Potato Salad with Green Beans and Salsa Verde

July 31, 2013 by Mackenzie

Again, I must apologize for my long blogging absence. I have been busy working crazy hours (4am shifts!), driving between Lynnwood and Renton, trying out new “real food” recipes, and spending some quality time with my friends and family before I head back to school!

But in this long absence, I’ve tried tons of great recipes and I am finally going to share them with you! Today, we’ve got a Potato Salad with Green Beans and Salsa Verde. I made this twice in one week it was so good! It’s a “real food” recipe because it is just vegetables and herbs, but don’t underestimate this dish – the salsa verde is outstanding and takes this dish from good to great!

Potato Salad with Green Beans and Salsa Verde
Serves 5
Recipe from FoodandWine

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced chives
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, minced
Sea salt
1 1/4 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed

Directions:

1. Prepare salsa verde: In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil with the chives, parsley, mint, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic and season with salt. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Cook the potatoes: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water, add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes over moderately high heat until just tender, about 8 minutes; drain and return them to the saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and toss to coat. Season with salt.

3. Cook the green beans: While the potatoes are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until tender but crisp, about 4 minutes; drain. Return the beans to the pot and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt.

4. Assemble: add half the salsa verde to the potatoes and half to the green beans, tossing to coat. Transfer the beans to a serving dish and top with the potatoes. Serve right away.

Lemon Dill Chicken

July 11, 2013 by Mackenzie

For the month of July, I’m doing a “real food” challenge! I’ve cut out all processed food, grains and dairy. I’m twelve days in and I feel fantastic! I’ve got much more energy (even with no coffee!), I feel strong and lean and I’ve learned so much about real food and how much better it is for your body.

This is the reason I haven’t posted a new recipe in awhile… I’ve been eating pretty simple meals and lots of fruits and vegetables – nothing too exciting to post here. However, on the Fourth of July, we made a fantastic meal and all of it was “real food”! We made this Lemon Dill Chicken and a potato salad (which I’ll post tomorrow!) – both definitely blog-worthy, so here you go!

This chicken tastes so fresh and summery with the lemon grilled onion and asparagus topping. Plus, it’s easy and quick – so a perfect summer meal on a hot night!

Lemon Dill Chicken
Serves 5
Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients:

2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
8 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally to make cutlets (pasteurized is best)
4 red onion slices, each 1/4 inch thick
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken: Zest and juice two lemons. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice, dill, 2 tablespoons olive oil and pepper. Place chicken in a medium baking ban and add 2 tablespoons of the lemon mixture. Coat chicken pieces evenly then allow to refrigerate for 30 minutes. Add salt to remaining lemon mixture and set aside.

2. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium high and lightly brush grate with olive oil. Place chicken, onions and asparagus on grill and brush all with olive oil. Grill onions and asparagus for 5-10 minutes, removing them from the grill when they are cooked through. Grill the chicken for about 5 minutes on both sides, or until no longer pink in the center.

3. Coarsely chop the grilled onions and asparagus and add them to the bowl of remaining lemon mixture and toss to coat. Place chicken on a serving platter and spoon the lemon vegetable mixture over the chicken to serve.

Salted Rice Krispy Treats

June 19, 2013 by Mackenzie

As its my last week of work here in Indonesia, I decided to share some of my favorite American desserts with my colleagues. I brought in a massive Deep Dish Apple Pie on Monday, my family’s favorite dessert, Pretzel Jello Salad, on Tuesday, and these Rice Krispy Treats today! They loved all of them and I had a blast making and sharing these desserts with them.

The pretzel jello salad will come in a future post, but these Rice Krispy treats need to go up now! They were easy to make, delicious to eat and unique with the addition of the sea salt. I highly encourage you to make these asap – they are fantastic!

Salted Rice Krispy Treats
Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Makes 16, 2-inch bars

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 10 oz bag large or mini marshmallows
6 cups rice krispy (puffed rice) cereal
1 bar dark chocolate

Directions:

1. Butter an 8-inch square pan. In a large pot, melt butter over medium low heat. Let it melt, foam then turn clear golden and then slightly brown. This gives it a really good nutty taste but if you are impatient, just melt the butter 😉

2. When the butter is melted (and browned if you want), turn the heat off, sprinkle in the sea salt, and stir in the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are smooth – you may need to turn the heat back on to low to get them to melt, but don’t let the marshmallows actually cook.

3. Take the pot off the stove and stir in the cereal. Fold it in gently, until it is all combined, then transfer to the prepared pan. Press it down with your hands to get it smooth and even.

4. Melt chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, then drizzle over rice krispies. Place in the fridge so the chocolate hardens but take it out an hour before you serve them so they return to room temperature. They are also pretty darn good after just a could minutes of cooling!

Red Wine Velvet Cake

June 18, 2013 by Mackenzie

To complete Indonesia Cooking Marathon #2, we made this Red Wine Velvet Cake from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. In Tom’s words, it was “Super Fantastic!” But really, it was divine.

Instead of using food coloring to get the deep red color, this recipe calls for red wine. Although the alcohol cooks out, the flavor of the wine is still strong in the cake – giving this red velvet cake a delicious, unique flavor! A perfect “adult” cake 😉

I made a simple cream cheese frosting to go with it, but boy, it really finished it off well! Top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and I think you’ll really enjoy this recipe!

Red Wine Velvet Cake
Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Makes one 2-layer, 8-inch round cake

Ingredients:

Cake:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/6 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla
2-4 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of two 8-inch, round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly coat with butter (sides too). In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs and beat well, then beat in the red wine and vanilla.

2. Add the rest of the cake ingredients to the wet mixture, piling it all on top before mixing it all together with a rubber spatula. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for ten minutes, then flip out and cool completely on a wire rack.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla with an electric mixture, until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add milk to reach desired consistency.

4. Place the first cake layer on the serving platter and spread 1/2 the frosting over it (I just did the tops and not the sides). Place the second layer on top and spread the rest of the frosting over it. I sprinkled some dark chocolate shards over the top, add if you want! Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

June 14, 2013 by Mackenzie

This galette accompanied our meal from last weekend with the Roasted Sweet Pepper Rolls with Caper-Pinenut Stuffing and Lemon Risotto – yet it was the star of the show! The crust is flaky and just melts in your mouth, while the filling of butternut squash, caramelized onions, and fontina cheese make each bite truly heavenly. This is a really outstanding dish!

We thought it was especially good when it was hot, so I’d recommend reheating it in the oven just before you eat if you make this ahead of time (which is what we did). We also halved the original recipe to make just one 9-inch galette. I’ve given the halved ingredient quantities but you could easily double it to make a large, pizza size dish or to make two smaller galettes.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette
Recipe from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Makes one 9-inch galette, serves 3-4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup ice water

Filling:

1 small butternut squash
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced in half moons
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for glaze

Directions:

1. Pastry: in a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the whole stick of butter and pulse until butter is no bigger than peas. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water. Pour this over the dry mixture, mix briefly, then transfer to a bowl and combine the mixture with a rubber spatula or your hands. Add more flour or water if needed to get a slightly sticky dough. Pat dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

2. Squash: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the squash, then halve it and scoop out the seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch chunks. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil over a baking sheet and then spread the squash out on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground pepper, then place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until the squash is tender. Set aside to cool.

3. Onions: while the squash is roasting, caramelize the onions. Melt the butter and one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet, add the onions, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook over medium-low heat, until soft, tender and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Combine the squash, caramelized onions, cheese, and herbs in a large bowl.

4. Assembly: on a floured surface, roll out the dough to an 11-inch round, or about 1/4-inch thick (think pie crust). Transfer to a baking sheet. Spread the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a two-inch border. Fold the border over the filling, pleating it, to make it all come together. Brush the crust with the egg wash. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and slide onto a serving dish. Serve hot or warm. You can make this ahead of time and reheat it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Lemon Risotto

June 11, 2013 by Mackenzie

This is the best risotto I have ever had.

The lemon flavor is really strong and when paired with a milder savory dish, such as these sweet peppers with caper-pinenut stuffing, you’ve got yourself one fantastic dish!

The risotto would be great with a number of other dishes – chicken breasts, a green salad, roasted vegetables… Whatever I make it with, I will definitely be making it again!

Lemon Risotto
Recipe adapted from the Cafe Paradiso Cookbook
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio or other risotto rice
1/2 cup white wine
2-3 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons pinenuts, lightly toasted
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
Fresh basil, oregano or parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft, about five minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for another five minutes, stirring often.

2. After five minutes, turn up the heat and add the wine, stirring until it has evaporated. Reduce the heat and add a half cup or so of vegetable stock. Stir frequently. When the liquid has almost completely evaporated, pour in another half cup or so, repeating the process.

3. Continue adding liquid, a half cup or so at a time until the individual grains of rice have been cooked through (start tasting after about ten minutes – but the process should take about twenty). You may need more or less stock, or time – be ready to adapt to however the rice is cooking.

4. When the rice is cooked and the last of the liquid you have added has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat and add in another tablespoon or so of olive oil and butter, the pine nuts, the parmesan, the herbs, and the salt and pepper. Serve warm and enjoy!

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