Dinner

Recipe challenge: Fast, easy apps and sides?

2008-09-24T16:08:00Z

Because most of my effort goes into the main dish, like the hours prepping and cooking a gumbo or assembling the ingredients for a righteous meatloaf, I’m usually short on inspiration for appetizers and sides. It’s often an afterthought, like cheese and crackers or a quick tossed salad.

I thought this would be a good place to assemble a comprehensive collection of our favorite, super-fast “recipes”. Forget 30-minute meals. I’m talking 30 seconds. Minimal ingredients and cook-times, and preferably stuff you usually have lying around to throw together last-minute. (Okay, so fennel isn’t all that common. Minor details.)

Post links to blog entries, or better yet, just slap your simple recipes in the comments section so they’re all in one place.

Appetizers

Fennel Salad: Layer thinly-sliced fennel with Parmesan shavings. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Charcuterie/Salumi Chips: Bake any thinly-sliced dried, cured meat (think: salami, sopressata, bresaola, coppa, prosciutto) on a pan lined with parchment paper at 350 degrees until crisp (about 15-20 minutes).

Spicy Edamame: Saute 1 tablespoon minced garlic in 2 teaspoons sesame oil; toss with one bag of hot, steamed edamame and 1 teaspoon coarse salt.

Baked Goat Cheese: Smear 1 small log of goat cheese in the bottom of a small baking dish. Top with chopped arugula or chives and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Top with toasted, chopped pine nuts.

Sides

Creamed Carrots: Grate 2 cups of carrots and sauté in butter. Stir in 1/4 cup cream. Bake in a gratin dish at 350 degrees until crisp-brown around the edges.

Tuscan Salad: Toss cooked cannelini beans with shaved Parmesan, chopped salami, sliced boiled eggs and roasted red peppers. Dress with paprika, oregano, olive oil, black pepper and red wine vinegar. (Throw in a can of tuna to make it a main dish, like the Tuscan Tuna Salad, pictured.)

Peas with Mint: Mix cooked peas with butter, chopped mint and crumbled bacon.

Tex-Mex Beans: Heat cooked black-eyed peas and black beans with lime juice, minced red onion, chopped jalapeno and cilantro. Serve with sour cream.

Basic pie crust recipe?

2008-09-23T22:11:00Z

Making a solid, homemade pie crust is like changing a tire. You may not do it very often, but when you do—oh, how much do you kick ass? Sure, I have frozen pie crusts in the freezer at the ready, but when I’m lousy with fall apples from the farmer’s market or I feel like cracking into the short, chubby pecans my Aunt Laurie sends me from Louisiana, no stinkin’ store-bought crust is gonna touch those ingredients.

My pies usually taste alright, but they're never much to look at. These fall leaf piecrust cutters (pictured) from Williams-Sonoma make the most blogtastic, picture-perfect ornaments for a pie.

Basic Crust

Makes 1 9-inch crust

The standard formula for a pie crust is one part fat to three parts flour, plus a pinch of salt for flavor and a sprinkle of liquid to help the protein in flour form glutens. Butter can make a perfectly lovely pie crust, but if you have access to fresh lard (ask the butcher in a specialty food store, or anyone selling pork at a farmer’s market), a mix of the two makes an ethereal crust. Shortening works, too. The sour cream? It acts as a fat, liquid and acid in this recipe, which makes for a more tender and flaky crust.

I like the food processor because it’s easier, but for a truly flaky crust, it’s better to roll over the cold flour and butter mixture several times with a rolling pin. (After rolling, scrape the mixture into a pile, then re-roll it, repeating about 5 or 6 times. If the butter starts to melt, freeze the dough for about 5 minutes.)

1 cup bleached, all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Wondra or other “instant” flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons lard

1/4 cup sour cream

Pulse the flour and salt 2 to 3 times in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Remove the bowl and add the butter pieces and lard. Shake and swirl the bowl to coat the butter with flour. Place the bowl in the freezer for 8 to 10 minutes.

Pulse the mixture 10 times in the food processor, or until the texture is mealy. Dump the mixture into a medium bowl and gently fold in the sour cream. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of ice-cold water or milk if needed. Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.

Beyond this basic ratio, there are ways to tweak the ingredients to produce a more tender crust, or a flakier crust.

Tender:

* Use low-protein flour, like White Lily or pastry flour

* Incorporate an acidic ingredient, like sour cream or orange juice

* Skip the water and use sour cream or cream cheese

* Add a smidge of oil with the water

Flaky:

* Use lard or shortening

* Freeze the ingredients before blending

Recipe math for the numerically-challenged?

2008-09-17T15:57:00Z

Kitchen math is my culinary kryptonite. No matter how many conversion charts I print out or buy (case in point), I experience some kind of mental paralysis when it comes to fiddling with numbers—whether I’m scaling a recipe or converting tablespoons to ounces. I’m easily confused. I transpose numbers or I cut a recipe in half instead of doubling it. I resort to counting on my fingers. Or, I’ll spend 20 minutes noodling with an online conversion calculator, and still not get it right.

I probably always knew kitchen calculators existed, but I assumed I wouldn’t know how to operate one. Just the thought of punching in a fraction makes me nervous. But now, I am officially in love with a calculator. The KitchenCalc is an English major’s dream come true. I figured out this gadget in about 15 minutes—easily less time than it would take me to convert gallons to quarts in my head. It converts volume and weight. It tweaks portion sizes and scales recipes. People, it can convert Celsius to Fahrenheit in four button strokes. I'm giddy at the thought of a metric recipe!

There are two versions: a handheld, pocket-size (top, $25) and the Pro/Master Chef’s Edition (bottom, $35). I like the big, fat buttons on the Pro. The protective plastic cover that comes with it is a nice feature for keeping food goo off, but it makes punching the buttons a little tricky.

Anyone ever used one of these? Or has some other kitchen gadget revolutionized the way you cook?

What is quinoa?

2008-09-10T13:36:00Z

Quinoa [KEEN-wah or KEE-no-uh] is a tiny seed* (often mistaken for a grain) with a faintly nutty flavor. It cooks like rice, but in about 15 minutes, and has a light, fluffy texture with a slight bite to it, like al dente pasta.

I’m all into quinoa right now because I’m trying to get more fiber and protein in my diet, and brown rice is getting boring. Quinoa is an excellent source of fiber and contains all eight essential amino acids, including lysine. (This is the amino acid that helps the body absorb calcium and builds and repairs muscle tissue.) It’s also gluten-free (quinoa flour can be used in baking).

Quinoa makes a great side dish—drizzled with a little olive oil or tossed with butter, fresh herbs or dried, savory spice seasonings. (The easiest: sprinkle it with furikake or shichimi.) It can be served hot or cold, like this Quinoa Salad or Minty Quinoa Tabouleh (pictured) from the Fine Cooking Annual. It’s also a good breakfast “cereal”, like oatmeal, mixed with honey, nuts and dried or fresh fruit.

To prepare, quinoa must be thoroughly washed to remove bitter-tasting saponins, a soapy chemical that makes the grain unpalatable to animals and protects the plant from disease. Most commercial, boxed quinoa is pre-rinsed, and only needs to be rinsed and drained once. Bulk quinoa may not be rinsed, and might need to be soaked in water for a few hours before rinsing and draining.

To cook, combine 2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer until it is cooked, about 15 minutes. I always use veggie or chicken stock as the cooking liquid. You can also make quinoa in a rice cooker, but I usually cut the liquid to 1 3/4 parts to 1 part grain because it seems to overcook and lose some bite in the cooker.

If you’re getting into new grains and are looking for tasty recipes, The Whole Grains Cookbook (Chronicle, 2007) by Robin Asbell--it's an excellent resource.

Have you ever cooked or eaten quinoa? Share a recipe if you have one.

* Thanks to Nestie MaryEllen for pointing out that quinoa is a seed, not a grain. It's an important distinction for people with dietary restrictions.

Coping with a guest’s dietary restrictions?

2008-09-03T16:17:00Z

An invited dinner guest RSVPs. She has issues—dietary issues. As much as you want to be the consummate hostess, you’re not obligated to re-work the entire menu to suit her. When (and how) should you draw the line, and when should you tweak your spread for a dinner guest?

There will always be exceptions to the rule, but if I’ve been planning a menu for weeks, there are generally only two reasons I’ll alter it last-minute: real health consequences and religious or personal beliefs. If someone has genuine food allergies, phobias or dietary restrictions, I’m more than happy to serve a nut-free or dairy-free meal, cut down on the salt or sugar, or include a vegetarian dish. (I probably wouldn’t rework the whole menu, but I would alter a few dishes, or add one.)

My host-ly goodness ends with finicky eating habits, fad diets and random dislikes. I won’t alter a planned menu because someone is on the South Beach diet. I won’t scrap a mushroom-stuffed lasagna I made from scratch if a guest calls a day before dinner to say, “I loathe mushrooms.” And I won’t buy low-carb dinner rolls because someone decided to stop eating carbs…yesterday.

Of course, good etiquette is all about making the people around you feel comfortable. As host, if you want to accommodate a guest’s request—not matter how outlandish—it’s your call. Most of us know the dietary quirks of friends and family, so planning a menu around a food issue—ahead of time—is no problem when they’re on the guest list. (But the same rules apply: if a friend calls to say, “I’m not eating meat now”, I’m not changing the menu. I’d ask her to bring a dish, or I might bulk up the veggie dishes I planned.)

It’s not as easy when you’re entertaining a group you’ve never fed before, like new neighbors or DH’s co-worker. My rule? Always ask about dietary restrictions when you extend an invite.

Have you ever had problems with a picky dinner guest? How did you handle the situation? What’s your house rule on accommodating a guest’s dietary restrictions?

Pesticides in produce: when does it pay to buy organic?

2008-08-24T20:31:00Z

When a teeny organic tomato costs $4.50, it’s hard not to wonder if you’re spending your dough wisely. There are plenty of environmental, health and practical reasons to buy organic (organic farming produces fewer pollutants, reportedly uses 30 percent less energy and decreases the amount of pesticides that can end up in tap water), but it can also cost as much as 30 to 50 percent more than conventionally grown fruits and vegetables.

When is it worth it—in terms of reducing exposure to pesticides—to buy organic? The amount of pesticide in produce varies widely, but if you’re choosing between organic or conventional, keep in mind that the more fragile, thin-skinned fruits and vegetables like peaches or lettuce require more pesticides to combat bugs.

A thorough washing can reduce the amount of pesticide, as does peeling (but you end up losing some nutrients with the peel, too). The Environmental Working Group analyzed data collected by the U.S.D.A. and the F.D.A. between 2000 and 2005 to produce this list of the best and worst pesticide loads in produce.

1. Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2. Apples 96
3. Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4. Celery 85
5. Nectarines 84
6. Strawberries 83
7. Cherries 75
8. Lettuce 69
9. Grapes – Imported 68
10. Pears 65
11. Spinach 60
12. Potatoes 58
13. Carrots 57
14. Green Beans 55
15. Hot Peppers 53
16. Cucumbers 52
17. Raspberries 47
18. Plums 46
19. Oranges 46
20. Grapes-Domestic 46
21. Cauliflower 39
22. Tangerine 38
23. Mushrooms 37
24. Cantaloupe 34
25. Lemon 31
26. Honeydew Melon 31
27. Grapefruit 31
28. Winter Squash 31
29. Tomatoes 30
30. Sweet Potatoes 30
31. Watermelon 25
32. Blueberries 24
33. Papaya 21
34. Eggplant 19
35. Broccoli 18
36. Cabbage 17
37. Bananas 16
38. Kiwi 14
39. Asparagus 11
40. Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41. Mango 9
42. Pineapples 7
43. Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44. Avocado 1
45. Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)

What do you always buy organic, and why?

Why (and when) should I soak beans?

2008-08-13T13:36:00Z

Some people are sensitive to the indigestible complex sugars in the skins of beans, called oligosaccharides. (It’s what makes the legume a musical fruit.) Soaking beans in a bowl full of water for a minimum of four hours, or as many as 12 hours, removes these gas-causing sugars.

Other good reasons to soak:

* Soaking shortens cooking time by 50 to 70 percent. Soaked beans cook in as little as 10 to 15 minutes, as opposed to 40 to 60 minutes for unsoaked beans. You're not only saving time, you're improving the nutritional value: A longer cook removes some of the vital nutrients and proteins that make beans healthy; by reducing their cook-time, soaking also preserves their nutritional value. (Soaking also has an eco bonus: a shorter cook consumes less energy.)

* Soaked beans generally don’t split open or lose their skins during cooking.

* Soaking cleans the surface pesticides, dirt and other bacteria that thrive on the skins of beans.

* Soaked beans cook more evenly.

Quick Soak
1. Bring water (enough to cover beans by 2 inches) to a boil in a heavy pot.
2. Rinse the beans under cold, running water.
3. Boil the beans in water for 3 minutes.
4. Drain the beans; discard the water.
5. Rinse the beans.
6. Use beans as called for in recipe.

Long Soak
1. Rinse the beans under cold, running water.
2. Pour beans in a heavy pot and add water or broth to cover by 2 inches.
3. Soak regular beans (black beans, kidney, white, etc.) for a minimum of 4 hours. Larger, tough-skinned beans like fava, broad, butterbean, English or garbanzo beans should be soaked for a minimum of 8 hours, or overnight.
4. Drain the beans; discard the water.
5. Use beans as called for in recipe.

No-Soak Beans
Lentils
Adzuki
Black-eyed peas
Split peas

Mediterranean Garbanzo Bean Salad
White Bean Soup

Share bean-cooking tips or links to your favorite bean recipes in Comments.

Favorite cookbooks and recipe resources?

2008-08-06T12:00:00Z

Even if you’re the kind of cook who just throws things together, without a recipe, there are cookbooks, magazines and online recipe indexes you can’t live without. Like the (Sorta) Complete Compendium of Macaroni and Cheese Recipes, I wanted to start an uber list of your go-to culinary resources (in addition to the endlessly helpful WC board, of course). A few of mine…

When I want to learn the basics, technique or chemistry of cooking…
Cook’s Illustrated
The Best Recipe by the Editors of Cooks Illustrated
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee

When I want to bake…
King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (All credit to this board for introducing me to this incredible book.)

When I want to master a cuisine…
The Silver Spoon Cookbook by the Editors of Phaidon Press
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
Larousse Gastronomique by Prosper Montagne
Le Guide Culinaire by Auguste Escoffier
The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America
Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking by Fuschia Dunlop

When I want a taste of home…
Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John Folse
Talk About Good (pictured) by the Junior League of Lafayette, La. (This is the first cookbook I owned, given when I left home for college)
River Road Recipes: The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine by the Junior League of Baton Rouge, La.
Louisiana Real and Rustic by Emeril Lagasse

Post your top 3 cookbooks, food magazines or recipe resources...