-tasting to the bone.

Serve with garlic bread and Caesar salad for a complete meal.

4 Layer Hearty Chicken & Vegetable Lasagna
Makes 8 servings
Time: about 1 hour and 45 min

Ingredients
12 uncooked lasagna sheets
2 T olive oil, divided
1 # ground chicken
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 white onion diced
1 serrano pepper minced with seeds (optional)
5 cloves garlic minced
1 cup quartered baby bella mushrooms
26 oz jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 t salt
1 t fresh ground pepper
2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided
15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Boil 6 quarts water in large pot. Add 1 T salt when boiling. Add lasagna to pot, stir, and cook for about 6-7 minutes, or according to package. When cooked, drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add ground chicken and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks through. When fully cooked, remove from pan and place on a plate.

4. Heat remaining 1 T olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion, garlic, serrano, and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.

5. Add chicken back to skillet with pasta sauce, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer and let simmer while mixing remaining ingredients.

6. Combine 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta and eggs.

7. In a lightly greased 9 x 13″ pan, add 1 cup sauce mixture to bottom. Place 3 lasagna sheets on top of sauce. Add 1/3 of the cheese mixture, then 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat layering pasta, cheese, and sauce. Top with Parmesan then remaining 1 cup mozzarella.

8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 – 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes. This is important because it gels together, making it much easier to dish out. Cut into 8 pieces and serve hot.

Recipe: Little Zucchini and Basil Fritattas

I went to my first LAN party a couple weekends ago at a coworker’s house. (Before you skip on to the next post, YES, there is a recipe included here.) It was SO MUCH FUN. Aside from the fact that a group of us play shoot-em-up video games over the lunch hour every day at work, it’s so much more fun to spend at least 8 hours playing on a Saturday. Yes, I officially reached geek status with this event. And I’m OK with that.

I said I’d bring something over and decided to make spring rolls (which were mediocre so I’m not even going to include the recipe here) and the recipe I’m about to talk about.

These were quite good, and you can make them gluten free if you want. Just use a gluten free flour. These were great because they were easy to eat in your hand but not greasy. These would be great as a brunch item too.

The recipe calls for a regular size muffin tin. If I were to make these again, I would make them in a mini muffin pan so there were more. In this case, I would cut the zucchini smaller instead of sliced, but keep a few sliced ones for the garnish.

Little Zucchini and Basil Fritattas
Total Time: 35 min
Active Time: 15 min
Makes: 12

Ingredients
2 T dry breadcrumbs*
2 T olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
2-3 zucchini, sliced into 4mm-thick rounds
8 eggs
8 basil leaves, sliced
3/4 cup grated parmesan
100 g feta (preferrably marinated)
1/2 cup self-rising flour**

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a 12 hole nonstick muffin pan. Dust each hole with crumbs then tap out the excess.

Place the olive oil in a large skillet. Gently head the oil over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes until the garlic starts to sizzle. Remove garlic and discard.

Increase heat to medium-high. Fry zucchini on both sides until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk eggs with a fork with the basil, salt and freshly ground pepper (enough to cover the surface of the mixture) until just combined. Stir in the Parmesan and flour until combined.

Divide the fried zucchini and feta throughout the muffin tin. Place 12 pieces of zucchini aside as a garnish.

Pour the egg mixture into each muffin hole (about 1/4 cup) and top with a slice of zucchini.

Gently tap the sides of the muffin tray to ensure the mixture has spread throughout the muffin hole.

Bake for 20-25 minutes – until the the fritattas feel firm when gently pressed and spring back.

Remove from oven and allow them to settle in the pan for about 10 minutes before gently easing them out.

based off of this chow.com recipe

*I typically bake in stoneware, so I don’t need to grease anything. I skipped the breadcrumb step altogether. If you don’t have stoneware, I use rice breadcrumbs as a GF alternative.

**Use gluten free flour here instead if you wish to make these GF.

One Pot Moroccan Chicken Stew – Healthy Recipe

I’m on a budget. There, I said it. I have been for some time now, but now I’m actually paying attention to it. And it starts with food and cooking. I have so much stuff in my cupboards and refrigerator that I really should cook up things I already have instead of rushing out to the store to buy a whole bag of groceries for one dish that I’m dieing to make.

So last night I was rifling through some CSA veggies and trying to figure out what to do with a lot of stuff I have on hand. The list was fairly random: potatoes, winter squash, parsnips, dried cherries, beets, carrots, garlic, and on and on.

What I found out was I don’t have to sacrifice flavor or quality when making a dinner from what I have on hand. I did end up making a trip to the grocery store but only to pick up 3 items: chicken, onions (which were on sale yay!), and canned tomatoes.

This recipe is fairly easy and dinner can be on the table in under 60 minutes – and it’s all in one pot so clean up is super easy. You can vary the spices if you want, and I might even try adding a little vanilla bean next time since I have some in my pantry, but we’ll see since I rarely make the same dish twice.

I also thought this would only make 2 servings, but it made quite a bit more than I expected and easily serves 4. Round it out with a green salad for a complete meal, but to be honest there’s enough veggies in here that you’ll get plenty of vitamins.

The best thing about this is that you can vary this depending upon what kind of veggies you have around – root veggies would work the best since they can stew for awhile. And the chicken stays nice and tender. Oh, and it’s very healthy! It’s only 3 Weight Watchers points per serving.

One Pot Moroccan Chicken
Serves 4
Time: under 60 minutes

1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, cut in half then sliced
1/2 pound organic skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 t chopped fresh thyme
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 large potato, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)- I used purple Peruvian potatoes and the color was just amazing
1 small (bordering on teeny) winter squash, peeled, seeded and diced (about 1 cup) – I used Delicata and left the skin on
1/4 cup dried cherries
14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
2 cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 1 T oil over medium heat in large deep skillet. TIP: if you use stainless cookware, remember “hot pan, cold oil” to keep food from sticking to the pan – heat your pan and when you’re ready to start cooking, add the oil then immediately add the food. It works really well.

2. Combine 1 t fresh thyme, 1 t cumin, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t pepper. Coat the chicken with this mixture.

3. Add 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 small sliced onion to the oil in the pan. Saute for 1 – 2 minutes or until starting to soften. Move the onion and garlic mixture to the side of the pan and add the chicken to brown it, turning once and cooking about 2 minutes on each side.

4. Add the squash, cherries, potatoes, tomatoes, broth, cardamom and cloves to the pot, combine. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice. A new thing I tried for cooking rice and really like was instead of using water, I made African Rooibus tea and cooked my basmati rice in that. It added a lot of flavor and was quite delicious. Just heat 2 cups of water, add 2 teabags and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Then add 1 cup basmati rice and cook like normal.

Recipe: Fig and Raspberry Galette

At our last book club meeting for Petal Pushers (which I didn’t read after hearing is was just so-so), we had brunch at one of the women’s houses. I brought dessert this time. Again, it was another episode of “I have so much <blank> from my CSA…what can I make with it?”

I found some inspiration from epicurious.com for their Fig and Raspberry Galette recipe, but I didn’t want to make the crust (short on time and poor reviews) so I ran over to the store and purchased some frozen puff pastry.

I have to leave for book club in an hour. And I had just bought frozen puff pastry. I had no idea what I was doing, but I figured I make something work. Turns out…the how-to-thaw-frozen-puff-pastry on the back of the package works! WHY have I never tried this before? Essentially lay it out on the counter for 40 minutes.

I also didn’t want to make one giant galette, so instead I pulled out my Donna Hay cookbook (remembering seeing a galette recipe in there) and worked some magic into individual servings…

Fig and Raspberry Galette
serves: 12
time: 1 hour 30 min (includes puff pastry thawing time…exclude 40 minutes if it’s already thawed)

Ingredients
1 pound fresh ripe figs (about 10), sliced
4 T sugar, divided
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
1 large egg yolk beaten to blen with 1 t water (for glaze)
1 sheet puff pastry

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice figs and place in a bowl with 2T sugar. Toss together and let sit. Toss raspberries in another bowl with remaining 1 T sugar.

Roll out puff pastry to approximately 14 x 10 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 12 even rectangles. Place on a jelly roll pan evenly spread out.

Put 4 slices of figs on each of the puff pastry pieces, leaving about 1/2 – 1 inch edge. Top with raspberries. Using a pastry brush (or your finger if you don’t have a pastry brush), brush the edges of the puff pastry. Sprinkle the remaining 1 T sugar on the edges.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the puff pastry is browned and the filling is bubbling.

ALTERNATIVE: I haven’t tried this, but I think soaking the raspberries in balsamic vinegar and honey instead of the sugar would give this some depth of flavor. Try soaking raspberries in 1 T balsamic vinegar and 1/2 T honey.