recipes 120 and 121: dill!

It is so cold. IT IS SO COLD! So here, have some dill. Like the rest of this blog, that makes little to no sense, falling way closer to the "no sense" end of that spectrum. I am keeping up with the theme of making little to no sense! Anyway, dill is delicious. It ranks right up there in the "favorite herbs" section of my brain. For example, these are delicious: http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/lays-dill-pickle-chips.html. I love these! The first recipe comes only slightly adapted from here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maple-Dill-Carrots/Detail.aspx. The second recipe comes from an Australian individual who was born in Hungary and may currently be avoiding creditors in the mountains of Kathmandu. Nevertheless, it is a good recipe.

BUTTERY BROWN SUGARED DILL CARROTS
Ingredients:
-one bag of baby carrots, washed
-2 T butter
-2 T brown sugar
-salt and pepper to taste
-tons of chopped fresh dill, to taste (dried dill works too)

Instructions:
1) place the carrots in a skillet and pour in just enough water to cover
2) bring to a boil over medium heat and then simmer until the water has evaporated and the carrots are tender
3) stir in the butter, brown sugar, dill, salt and pepper

HUNGARIAN CUCUMBER SALAD
Ingredients:
-2 large cucmubers, sliced paper thin and I mean paper thin!
-1 t salt
-1 T sugar
-1/3 - 1/2 c vinegar
-1/4 - 1/3 c water
-pepper
-tons of chopped fresh dill, to taste (dried dill works too)

Instructions:
1) mix the cucumbers with salt and let stand for 10-15 minutes
2) thoroughly squeeze out all of the juice (with your bare hands) and drain the cucumbers
3) mix all of the other ingredients in a bowl, pour over the cucumbers, and stir together

recipes 117, 118, and 119: a three-circle Venn of pizza!

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
Q: Who doesn't love it! A: Nobody! Everybody loves it!
I am somewhat of a self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur. The best pizza on earth comes from here in New Haven: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally%27s_Apizza and here in Brooklyn: http://www.difara.com/. You could try to challenge me on this one, but you wouldn't win. It is not open for debate. I wouldn't be able to choose between these two- Sally's in New Haven holds a very special place of childhood nostalgia in my heart. DiFara's in Brooklyn is newer to the scene of my life and I've actually only been there twice. They are both to-die-for delicious. And speaking of Brooklyn, specifically Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn... it is the best place I've ever lived (taking into consideration neighborhood alone, as the apartment itself had rats, no heat in the winter, and an objectively unusual living situation). If I was a neighborhood, I would look just like Carroll Gardens. Note: DiFara is not in Carroll Gardens. It's just that I got side-tracked by the Brooklyn topic. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending almost the entire day in Carroll Gardens with Tristan. My friend Jess and her husband Peter joined us for brunch. We got coffee from my favorite coffee place on earth, D'Amico's: http://www.damicofoods.com/, had brunch at Buttermilk Channel: http://www.buttermilkchannelnyc.com/...

Macaroons! The new cupcakes!

...got macaroons from Provence en Boite: http://www.provenceenboite.com/...



...and brought home a delish sandwich for dinner from the amazing Court Street Grocers: http://www.courtstreetgrocers.com/index.php?/eat/sandwiches/. It was a perfect day.   

"Brooklyn, we go hard, we go hard, B-R-O-OK!-L-Y-N!" -Jay-Z.

Don't worry, I went to a 2 hour hot yoga detox class to make up for it today. And FYI, I've been sticking to the Diet Coke Diminishment Plan. This means that I'm breaking even.

Back to the pizza. Please prepare yourselves for the introduction of a three-circle Venn diagram. In the center we have "dough." To the left, we have my Great Auntie Chickie's pizza (an extended family favorite for as long as I can remember), to the right is a recipe called "pizza rustica" and it comes adapted from the mother of one of my friends from middle school, Andrea. On top of the Venn, is a deep dish BLT pizza recipe (origin: uncertain). The overlap between Aunt Chickie's pizza and pizza rustica is the sauce and cheese. The overlap between pizza rustica and deep dish BLT pizza is the meat and the deep dish-ed-ness. The overlap between Aunt Chickie's pizza and deep dish BLT pizza is the cooking temperature of 350 degrees (ooooh, that was a weak overlap, I know, but the only other overlap is the dough and this is a three-circle Venn, so we have to work with what we have to work with within Vooking parameters!)

Whoa, these Venns are getting technical!

GREAT AUNT CHICKIE'S PIZZA
 Ingredients (there really aren't any measurements...):
-28 oz can of plum tomatoes
-olive oil, a drizzle or so
-salt, pepper, garlic
-basil and oregano
-pre-made pizza dough
-cornmeal
-parmesan cheese
-mozzarella cheese (only a sprinkling, way less than you would think)

 Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) coarsely blend the tomatoes through the oregano in the blender
3) coat a cookie sheet with the olive oil, cornmeal, and the rolled-out dough
4) top with the tomato mix, parmesan and mozzarella
5) bake until the crust is lightly browned, 15-20 minutes

 DEEP DISH BLT PIZZA
Ingredients:
-3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
-one package of refrigerated breadsticks (11 oz)
-8 oz cooked, crumbled bacon
-1/3 c thinly sliced scallions
-3 plum tomatoes, sliced
-2 c romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
-ranch dressing to taste (might I suggest Hidden Valley? http://www.hiddenvalley.com/)

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) unroll the breadsticks and place in a greased pie dish
3) mix together half of the cheese, half of the bacon and the green onions; spread the mix on the dough and top with the sliced plum tomatoes
4) sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bacon
5) bake 30-35 minutes until the edges are golden brown
6) toss the lettuce and some extra tomatoes with the ranch dressing, and add to the top of the pizza, once removed from the oven and slightly cooled

PIZZA RUSTICA
Ingredients:
-one ready-made pie crust
-1 T olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1/2 lb sliced, fresh mushrooms
-1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
-salt and pepper
-1 lb ricotta cheese
-1/4 c grated parmesan
-1/2 lb ground beef (or, I suppose, ground turkey)
-2 T fresh parsely
-1/2 lb mozzarella
-2 eggs
-some wine...

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2) saute the onions and mushrooms in the olive oil until the mushrooms release liquid (and continue cooking until the liquid evaporates); remove from pan
3) cook the meat in the same pan, drain off the fat, add the mushrooms/onions back in, tomato sauce, and wine and simmer on low

4) while the sauce is simmering, mix together the eggs, ricotta, salt, pepper, and parsely
5) place a layer of meat, a layer of ricotta, a layer of meat, a layer of ricotta in the pie crust until filled to the top (any extra leftover meat or cheese can be frozen separately for another time...)

6) top with the mozzarella cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes (if the cheese appears to be browning too much, cover with foil while continuing to bake)
7) let stand for 20 minutes before serving

This is rich and delicious! A small sliver will fill you up!

recipes 115 and 116: spinach dips

The Venn-cooking continues. And on a weeknight! And how! Behold, spinach dips.

Hi, it's me again! The Venn! Too soon? I didn't think so!

In the center we have spinach dips. To the left we have "cold" and to the right we have "hot." I'm pretty sure the cold recipe came from the back of a vegetable soup package eons ago; it has been a crowd-pleaser since the 80s for sure. And the hot recipe is an adaptation from Paula Deen's recipe, with some delicious add-ins: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/hot-spinach-artichoke-dip-recipe/index.html

COLD SPINACH BREAD BOWL DIP
Ingredients:
-1 package of dried vegetable soup mix
-1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
-1 c mayo (preferably light mayo)
-16 oz sour cream
-1 can chopped water chestnuts
-3 scallions, finely chopped
-one crusty round bread, preferably pumpernickel

Instructions:
1) mix all ingredients together except the bread and refrigerate
2) hollow out the bread bowl and tear or cut the hollowed out portion into bite-sized pieces
3) place the dip in the bread bowl and surround with the bread chunks

WARM SPINACH-ARTICHOKE-ROASTED RED PEPPER DIP
Ingredients:
-1 package of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
-14 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and mashed
-roasted red pepper strips to taste
-1/2 c mayo
-1/2 c sour cream
-1 c grated parmesan cheese
-salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste
-butter to grease the casserole dish
-bagel chips for dipping

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2) mix all ingredients (except the butter and bagel chips) and bake in a buttered casserole dish for 30-40 minutes until bubbly

 

recipes 113 and 114: healthy chicken salads

Hello and Happy 2013! So, have I mentioned that my blog post that includes a Venn diagram (http://cookingmywaytothe365.blogspot.com/2012/07/recipes-55-56-and-57-beans-meet-caprese.html) has gotten exactly 8.16 times as many views as the second most viewed post (http://cookingmywaytothe365.blogspot.com/2012/04/recipes-23-and-24-chunkey-monkey.html)? And that this has led me to believe that if I wrote a blog about Venn diagrams, it would be more popular than a blog about cooking (among a sea of cooking blogs)? So suffice it to say that I am now informally changing the name of my blog to "Venning my way to the 3-6-5" or maybe "Venn-cooking my way to the 3-6-5" or maybe just "Vooking my way to the 3-6-5." If my readers want more Venn diagrams, then I will deliver and I will turn as many things into Venn diagrams as I possibly can!

So, like the rest of the world, I am trying to be healthier in 2013. Like the rest of the world, my body is sore from a too-strenous-for-me hot yoga class from yesterday morning. Like the rest of the world, I have vowed to drink only cans of Diet Coke instead of the bottle of Diet Coke that contains 2.5 servings. And like the rest of the people out there who blog about food, my first post of 2013 will be about healthy recipes. But, unlike the rest of the world, the post will include a Venn diagram:

Here it is again! That thing that my readers like to keep looking at!

In the middle of the Venn, you will soon see, is "chicken" and "salad." To the left we have certain add-ins and to the right we have different add-ins. I'm already such a good Vooker! The first recipe comes from that girl from high school whose food blog no longer exists (I really got my money's worth out of that blog before she took it down, huh?) and the second recipe is inspired by something I had in a cafeteria in sunny Los Angeles and then attempted to recreate with my own ideas! Both healthy. Both yummy. Both can be placed in wraps for lunch. Both can also be placed into a Venn diagram!

PEANUTTY CHICKEN SALAD
Ingredients:
-1 lb chicken cutlets cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
-dry spice rub
-1 container of mixed baby greens
-1 sliced cucumber
-1 sliced carrot
-3 clementines, peeled and sectioned
-halved grape tomatoes
-sliced red and yellow bell peppers
-roasted peanuts
-sesame seeds
Dressing
-1 T soy sauce
-3 T peanut butter
-juice from 1 lime
-1 1/2 T sugar
-1 1/2 T peanut oil

Instructions:
1) rub the chicken with the dry rub and grill in a grill pan until cooked, remove from pan and let cool
2) mix all other salad ingredients
3) whisk together the dressing ingredients
4) mix together the salad and dressing, top with the chicken, peanuts, and sesame seeds

CHICKEN-BROWN RICE-GOAT CHEESE-CRAISIN SALAD
Ingredients:
-1 lb chicken cutlets cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
-dry spice rub
-1 container of mixed baby greens
-a cup or so of brown rice
-crasins to taste
-sunflower seeds to taste
-crumbled goat cheese to taste
-good balsamic vinaigrette

Instructions:
1) rub the chicken with the dry rub and grill in a grill pan until cooked, remove from pan and let cool
2) mix all other salad ingredients
3) mix together the salad and dressing, top with the chicken

4) mix it all together

Doesn't my fingernail look all New-Year's-Festive? It was!