For the Love of Brussels Sprouts 2

Part 2 of my series on Brussels Sprouts:  Grilled.  Simple, fast, and five ingredients or less.

The idea of grilling Brussels sprouts was not my own.  My sister, Carla, discovered this while we were living together in Williamsburg.  This is probably my favorite way to cook Brussels sprouts.  The smokey flavor is incredible and very unique.

 

Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Butter and Lemon (feeds 2 as a side dish)

 

Ingredients:

• 10-12 Brussels Sprouts
• 2 Tb unsalted butter
• 1 lemon
• 4 skewers
• fresh ground pepper

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium-hi heat.

 

• Rinse the Brussels sprouts.  Trim off the bottoms and remove any ragged outer leaves.  Cut them in half (if there are any super-small ones, leave them whole).

 

• Skewer the Brussels sprouts so that they're all cut side up.

 

• Zest the lemon.  Put zest to the side.
• Melt the butter (microwave is quick and easy).  Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice into the butter.

 

• Whisk together butter and lemon.  Drizzle over the sprouts.  Sprinkle a few pinches of zest on top and season with fresh pepper.  (The leftover zest can be thrown into vinaigrette dressing to freshen it up.)

 

• Grill for about 10 minutes, covered, until browned on the bottom and the middle is tender-crisp

 

• Serve and enjoy!  With Brussels sprouts like these, you'll be fighting for the last one :-)

For the Love of Brussels Sprouts

A lot of people don't like Brussels sprouts.  I grew up thinking I didn't like them, but that has definitely changed.  I've also become a Brussels sprouts converter - feeding them to people who "don't like them" and then they later ask for the recipes!  I have three basic ways that I cook Brussels sprouts:  sautéed, roasted, and grilled.

Part 1:  Sautéed.  Simple, fast, and five ingredients or less*

This recipe can easily be altered with different steaming liquids, spices, garnishes, etc. (examples at the end)

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Red Peppers and Lime (feeds 2 as a side dish)

 

Ingredients:

• 10 Brussels sprouts
• EVOO
• 1 lime
• roasted red pepper strips
• crushed red pepper
• salt

Steps:

• Add ~2Tb of EVOO to a medium pan and preheat over Medium-Hi heat.  (The oil should get hot but should not be smoking.  On my electric stove, I've learned that "M-H" is below the 'Medium' marker.  Unfortunately all stoves are different...)

 

• Rinse the Brussels sprouts.  Trim off the bottoms and remove any ragged outer leaves.  Cut them in half.

 

• Add the Brussels Sprouts, about 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and a smidge of salt.  Sautée, tossing periodically, until golden brown in spots (about 5 minutes).

 

• Meanwhile, zest half of the lime.  Squeeze the lime juice into a separate bowl.

 

• Add ~12 roasted red pepper strips, the lime juice, and ~1 Tb of water or other additonal liquid (I used the brining liquid that the pepper strips were in - mine weren't in oil).
• Cover and allow to cook/steam for about 4 minutes, or until tender.  I prefer mine to be on the al dente/tender crisp side.

 

• Remove to serving bowl.  Add lime zest.  Toss, and serve!

*5 ingredients or less does not include salt/pepper/EVOO/water




Easy flavor combinations (sub for cooking fat, liquid, garnish, spice respectively):

     Sesame oil, 1.5 T soy sauce and 1.5 T water, green onions, powdered ginger and powdered garlic

     Butter, juice of 1 lemon and 1 T water, lemon zest, black pepper

     EVOO, 3 T white wine, capers, black pepper

     Non-stick pan w/ no oil, 1 T red wine vinegar and 2 T water, sun dried tomatoes, smoked paprika

"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

I first heard Michael Pollan speak when he was a guest on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.  "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."  It seems like such a simple statement, but when you really delve into it, they're words to live by.

Salad - Its What's for Dinner

"Eat food."  Not as dumb as it sounds.  There's a big difference between food and "all these edible, food-like substances" (MP) that you can buy at the grocery store.  "Food" is fruit, veggies, fish, whole grains, meat, milk, eggs, nuts, etc.  While shopping, its usually easy to see the difference between food and food-like substances.  This doesn't mean that all packaged food is bad - be a label reader.  Could you feasibly make the "food" that's in your grocery cart in your own kitchen?  Do the ingredients sound like they belong in a chemistry set?  I'm certainly not perfect - I'll eat Kraft Singles (aka processed cheese-food), chicken nuggets, instant pudding, etc on occasion, but if I ask myself "is this food or a food-like substance" I often make better choices.

Healthy Meals

"Not too much."  Eat like almost every other country on earth eats - stop eating when you're no longer hungry.  Don't wait until your brain tells you you're full.  I've found that if I serve smaller portions and have to physically get up and go to the kitchen to get more, I'll often think twice about whether I'm actually still hungry.

Boulder Farmer's Market, Take 2

"Mostly plants."  Plants are good for you.  For the past year, I've made a point to serve a meal without meat/fish at least once a week.  I also try to make the veggie the largest portion on the plate, and the meat (if I'm serving it) the smallest.

Best Dinner in a Long Time

My resolution for 2012:  make better food choices.  I've gotten pretty good at doing this at home, but I really need to improve at work, at restaurants, while I'm out shopping and a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell would really hit the spot...  What is your 2012 resolution?

Great Side Dishes

More advice from Michael Pollan below:


Michael Pollan's 7 Rules for Eating

1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. "When you pick up that box of portable yogurt tubes, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can't pronounce, ask yourself, "What are those things doing there?" Pollan says.
2. Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.
3. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.
4.  Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot. "There are exceptions -- honey -- but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren't food," Pollan says.
5. It is not just what you eat but how you eat. "Always leave the table a little hungry," Pollan says. "Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, 'Tie off the sack before it's full.'"
6. Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It's a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. "Remember when eating between meals felt wrong?" Pollan asks.
7. Don't buy food where you buy your gasoline. In the U.S., 20% of food is eaten in the car.

MP's 4 Myths About Healthy Eating

• Myth #1: Food is a delivery vehicle for nutrients. What really matters isn't broccoli but its fiber and antioxidants. If we get that right, we get our diet right. Foods kind of get in the way.
• Myth #2: We need experts to tell us how to eat. Nutrients are invisible and mysterious. "It is a little like religion," Pollan said. "If a powerful entity is invisible, you need a priesthood to mediate your relation with food."
• Myth #3: The whole point of eating is to maintain and promote bodily health. "You are either improving or ruining your health when you eat -- that is a very American idea," Pollan says. "But there are many other reasons to eat food: pleasure, social community, identity, and ritual. Health is not the only thing going on on our plates."
• Myth #4: There are evil foods and good foods. "At any given time there is an evil nutrient we try to drive like Satan from the food supply -- first it was saturated fats, then it was trans fat," Pollan says. "Then there is the evil nutrient's doppelganger, the blessed nutrient. If we get enough of that we will be healthy and maybe live forever. It's funny through history how the good and bad guys keep changing."

Read more about these myths here.  Read even more about Michael Pollan here, here, or here.  Or a ton of other places.

Great Side Dishes

Sometimes the side dish is better than the main dish.  Sometimes its so good that you don't even bother making a main dish...

First off, a combo that sounds bizarre, but once you try it - you'll fall in love!  Liz introduced us to this Tomato and Mango Salad while we lived in Williamsburg.  Here's my version:

Tomato Mango Jalapeno Salad (excellent with fish or as a fresh and light first course or on its own if you had a big lunch...)

 

Peel and cube one large, ripe mango.  Cube 2 medium super ripe* tomatoes.  Finely chop 1/4 of a red onion.  Finely chop 1 jalapeno (or less, to taste).  Toss with the juice of 1/2 a lime.  Chill and let the flavors 'marry' for at least 30 minutes.  Enjoy!  (I've found that once this salad sits overnight, the jalapenos are actually less spicy.)

Sometimes the simplest sides are the best - in all of these cases, I thought they were better than the main dish!

Super Ripe* Tomatoes with Arugula (topped with balsamic vinegar)

Here, served with rockfish cooked in parchment with herbs, onions, and lemons.

  Spaghetti Squash

 

Cook the spaghetti squash according to label directions.  (They're always some variation of this:  Poke several holes in the squash.  Microwave 2 minutes.  Cut in half.  Remove seeds. Microwave in a glass dish, face down, until tender - usually 5 to 10 minutes.)  Using forks, pull the squash apart into spaghetti.  Drizzle lightly with good EVOO (quality shows when there's nothing masking the flavor) and fresh squeezed lemon.  Top with fresh ground pepper.  Serve.  (Here it was served with white wine poached tilapia, topped with butter toasted breadcrumbs and capers.)

Sliced Tomatoes

 

So simple, but so incredible.  Sliced super ripe* tomatoes, drizzled with good EVOO (once again, quality matters), a pinch of sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

Sauteed Artichoke Hearts AND Spinach Salad

If you read my post about artichokes, you know how much I love them!  I still stand by my word that whole artichokes are the best way to go, but frozen artichoke hearts are pretty amazing too!  Not every store has them - I originally discovered them because my college roommate Emily would buy them at Trader Joe's.  Unfortunately, Colorado does not have TJs.  I think I found them at Sprouts this time.  Simple preparation:  saute thawed artichoke hearts in a small amount of EVOO.  In another pan, toast butter, breadcrumbs, and fresh ground black pepper.  Squeeze a tiny bit of lemon on the artichoke hearts and top with toasted topping.

Whenever I use a pomegranate for any recipe, I have a ton of the yummy seeds leftover.  They're fun to add to a variety of foods!  They dance beautifully when dropped into champagne, they make an exciting oatmeal topping, they are a tart counterpoint to cake, they're fun on ice cream/sorbet, and they're perfect on salads.  This salad was simply baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, and pomegranate seeds.  Topped with sweet and sour dressing.  This is a simplified version of my family's annual "Christmas Salad" but still delicious.  I've also made the same salad with warm sauteed mushrooms instead.  Yum!

Both sides were great!  They both also out-shined the lemon-white wine steamed tilapia with capers.

Last but not least, is one that the side was fun to make (but I can't claim it was better than the main dish - I love steak too much to claim that!)

Twice Baked Potatoes

 

I microwave baked my Idaho potatoes, then scooped them out.  I added (per potato) 1 Tb sour cream, a generous amount of black pepper, 1/2 Tb of melted butter, and a large pinch of shredded cheddar then mixed.  I divided the filling between the potato skins, then baked them in a 375 degree oven until golden brown on top.

Here, served with pan-seared steak (seared in melted butter in a cast iron skillet).  BTW - such an easy way to cook a steak and incredibly delicious (if you don't have a charcoal grill)!

*In most cases, the tomatoes at the grocery store are anything but ripe.  Options:  1)  Grow your own tomatoes (we can't do that - we live in an apartment that doesn't get enough sun on the patio).  2)  Buy your tomatoes from a farmer's market (delicious, but they're not always in season).  3)  My most common tactic:  buy the on the vine tomatoes at the grocery - allow them to ripen at home until they're so ripe that they're almost mushy/you're afraid they might start molding at the stem.  This sometimes works to make plum tomatoes palatable as well.

Salad - Its What's for Dinner.

I am very fortunate to not only have married a non-picky-eater, but also a man who LOVES vegetables.  If I'm at a loss for what to make for dinner and ask Joe what I should cook, I undoubtedly get the same answer:  "Can you make dinner salads?"

We probably eat dinner salads once a week.  Usually, its just a combination of whatever produce/protein I have in the fridge, but sometimes I plan ahead and come up with something worth remembering.

Some recent salads (that I remembered to photograph before we chowed down)...  BTW - I left my favorite for last.

(All recipes serve 2 unless specified.)

Locally-Grown Spinach with Grilled Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Brussels Sprouts, Avocado and Grilled Salmon

 

Sweet potatoes:  I scrubbed one and sliced it on my mandolin, then brushed with EVOO, grilled the slices, and diced.
Brussels Sprouts:  I halved them, skewered them, and drizzled them with melted butter and lemon juice then grilled/cut.
Salmon:  rubbed with dijon and topped with generous black pepper than grilled on oiled foil.
Served with Gorgonzola-Balsamic Vinaigrette (store-bought).

Shrimp Caesar Salad (adapted from an everyday Food recipe)

 

Skewers:   I tossed about ~16 thawed peeled/devained medium shrimp with 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 TB EVOO, the zest of 1/2 a lemon, and fresh pepper.  Then I tossed ~20 1 inch French bread cubes (I used 4 French Rolls) with 1 TB EVOO and pepper.  I skewered them and then cooked them on a baking sheet in a 450 degree oven for about 7 minutes (until shrimp was cooked).

Caesar:  I mixed 1 clove crushed garlic, 2 TB fresh lemon juice, 2 TB EVOO, 1 tsp Dijon, and 1 small squeeze anchovy paste (<1/4 tsp) in a salad bowl, whisked, added ~ 4 cups romaine lettuce and tossed.

 Romaine Salad with Shrimp, Mango, Avocado, and Cucumbers

Topped with sliced almonds.  Served with balsamic vinaigrette.  The avocado and mango go amazingly well together!

Salad with Red Veggies

Romaine with tomatoes, pickled beets, radishes, and herbed Feta.  Served with EVOO and red wine vinegar.

Pickled Beets - scrub the beets, peel, and slice.  Boil until tender.  Marinate in red wine vinegar and sugar.  Its also possible to boil the beets whole and then rub the skins off (with rubber gloves on).



And last but not least, my FAVORITE salad of the summer (and of course, its from everyday Food magazine...small changes from the original though)!  Pictures of a few steps included...

Arugula, Chicken and Rice Salad (serves 4)

Cook 4 servings of Jasmine rice according to the directions (I found brown Jasmine - yum!).
Marinate and grill 2 chicken breasts.  Chop.

Slice 1 pint of Heirloom cherry tomatoes in half (or regular cherry tomatoes - the Heirloom were on sale at the store and they're sooo pretty!).  Slice a small bunch of green onions.  Toss with the tomatoes.  (I often keep a few onions to the side to garnish the salad with.)  Add to the chopped chicken.  Add cooked rice.

Blend 3 cups of fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley, and sage leaves) with 3 Tb white balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar) and 2 Tb EVOO.  Gradually add about 1/4 cup of cold water.  Blend as you go.  The goal is to get a smooth, pourable dressing (use water if needed).  Season with black pepper.

Toss 1 clamshell (typically 5 oz) of arugula with 1/2 of the dressing.  Add the remaining dressing to the rice/chicken mixture.  Toss.  Divide arugula among the plates.  Top with generous scoops of the chicken and rice salad.  Top with remaining green onions.  Enjoy!

If you're only serving 2 people at a time, only dress half of the arugula at a time.  Store remaining arugula and dressing separately until time to serve.

Best Dinner in a Long Time :-)

I know I've mentioned it in this blog before, but I really like everyday Food magazine.  One of the things I've noticed recently is that the recipes often ignore the American idea that every meal needs a meat, a carb, and maybe a vegetable.  The majority of the dinners are instead light and fresh and leave you feeling satisfied but not heavy/over-full.

Tonight for dinner, I made 2 recipes from the magazine.  I was excited about them when cooking, but also curbed my enthusiasm because sometimes meals aren't as awesome as they look in pictures/sound in recipes.  Luckily, this one was.  This was our favorite dinner that I've made at home for a long time.

Unfortunately, our camera was low on batteries, so I only got one picture of each and didn't get to try a few angles/lighting settings to make them look as awesome as they tasted...  We had two "entrees" and I thought for a while about serving them in sequence, but due to timing, I served them simultaneously instead.  We had:

Green Bean Salad with garbanzo beans, heirloom cherry tomatoes, red onion, and lemon/olive oil dressing.  It was a pretty recipe in the magazine, but subbing a mix of purple/red/yellow/green/orange heirloom cherry tomatoes for the standard red ones made it so visually appealing and also amazingly delicious!

 

Recipe in brief:  Cook 1-1.5 lbs green beans until "tender-crisp" -- about 4 minutes in boiling water.  Meanwhile, whisk the juice of 1 lemon, about 2/3 of a lemon worth of lemon zest, and 2 Tb EVOO.  Add 1 can of drained/rinsed chick peas, 1/4 of a red onion slivered, and 1 pint quartered/halved cherry tomatoes (heirloom preferred).  Stir.  Plate drained green beans, top with tomato mixture, and sprinkle with Feta cheese.

The magazine advertises the green bean salad as an entree on its own (and it certainly could have been one) but I had some leftover coconut milk in the fridge that I wanted to finish.  I used it in a Coconut Curry Clam recipe (originally mussels, but the store only had clams).  Joe wasn't too excited about it initially when he read the recipe, but we ended up fighting over the last few clams and then eating the broth/sauce like soup!  It was very rich, so we ended up with leftovers that I'll be VERY excited to serve over rice later this week!

 

Recipe in brief:  Melt 1 Tb of unsalted butter over medium heat.  Add 1 Tb fresh minced ginger and 2 cloves of crushed garlic.  Add 1/2 to 1 can of unsweetened lowfat coconut milk (depending on # of clams) and increase heat to medium high.  Whisk in 2-3 Tb of green curry paste.  Add 2-3 dozen clams (or mussels) cover, and cook til open.  Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the mixture and top with about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro.

Such a yummy dinner!  And we're very excited about our leftover Green Bean Salad for lunch tomorrow!  (Yes, me the non-leftover eater, is looking forward to both of these leftovers!!)

Boulder Farmer's Market, Take 2

After eating our fresh radishes last week, we HAD to go back to the Farmer's Market on Saturday.  This time we remembered our camera!  The weather wasn't as nice (it was low-mid 40s) but the market was still incredible.  We loved seeing the piles of beautiful local produce and were treated to some samples (radishes, carrots, apples, cider, cheese, salmon, brownies, nuts...) along the way.

Winter radishes come in black, green, and "watermelon."

Garden fresh greens, turnips and sunchokes.

This weekend, we decided to enjoy lunch while at the market.  I got half a margarita pizza cooked in a mobile brick oven.  This was the BEST pizza I've had since Italy!!!

 Joe had a homemade chicken tamale with green chile.  Removed from the husks while he waited.

Our treasures from this week's market.  We wanted to buy a bunch more but restrained ourselves because there's nothing more sad then seeing produce spoil.  The pictures of the radishes cut up are much cooler, but its neat to see what they looked like whole.

Green radish, watermelon radishes, 1 lb beet, carrots

Radishes!!  YUM!!!

The weather has been so moderate that they're acutally extending the market one more week!  Perhaps we will have to go again to get more radishes (we're fairly obsessed right now, if you couldn't tell!).