Recipe: Grilled-Pork Bahn Mi

Grilled Pork Banh Mi
Food and Wine Magazine, May 2012, p.135
3.7 stars

Here's our assessment of this recipe that has been in my recipe file since 2012!  It was overall good and pretty fast to make for a weekday dinner.

• Very sweet
• Needed some creaminess so we added mayo
• Added pickled carrots (using rice vinegar and sugar)
• Next time, we must toast the buns!  

Ingredients include:  rolls or baguettes, pork tenderloin, scallions, cucumber, cinlantro, garlic, Asian fish sauce, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, vegetable oil, honey, sugar, pepper

On to the next recipe. . . 

Wild Salmon

In this month's issue of Bon Appetit Magazine (June 2014), there's a nice section on wild salmon and the five types of Pacific salmon, specifically.  I tried to find the info on BonAppetit.com to link it here, but it's not online.

I'm including the info here, as reference (credit to Joanna Sciarrino who has the byline):

• Chinook:  Also known as king, its nicely fatty flesh is ideal for slow-roasting.
• Coho:  More subtle in flavor and texture than other types, it's a smaller fish, making it great for roasting or grilling whole.
• Sockeye:  Sometimes called red salmon, it has vibrant red-orange flesh and a profound flavor that stands up well to assertive seasonings.
• Pink:  It has a lower fat content and is mostly available canned.  If you find fillets, grill them.
• Chum:  Sometimes labeled dog or keta salmon, it's prized for its roe.  The comparatively low oil content of its delicately flavored flesh means it's better for smoking or for quick-cooking methods that won't dry it out, like pan-searing and grilling.

Here's more info about salmon at  BonAppetit.com

Recipe: Luau Salad

As part of my job, I read a lot about restaurants and food, and I've signed up for over 20 restaurant e-mail clubs.  Last week, The Cheesecake Factory sent an e-mail newsletter with a link to their Luau Salad recipe.

I'm not a huge fan of their restaurant, but their Luau Salad is pretty good.

We made it last weekend, and it turned out GREAT -- and I'm sure much healthier than the version that they serve in the restaurant.

The main salad ingredients include:

• Red bell pepper
• Yellow bell pepper
• Cucumber
• Green beans
• Green onions
• Mixed greens
• Red onion
• Mango
• Carrots
• Macadamia nuts
• Sesame seeds

See. . .  healthy!

Now for the "unhealthy" ingredients:

• Grilled chicken (optional)
• Fried eggroll wrappers (optional)

For the dressing, I didn't make it to the exact specs of the recipe -- it called for way too much sugar!  I made it with:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Splash of balsamic vinegar
• Splash of sesame oil
• Splash of seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp of sugar
• Salt & pepper

This plant-based diet (well, semi-plant based diet) isn't so bad!

Definition: Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

What's the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?

Apparently, they're not even related according to this Huffington Post article!
And apparently, the U.S. government has perpetuated this confusion.  Here is a summary of the differences:

Sweet Potatoes

• Come in 2 varieties here in the U.S.  One has a golden skin with creamy white flesh and crumbly texture; the other has a copper skin with orange flesh that is sweet and soft.
• All are basically the same shape and size with tapered ends; they're generally much smaller than yams.
• The USDA labels the orange-fleshed ones as "yams" to distinguish them from the white fleshed variety even though they're not really yams!

Yams

• There are many varieties, but most have black bark-like skin and white, purple or reddish flesh.
• BTW, did you know that the word yam comes from an African word meaning "to eat?"

After reading the article, I've realized that I may have never had a yam . . .

Food Labels

I saw this article and wanted to share in case you've been confused about these food labels:

Confusion about food labels leads to waste, possible illnesses (CBS News)

• "Sell by date" is most important for retailers, telling them when they should take a product off the shelves. However, it does not mean that the food is no longer safe to eat.
• "Expiration date" means a product should not be eaten after the date listed; throw it out.
• "Best if used by date" refers to the quality of the product, not its safety. In short, it means that the product will maintain its maximum quality until that date, but it can still be safe to eat for a certain amount of time (depending on the kind of product) after the date has passed.

Recipe: Thai Duck and Grapefruit Salad

Thai Duck and Grapefruit Salad
Bon Appetit Magazine, Jan 2014, p. 18
5 stars

Can I eat this salad every day?  Talk about a decadent, non-boring salad!

Give it a try -- it's a restaurant quality recipe, yet is quite simple. While eating, I commented that this would be a $22 salad in a restaurant.

• The duck is seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in a skillet to medium-rare
• Dressing ingredients:  garlic, fish sauce, lemon juice, ginger, sugar, olive oil
• Other salad ingredients:  scallions, cilantro, mint, grapefruit;  we added mixed greens

Bon appetit!

Recipe: Watermelon, Grapefruit, Ginger Tequila Cocktail

This is my new [and favorite] summer cocktail that I concocted this evening.

Rim 1/2 of a cocktail glass with a mix of Kosher salt and chili pepper (not seen in my photo above).

In a cocktail shaker:

• Muddle 4-5 cubes of ripe watermelon
• Add 1.5 oz of reposado tequila
• Squeeze 1/2 of a fresh grapefruit
• Add 1.5 oz ginger beer
• Add ice
• Shake and pour into a cocktail glass

Recipe: Maple-Bourbon Banana Pudding Cake

Maple-Bourbon Banana Pudding Cake
Food and Wine Magazine, Oct 2013, p. 110

I wanted, no, I NEEDED dessert one day this past week, but we had nothing in the house.  (Gingerbread M&M's don't count.)

I remembered seeing this recipe recently in my recipe folder.  Woohoo -- we had all the ingredients, and it was a "one-pot" recipe!

I whipped this up (1/2 the recipe) in about 7 minutes, and 35 min later, we had a delicious bourbon-y dessert;  even more bourbon-y with the strong bourbon whipped cream we made.

Ingredients:  butter, sugar, an overripe banana, egg, whole milk, flour, maple syrup, brown sugar, bourbon, pecans, baking powder and salt.

Not a beautiful dessert, but it was exactly what I wanted.

Recipe: Grilled Potato Salad with Scallion Vinaigrette

Grilled Potato Salad with Scallion Vinaigrette
Food and Wine Magazine, June 2014, p. 108
4 stars

Nice and easy side dish.  We don't eat a lot of potatoes, but maybe we will now after making this.  This recipe involved boiling the fingerling potatoes and then grilling them which added a nice 'grill' flavor.

To make it more of a 'salad' (we like our greens, or rather, we know greens are healthy and we should eat them), we mixed in romaine lettuce.

Ingredients:  fingerling potatoes, scallions, jalapeno, rice vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red pepper

Recipe: Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa
Bon Appetit Magazine, Jan 2012, p. 26
4.5 stars

I've had this recipe in my recipe folder for, well, 2 years and have bypassed the recipe many many times -- not sure why.

Why didn't we make this before?!?!?

Such an easy (perfect for a weekday meal!) and super flavorful dish, and it could be made vegetarian if you leave out the chicken.

I love the black beans -- how they're cooked with garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin and chicken broth.  This is 100x better than a Chipotle burrito bowl.

Ingredients include:  apple, cilantro, red onion, black beans, green bell pepper, rice, chicken, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, ground coriander, cumin seeds, chicken broth, vegetable oil, salt & pepper

Tips:

• I'd prefer using a sweeter apple - Fuji - next time instead of a Granny Smith
• Used yellow and red peppers along with the green bell pepper since we had them in the fridge
• Added a dollop of sour cream on top since we had some in the fridge\

Recipe: Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom Ragu

I really need to take better photos of our food!
Problem is that I don't have time to
compose the dish before digging in.

Potato Gnocchi with Mushroom Ragu
Food and Wine Magazine, Oct 2013, p. 76
5 stars!

SUCCESS!!!!!
After a couple of gnocchi fails -- making spinach gnocchi and ricotta gnocchi, we finally made a classic potato gnocchi, and it was absolutely delicious!!!!

We did half of the recipe (just in case the recipe was a dud); it made 3-4 servings.

It wasn't hard to make at all, and I can't wait to make it again!  Really flavor and a light, pillow-y texture.  Yummmmmm.

Finally, a more complex Food and Wine Magazine recipe that worked.

One tip:  I may add a pit more flour next time.  At the point where I rolled out the gnocchi, it was a little bit too soft/wet.

Recipe: Orecchiette Pesto Pasta Salad

We recently went to an event where they served a pesto pasta mixed greens salad.  It was ok, and my immediate thought was that we could make the same dish at home -- but make it even better, and more flavorful.  Plus, we've been needing to harvest some of our basil (that's been thriving - woohoo!) and could use it in the pesto.

Pesto is so easy to make -- just blend up some basil leaves, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.  Here's an Ina Garten pesto recipe if you need one.

So, we made the pesto, and mixed it in with some mixed salad greens and orecchiette pasta.  Topped it with some Parmesan and then croutons for some crunch and voila - dinner in just about 15 min!

Recipe: Cherry and Plum Bruschetta

Cherry and Plum Bruschetta
Bon Appetit, Jun 2013, p. 42
5 stars

Why oh why did I not take a photo of this?  It was lovely in both appearance and taste and extremely easy to make!

Note:  We didn't use cherries, just plums for this appetizer, and it turned out great.

The recipe is basically this:

• Toast a baguette and slice it to 1/2" thick
• Drizzle the toast with oil
• Spread a ricotta and sugar mixture on top
• Top it with the fruit (which is macerated in oil, salt and vanilla for 10-15 min)
• Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt

Perfect for a summer gathering.

Drink Recipe: The Triple Crown (Southern Comfort)

I couldn't figure out what to drink.
I saw our bottle of Southern Comfort (which we've had for a few years).
I looked up what drinks I could make with SoCo.
I found "The Triple Crown" recipe on the SoCo website.
I made it.

In a shaker, I shook up:

• 1/2 of a grapefruit, freshly squeezed
• 6 mint leaves
• 1.5 oz of Southern Comfort
• 1/2 oz of triple sec
• a splash of simple syrup

The drink was a tad sweet for me, so I topped it with club soda which turned it into a nice spritzy summer 

drink!

Recipe: Radishes with Burrata

Photo by Danny Kim for Bon Appetit
(my photo of the dish was nowhere near as lovely)

Radishes with Burrata
Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2014, p.28
3.5 stars

We couldn't find watermelon radishes!  If anyone knows where we can find them in Dallas, please comment below.  We used a different type of radish (sparkler radishes that were a bit on the bitter side).

This dish was nice, fresh and good -- but really, what cheese-lover doesn't love burrata?  But I have to say that it wasn't super-amazing, thus the 3.5 stars.  I would make it again using the correct type of radishes.

Ingredients for this simple dish include:  burrata, watermelon radishes, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, chives, lemon zest.

Recipe: Drunken Noodles

Drunken Noodles
Food and Wine Magazine, Oct 2013
5 stars

Great recipe and HOT HOT HOT!  We used sambal oelek (thus, the major HEAT) for the red chile paste and added sauteed chicken.  Now, I kinda want to make Hot Pepper Noodles again to compare this to see which recipe is better.