French Onion Salisbury Steak

There is a wee steak under all those onions in the above picture...really.

Finally got around to making this and we just happen to have the perfect night for it. Getting down to freezing and this will be perfect comfort food to go with our recorded episode of Battlestar Galactica! ;-) I was going to serve the Salisbury steaks with a spinach salad, but happened upon a huge, ever so reasonably priced package of monster asparageese at Costco today. Steamed 'em then drizzled with a mustard vinaigrette.

French Onion Salisbury Steak:
(Cuisine at Home magazine)

steak:
1 1/4 lb ground chuck (I used 96% lean...probably too lean for this dish)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 Tbs. minced green onions
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbs all-purpose flour (I used brown rice flour and ended up having to add some cornstarch to thicken the sauce more.)

sauce:
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups sliced onion
1 tsp. sugar (agave nectar)
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. tomato paste
2 cups beef stock (Kitchen Basics)
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
optional: splash of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce

Combine chuck, 1/4 cup parsley, green onion, salt and pepper.
Divide evenly into 4 portions and shape each into 3/4-1 inch thick oval patties.
Place 2 Tbs flour into a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour. Reserve 1 tsp flour.
Heat oil in a saute pan over med-high heat. Add patties and saute 3 min. on each side, or until browned. Remove from pan.
Add onion and sugar (agave nectar) to pan; saute 5 min.
Stir in garlic and tomato paste; saute 1 min. or until paste begins to brown.
Sprinkle mixture with reserved flour, cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth and wine, then add salt and thyme.
Return meat to pan; bring sauce to a boil.
Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
After tasting the sauce, I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to add a little more depth. And a wee splash of Worcestershire sauce too...just the very tail end of the bottle.

Serve over mashed potatoes or some other goodness that'll soak up the sauce.

Orange-Glazed Salmon

I wasn't entirely sold that I'd like this recipe, never having been a fan of marmalade (sorry Paddington). But, it just looked too pretty in the magazine photo not to make it. To be sure, the marmalade was a little bitter, but that's just the way it is right? That said, I'm totally going to make it again. Specially seeing as we've now got a jar of marmalade to use up, and it sure as heck isn't going on my toast! The Monster is a hard sell on making salmon any way other than baked with salt and pepper and he DID like this if that means anything to you.

I'll type this up as the recipe was written, but I broiled the salmon instead of sauteing it. House is a lot less stinky the next day! :-) Plus you don't need as much oil. When the salmon is finished broiling add it to the skillet that you've heated your marmalade and lime juice in. We just had 12 oz total of salmon for the two of us, so I halved the spice mix, but I made the full amount of sauce. Served over brown rice cooked in veggie broth with green beans, twas very nice.

Orange-Glazed Salmon:
(Cuisine at Home magazine)

3 Tbs Cajun Spice (I used a salt-free blackening spice. I lightly oiled, then salted the fillets before putting it on.)
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets (6oz. each)
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/4 cup Seville orange marmalade (I didn't buy it because the first ingredient was high-fructose corn syrup...no. Used Bonne Maman brand marmalade and just doubled the lime juice called for)
1 Tbs. lime juice (used 2)

Combine Cajun spice, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Rub over all surfaces of fillets. Saute fillets in oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat for 3-4 min.
Turn and saute and additional 2-3 minutes.

Blend marmalade and lime; swirl in pan until melted (I also added a pat of butter to the sauce since my pan didn't have any oil in it from sauteing the fish). Carefully turn fish to glaze on all sides. The salmon is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork.
Serve with lime wedges.

Curried Chickpea Salad

Back in October of last year, Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blogged about two chickpea salad recipes she developed and I made the first Creamy Chickpea Salad right away. That one first because she said it was her favorite. It was great...I made it twice in one week. :-) Now I'm finally getting around to trying out her second recipe from that October post.

We had this for dinner in lieu of a decidedly non-veg dinner I'd planned of Salisbury steak with mashers. Making up for our gluttony at Aster's Ethiopian restaurant the night before. Man, that's some seriously good finger food! And I asked them what they make their injera from...only teff, buckwheat flour and yeast! No wheat flour/gluten thank you very much. I've bemoaned the fact that some Ethiopian places I've eaten at use wheat in their injera and it just ain't right. Specially when you're trying to take your gluten-intolerant friend out for a nice dinner! :-)

Ok, that was quite the deviation from the topic at hand.
Obviously, use whatever good quality mayo you like if you're not a vegan.
We just happened to have some vegan canola mayo. If you're looking to cut calories in the mayo dept, don't buy that regular mayo "lite" crap...it's got tons of other stuff you wouldn't want in your bod. Spectrum Light Canola Mayo is a great alternative. 35 cals per Tbs. compared to 90-100 cals per Tbs. in regular mayo.

Curried Chickpea Salad:
(Adapted from FatFreeVegan Kitchen)

1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 bell pepper, minced
1/2 hot chile pepper, seeded and minced (optional, but I used a serrano seeds and all)
1 teaspoon good mild curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (I used one whole can)
1/4 cup okara or silken tofu, mashed well (I used lite silken firm tofu and used more than 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (used more)
1 tablespoon Nayonaise or other vegan mayo (I used 2 Tbs.)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
generous grating black pepper
to the original recipe I added ~2 Tbs diced celery, a handful of golden raisins; minced, a squirt of agave nectar, and topped each serving with roasted cashews.

Add a small amount of olive oil to a small saucepan and sauté onion over medium-high heat until it softens, about 2-3 minutes. Add bell pepper and hot pepper, if using, and cook another minute. Add curry powder and cumin and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Mash chickpeas with the tofu in a medium-sized bowl. Add the onion mixture and all remaining ingredients. Stir well and check for seasoning. If necessary add a little more curry powder, salt, or lemon juice. Refrigerate until chilled.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette and Chicken with Lime Sauce

In an effort to prevent any sudden outbreak of scurvy, we dosed ourselves heavily with lime juice last night. The acorn squash recipe was gleaned from a blog I read called traveler's lunchbox. Who in turn found it in Gourmet Magazine. Tasty way to prepare acorn squash and I don't know if we were supposed to, but we ate the skins right along with the squash (so make sure you wash them well). I halved the recipe, using only one squash, but made up almost the full amount of the vinaigrette (with less oil)...using the remainder on our salad.

The chicken is just sauteed up then finished with an easy pan sauce. A Cooking Light recipe that calls for using chicken breasts that have been pounded to 1/4" thickness, I used chicken tenders to cut that step out. I usually serve the chicken with cumin roasted potatoes and it's a great combo. Guess I'd better post about those sometime! I just looked at the comments on the chicken recipe at Cooking Light's site and found that people that weren't as into acidic sauces had a problem with the sauce, but others looooved it. So, judge for yourself. Me and tart are good friends...

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette:
(found on travelerslunchbox's blog...Source: adapted from Gourmet, October 2006)

2 large (1 1/2-1 3/4-lb/650-800g) acorn squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil (probably used less)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds (I used a serrano pepper)
small handful chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Halve each squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scrape out the seeds and cut the squash lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Toss the squash with black pepper, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons (30ml) oil in a bowl, then arrange, cut sides down, on the baking sheets. Roast the squash, switching the position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

While the squash roasts, mash the garlic finely with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar (or side of your knife on your cutting board). Transfer the paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, honey, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining oil until combined. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice as needed. Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Chicken with Lime Sauce:
(Cooking Light)

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I can fit a whole package of tenders in one pan, but when I use pounded chicken breasts I have to cook only 2 at a time.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar, or sucanat
3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch (I usually use more, but forgot last night...a little thicker sauce is much nicer)
1 tablespoon butter

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap (or ziplock bag); pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add chicken broth, sugar, 2 tablespoons juice, and mustard to pan; cook over medium heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan; simmer 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.

Two-Corn Polenta with Tomatoes and Basil

I don't know how I ended up with so much corny stuff on the menu in the last couple days. Last night corn bread and tonight polenta with even more corn? I try to vary what goes in our tums over the course of a week, but guess there must have been some craving I wasn't wholly (brain is so dying...I had to look up how to spell wholly!) conscious of when menu planning this week. This wonderful recipe was adapted from Cooking Light, but I used Bob's Red Mill medium grind cornmeal in place of the instant polenta they use. Link to the original recipe if you want to use the instant, but I tend to like a less pablum-like polenta, hence the whole-corn medium grind cornmeal sub.

Served this topped with broiled tilapia (lightly rub with a touch of olive oil, then sprinkle both sides with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Broil on high for 5 minutes the first side, and then 3-5 min. on the second side), and yet another arugula salad, because we're elitists.

Two-Corn Polenta with Tomatoes, Basil, and Cheese:

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup medium grind whole-corn cornmeal
1/2 cup (~1.5 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
kosher salt if needed
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
chopped tomato
chopped fresh basil

Heat oven to 350.
In a 3 qt. oven proof saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and saute onion for 8 minutes or until tender, adding garlic for the last minute.
Add chicken broth and corn and bring to a boil.
Slowly add cornmeal, whisking all the while to prevent lumps.
Cover and put in the oven for 40 minutes total, whisking every 10 minutes to prevent lumps.
When your polenta is done in the oven, slowly incorporate the grated cheese.
Add salt (if needed) and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle each serving with tomatoes and basil.

I cooked the polenta uncovered on the stovetop after taking it out of the oven, but before adding the cheese. Just for the duration of the fish broiling, stirring frequently.

Bacon, Onion, and Brown Lentil Skillet with Corn Bread and Braised Collards

Total comfort food...mmmmm. So full...can't type...

Make this. Eat this. Good.

Bacon, Onion and Lentil Skillet:
(Cooking Light)

6 center-cut bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dried brown lentils
1 cup water
~3/4 tsp kosher salt (original recipe doesn't call for any salt)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside.
Add onion to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
Add carrot, celery, thyme, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Add broth, lentils, and 1 cup water and kosher salt; bring to boil.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are just tender.
Uncover and increase heat to medium-high; cook 6 minutes (I had to cook for at least 10-15 more minutes than called for) or until liquid almost evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and pepper. Sprinkle with bacon.

I wanted to make a wheat-free cornbread tonight and this one is pretty chewy dense, but still very tasty. I'll make it again but in a muffin tin next time, as the center took way too long to set up. They'll also freeze nicely in muffin form. If an all cornmeal cornbread isn't for you, just mix up a batch of whatever recipe makes your particular toes wiggle with the goodness. :-)

Bob's Red Mill Basic Cornbread:

1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tb Sugar (I used agave nectar)
1 Egg, lightly beaten
About 2 cups Cornmeal, Medium Grind (Bob's is really nice...they grind the whole kernel so you get the germ and bran)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8" square baking pan, set aside.

Combine buttermilk, baking soda, salt, sugar and egg. Add cornmeal until batter reaches the consistency of cake batter. Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (I cooked it much longer...)or till golden.

Organic collard greens made the perfect veggie side to go with our plates of comfort. Just used my standard braised greens recipe, with some good dashes of Tabasco (no balsamic) and then cooked for ~15 minutes.

Silk Critter Ornies!

"What's Cookin" doesn't necessarily have to refer to food does it? Because I thought I'd share a fun project for any of you that might be inclined to immortalize your sweet critters in an ornament.
A couple years in a row I made Christmas ornaments for family and friends...this was to be the 3rd year's design. Alas, only a few people sent me photos of their babies and I lost interest. I did manage make some great ones of all our kids though and also a few for family.
Sadly, a dear friend's Chloe-pooch passed away this past year and I found myself making her memorial ornament recently. Thought I'd document the steps in photos and share.

The photograph is printed on specialty silk paper (silk adhered to 8 1/2 x 11 paper) that feeds right into your printer. Just peel the paper off the silk after you've printed and you're ready to go for any number of projects. I printed several different sizes on the same page not wanting to waste the rest of the paper and not being sure which size I'd want, but you can really get up to 4 different photos on one page if you're feeling ambitious.

After you've printed the image and removed the backing paper, cut a piece of fusable webbing to about 1/4 inch smaller than the piece of fabric. Place the rough side of the webbing face down on the back side of your silk image. Place damp towel over the webbing paper and press using an iron on the "wool" setting for about 10 seconds.

Peel paper backing from webbing and trim around the pet's face.

Place pet's trimmed face on a square of muslin or other white/light colored cotton fabric.
Now press with the iron again, image side down so that you're iron is only touching the muslin, for another 5 seconds or so...until the muslin has adhered to the image.

Holding the fabric up to a window, on the wrong side of the fabric, draw an outline of the pet's face ~1/4" from the edge of the image so that there will be 1/4 " of the muslin showing once you've sewn the face to the backing fabric. I used a fur-coordinating marker and it bled through.

This is to help minimize the distortion of the image when stuffed. I forgot all about this step when I attempted to make this ornie intially since it had been at least 2 years since I'd made these. Here's the dog beak that resulted. ;-)

Select a fabric that will coordinate with the animals fur if you want, or just any nice complementary fabric. Preferably one without too much give. I tend to use dupioni silk most often, since it's a nice weight and comes in a lots of gorgeous colors.

Cut this into a square to match the size of the muslin. Face right sides together. (Note that these pix were taken of the first failed attempt...make sure you leave a 1/4" edge of muslin before the seam in yours.)
Select your hangdoodle ribbon (Erin-speak for ornament hanger) and make sure you pin the loop of the ribbon to the inside of the ornie! You don't want your hangdoodle on the inside of the ornament once you've turned it inside out. :-) I've made this goofy mistake several times.

Pin the fabrics together now that you've gotten your hangdoodle placed and now you're ready to sew.
You'll be sewing along the outline you traced on the back of the muslin. Use fairly small stitches and leave the opening at the bottom of the neck. Now time to trim the excess fabric off. Make sure to trim close enough that you won't have a bunch of seam fabric inside the detailed ears, etc., but not so close that'll the ornie will spring a stuffing leak.

Once done sewing/trimming, unpin and turn your little guy right side out (use a pencil for ears, etc.) and press flat with a warm iron.
And, you have a whole stash of wonderful markers left over from design school right?? You can finally put them back into use coloring in the muslin edge if you wish. :-)
Stuff with polyfill fiber and sew the bottom closed. It doesn't matter what that bottom seam looks like since it will be hidden by the collar ribbon.

Now comes the fun part. Decorate your sweet critter with beautiful wired ribbon for the collar (I just pleat and affix with a low-melt hot glue gun). Add any other details you wish...you can spend WAY too much time and money in a craft store finding goodies for this part.
And done! You'll have a wonderful representation of your furry kids for years to come.