Julie's Kitchen

Warm Quinoa and Asparagus Salad

Warm Quinoa and Asparagus Salad

This might have something to do with a certain taco eating contest or just my general lapse in nutritious eating, but I've really been craving some healthy eats. When I think of health food, I instantly think of quinoa. It's a complete protein (very important for vegetarians) and packed full of fiber, magnesium and iron. Somewhere along the way, quinoa fell out of my regular rotation of food and I really don't know why, because besides being undeniably nutritious, it's also quick and delicious. A simple ratio of one part quinoa to two parts water and a cooking time of 15 minutes and you've got your quinoa ready to eat. I sauteed some farm fresh asparagus and sliced red onions to complete my salad. I diced up a few roasted rainbow carrots and romanesco florets that I had leftover, but really any vegetable would work. I tossed my fluffed quinoa with my vegetables together and for flavoring added a squeeze of lemon juice, cumin powder and a handful of mint leaves.

Warm Quinoa Salad and Apsaragus

Here's to welcoming back quinoa into my life. Next up, I'm thinking a tabouli where I substitute quinoa for bulgur wheat. My body thanks me.

Chopped Liver on Lavash Crackers

Chopped Liver on Lavash Crackers

Putting aside all preconceived notions of chopped liver (what am I...), I whipped up this little appetizer for my friend Shauna's birthday. I was a bit apprehensive at first having never sampled this standard deli fare and as most of you know by now, contrary to popular belief, I am not a Jewish grandmother. The only livers I've ever eaten have come in the form of a velvety mousse, though I do still have a few (slightly repressed) memories of eating sauteed livers as a child, pretending that it was beef jerky. On the totem pole of foods, this was probably on par with bitter melon or turtle soup. I mean is there really any other way to describe the taste of livers other than livery?

Just as my taste buds have grown to appreciate bitter melon, I wondered if the same could be said for livers. Would I still want to plug my nose or trick my taste buds into thinking I was eating foie gras? Livers have an assertive flavor and are quite rich. So besides the sauteed livers and hard-boiled eggs, I added extra parsley and thyme to punch up the flavor and add some freshness. I also added a shot of single malt scotch at the end. At this point, the chopped liver was chopped liver, I hoped anyhow. Since I had never had it before, I was just going purely off instinct.

I wanted to offer up a tangy counter part to garnish. I pickled roasted beets (from Weiser Farms) in a brine of apple cider vinegar, palm sugar and brown mustard seeds. I also used the pickled red onion recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. This was a tedious process where the onions had to be triple dipped/cooled but never cooked in order to preserve their crispness. Needless to say, I was in a pickling frenzy last week.

I wanted to offer an assortment of crackers and breads to go with everything so I turned to Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice for his lavash cracker recipe. I've had great luck so far with his pizza dough and cinnamon rolls. I tripled the lavash recipe and made six whole half-sheets worth of lavash. That's A LOT! It was nearly impossible for me to roll it out paper thin by hand so I ended up using my pasta roller. So much easier. I wish I had thought of that with the first batch instead of pleading (literally) with the gluten to relax. My favorite toppings were caraway and white sesame seed, but the sea salt and herb variation was quite tasty too.

Roasted Walnuts

I served it alongside some roasted walnuts. There was a sound symphony in my dining room between the walnuts and the lavash cracking. All in all, I was happy with my chopped liver, but might still be reluctant to have any Jewish grandmothers over for Shabbat dinner. :)

So if you ever ask me... "What am I chopped liver?" and I respond "Yes"... well now that's a compliment!

Charmoula Shrimp Skewers

Charmoula Shrimp Skewers

On a recent catering event, Dylan and I totally fell in love with Susan's charmoula marinade. We were downright enthusiastic, threatening to eat it by the spoonful (okay, that was mostly Dylan). Herby, punchy and especially delicious on seafood, it came to mind immediately when I found out one of my dinner guests was anti-red meat. Apparently, lamb is red meat according to B. Surprise, surprise.

I did a bit of research and ended up using Suzanne Goin's recipe for charmoula (also spelled chermoula). As kitchen mishaps go, I overdid the paprika and my marinade tasted straight bitter. The kind of bitter that makes you want to wipe your tongue off. Oh no. How did I ruin it??? I was about to scrap the whole thing when the marinade Gods answered my distress. Susan just happened to called at that very moment to save me from charmoula melt down. Is that fate or what? She suggested some ground coriander and ginger which the recipe had omitted. I also added a tad bit of almond blossom honey to balance it out. Hmm... no more bitterness to be tasted. Nice save, Susan!

Since there was lemon juice in the charmoula and I didn't want the acid to cook the shrimp, I marinated my shrimp just before skewering. All it took was a few minutes on each side under the broiler. I served it alongside Israeli couscous with peas and mint.

Spicy Squid & Kale Stew

Spicy Squid & Kale Stew

I love the way a steaming bowl of stew warms you up from the inside out. Our recent bout of rainy weather was the perfect time to make something super spicy, steamy and flavorful. I drew inspiration from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook - which I am totally LOVING by the way. Judy Rogers has a recipe for a red wine squid stew which sounded yummy. All the recipes in her book sound yummy and I'm having fun cooking and eating my way through it. I followed her technique of simmering the squid for about 45 minutes after a quick flash in the pan. I added a few fresh thai chilis, roasted Korean chilis, diced broccoli stem, carrots, kale, parsley and basil. I served it with toasted ciabatta and finished it with a drizzle of O jalapeno lime olive oil and some more fresh herbs.

Whether curled up on the couch catching up with your tivo (like me), or cooking for a fancy V-day dinner, this stew hits the spot. The squid comes out super tender and the liquid is spicy and perfect for being soaked up by some crusty bread.

Vegetarian Potstickers to ring in the Lunar New Year

It's no secret that girls love sparkly, shiny objects. And I'm no different except my kind of "bling bling" is measured in quarts rather than carats, and conductivity rather than clarity. I'll take cookware over diamonds any day. I dream, drool and lust after good cookware - no joke. So I finally gave in. After surveying all the shelves of shiny All-Clad pots and pans at Willams-Sonoma one afternoon, my gift certificate from B's mom was just about burning a hole in my pocket. It was begging me to spend it. All the glitz had me mesmerized as I convinced myself that I needed that 4-quart saute pan with lid and splatter cover. There's no turning back now.

Vegetarian Potstickers

I chose the 4-quart since it would be the most useful in my kitchen and it wasn't too heavy. Yes, I was the Goldilocks of Williams-Sonoma and the pots were my porridge. I did a few bicep curls with each just to make sure the weight wouldn't be too much for my wimpy arms. Too heavy, too light... now this one is perfect.

To christen my new pan, and in honor of the Lunar New Year, I made a batch of potstickers filled with napa cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and ginger. The dipping sauce was a simple concoction of black vinegar, soy sauce and scallions. A bunch of bok choy in oyster sauce rounded out the meal.

Vegetarian Potstickers

Wishing you all a very wonderful year of the ox.

Fennel Sausage Pizza and a Little Teeny Bit of Yeast Inspiration

With my horrible track record of working with yeast, I never thought I would own a 302 page reference guide to baking bread. Well, in just 3 to 5 days, I'll be the proud owner of Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I tried out his fabulous, ultra-slow rise pizza dough recipe from 101 Cookbooks and WOW! It had me believing that there was hope - even for a yeast-challenged girl such as myself. Here's the pizza topped with homemade fennel sausage and wild arugula.

Fennel_sausage_pizza

Merguez Sausage Pitas

Merguez Sausage Pita Sandwich

While studying abroad in Lyon, I discovered the wonders of bistro and bouchon dining, opening my eyes to the many nuances of French food. I tasted beyond the stereotypes of cream and butter and discovered a gastronomic world deeply influenced by the Algerian culture. To a girl raised on oyster sauce, these new spices piqued my interest and my appetite. Just the mere thought of a sandwich filled with crunchy French fries and fiery lamb sausage makes my mouth water.

When I got my Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment this past Christmas, my second thought was to replicate the spicy Algerian merguez sausage I had loved so long ago. My first thought was to make a pork fennel sausage (like the one at Mozza Pizzeria), but I opted for the lamb since it's much harder to find a good merguez. Like any good student of charcuterie, I did lots of homework in order to find the right fat-to-meat ratio, spice mixture and technique. I always wondered why sausage was so delicious and I discovered that it could possibly, maybe, most likely be due to the amazing amounts of fat. So lots of fat equals deliciousness just as I had suspected. Don't worry. Most of the fat renders out during cooking so sausage is practically a health food. :)

merguez_process

I found many different recipes for merguez, but preferred the ones using harissa, a spicy chile paste. It just seemed more authentic to me. The harissa itself contains ground caraway, coriander and garlic in addition to the reconstituted New Mexico and Guajillo chiles. So it's plenty complex on its own. I diced up my meat and fat and seasoned it with harissa, toasted fennel seeds and salt. Overnight all the flavors melded together. The next day, I ground up the meat and discovered the scarcity of lamb casings in Los Angeles. Everyone seemed to have hog, but when it came to lamb, I had no luck. Caseless sausage was the easy way out, but I have pledged to order them online for round two.

Roasted Red Peppers

 

hummus

I made tiny patties figuring that each pita half would fit two, or three for ambitious eaters. Other pita fillings included hummus, roasted red peppers, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, tomato & feta salad and harissa yogurt dip. The harissa dip was simply the harissa paste thinned out with Greek yogurt. Easy to make and way too easy to eat.

Sides included roasted vegetable couscous and potato & chickpea stew.

couscous

Algerian Meal

My first foray into the charcuterie world proved to be both addictive and delicious. Now I'm completely hooked!

Thai Tofu Pizza

I would say B and I make pizza almost weekly. We both love pizza so much that it is definitely on our short list of foods we could eat daily - Cold pizza for breakfast, a crispy grilled pizza for lunch and a nice, hearty deep dish for dinner. The endless topping, cheese and sauce combinations out there make it all the more interesting.

Thai_pizza

I never thought I'd admit it but California Pizza Kitchen had the right idea with their Thai Chicken Pizza. I made a vegetarian rendition with tofu marinated in peanut sauce, julienned carrots, radish sprouts, onions and basil. I finish it off with a shower of Parmesan cheese.

Thanksgiving Day Feast

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving just happened to coincide with my birthday this year. How happy was I to be able to cook on my birthday??? While most people might label themselves exempt from chores on their birthday, nothing pleases me more than to cook for my loved ones. I especially love dreaming up crazy, extravagant menus where most of the dishes never even have a glimmer of hope of coming to fruition. Oh, If only I had all the time in the world... and a sous chef or two wouldn't hurt either. :)

I was going for a traditional/non-traditional Thanksgiving meal, meaning familiar fall flavors reinvented. I found this Wolfgang Puck recipe for blinis with mashed taro. Interesting right? Mashed sweet potatoes, a Thanksgiving favorite, could easily stand in for the taro. Perfect. My first appetizer was a sweet potato blini with goat feta mousse and onion sprouts.

Sweet Potato Blinis with Goat Feta Mousse

My second appetizer needed to be a bit heartier, so I went with broiled shrimp marinated with olive oil, thyme and paprika.

Shrimp with Avocado Mousse

Sides included dijon mustard roasted Brussels sprouts (these were my favorite), buttermilk mashed potatoes (also a favorite) and mushroom gravy (vegetarians present).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Since I decided to forgo the Turkey, I roasted a whole Red Thai Snapper with tarragon, parsley and red onions and also made duck confit!

Red_Snapper

Sorry... No pictures of the duck confit, but I served it with this salad of mixed greens, feta and dried cranberries (another ode to Thanksgiving). I meant to also add orange supremes, but in the chaos that is my kitchen, it slipped my mind. Oops. That's where a sous chef would have come in handy.

Cranberry Feta Salad

Hope you all had a lovely and filling Thanksgiving!

Apple & Adabba Date Crisp with Mascarpone Coconut Cream

Apple & Adabba Date Crisp with Mascarpone/Coconut Cream

From first taste, I knew that I would be replicating this White on Rice Couple recipe for heavenly mascarpone coconut cream. Light and fluffy, hinted with coconut and the perfect touch of sweetness. Wow I thought... "This would be good with anything...or really everything!". Todd and Diane are flavor geniuses. Not only is this recipe delicious, but it is also SO easy to make.

Thanksgiving offered the perfect culinary opportunity to whip it up. And since apple pie is a quintessential Turkey day dessert, I settled on a modified pie, nixing the bottom crust and adding a handful of chopped Adabba dates. With enough havoc being wreaked in my kitchen, leaving out the crust was an easy choice.

As predicted, mascarpone coconut cream really is good with anything... especially if it's a warm apple date crisp!