We made this tasty drink from Alton Brown’s “Orange Delicious” recipe. It is “inspired by” Orange Julius. Click here for the recipe. I used Cara Cara oranges to make ours. Yummy.
Author: lara
Passion Fruit – Ginger Cocktail
This was DELICIOUS.
First, I made a ginger simple syrup:
Take equal parts water and sugar, add some peeled, coarsely chopped fresh ginger and boil them together until slightly thickened and syrupy. Let cool to room temperature and then pour into a container and refrigerate overnight. The next day, strain out the ginger. This will keep in the refrigerate for about a week, or maybe 10 days, but if you keep it in a plastic squeeze bottle in the freezer, as I do, you can pull it out when you need it and it will keep indefinitely. It won’t totally freeze (because of the high sugar content), so it can be used almost directly out of the freezer (let is warm up for just a minute or two.)
Second, I put 2 ounces of vodka into a small cocktail shaker.
Third, I just happened to have a pitcher of Welch’s frozen concentrated passion fruit juice mixed up in the fridge (leftover from making this salad dressing), so I added about an ounce of it to the shaker.
Fourth, I added a little squeeze of fresh lime juice (about half a lime’s worth.)
Fifth, I added a little squirt (about a tablespoon?) of the ginger simple syrup.
Add ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Mmmm…tropical and refreshing. Yummy.
Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad (with BBQ chicken thighs and sauteed spinach)
I recently discovered “Smitten Kitchen“, a cute little food blog that I HIGHLY recommend that you check out right away. When I read Deb’s rave entry about this salad, I knew that I had to try it right away. She’s definitely right; we loved it and it’s absolutely a keeper. It’s delicious right after it’s made, piping hot, but it’s, unbelievably, even better the next day, when the flavors have had a chance to meld. I cooked the squash a little more, so that it was a bit softer and took on an almost potato-salad texture. The leftovers are delicious re-heated, but are also wonderful when eaten cold (like a potato salad). Hubby and I both LOVED it.
NOTE: use good-quality, freshly made tahini; you’ll definitely taste the difference (sorry, Trish!). Lots of gourmet food stores or health stores actually make/grind it right on the premises. Look for it in the refrigerated section.
Cauliflower Soup with Pecans and Rye Croutons (with London Broil & Salad)
This recipe sounded really great, but honestly, it was a lot of work for a soup that was just kind of, well….meh. I really LOVE cauliflower, especially when it’s roasted and takes on some caramelization, but in this recipe, it’s basically just boiled and doesn’t get any delicious toasty flavor.
This was OK, but it wasn’t great. There are other soups I’ve had that are more flavorful and other cauliflower methods that are tastier, so this probably won’t be a repeat.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi (again)
Browned Butter is what The Gods eat on Mount Olympus, I’m telling you.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage
I don’t know who invented browned butter, but if I ever meet them, I’m going to kiss them on the mouth. Really. There is nothing in the world that smells as good or adds as much flavor to a dish as browned butter. Except, for maybe bacon. Mmmm…bacon. Seriously, though – trust me..anything that can be favorably compared to bacon? Well, it’s pretty freakin’ awesome.
So, I’ve made these gnocchi before, but they do rate another photo. Yes, they’re a bit of a pain to make, but you can do it in steps. When you’re in the kitchen one day, you can cook the sweet potatoes. Peel and mash them, then you can refrigerate or freeze (as I did) them until you’re ready to make the gnocchi. If you REALLY want to break it down, you could even make the dough one day and the gnocchi another. The recipe makes a TON, so you can even make the gnocchi ahead and freeze them, then toss them directly into boiling water from the freezer when you’re ready to eat them. I think the sauce would even freeze – just microwave it a bit to re-melt it and it would be good to go.
So…they are a bit of work, but it can be done ahead and/or in stages. Ya’ll know that I don’t repeat many recipes, so if I’m not only cooking them twice, but BLOGGING them twice, they are something special. These are VERY rich. So rich, that they could stand alone as a dinner or, if you serve a very small portion, as an appetizer. No meat is necessary with these – they are LOADED with cheese and can totally stand alone.
These are worth the effort – no question, but hurry up, because they’re definitely a heavy, rich cold-weather dish.
Golden Winter Soup
Golden Winter Soup from Cooking Light magazine
This was really good. It was really mild and creamy; this would be a great recipe to start kids off with that haven’t tasted butternut squash before; it tastes very similar to a creamy potato soup; the butternut squash flavor is very subtle. Boy, Hubby and I liked this soup a lot, but all of us did add some additional spice at the table. Girl wasn’t wild about it, but she’s still not feeling well and her appetite is off. I did add some thyme-infused fleur de sel that my parents brought back from France for me because it was a little bland. I also added some green chiles, as was recommended by some of the online recipe reviewers. This was nice as a small appetizer-ish portion or go-with (we served it with salad and the gruyere toasts in the recipe), but I wouldn’t have wanted to have a whole huge bowl of this. It would be good with some sort of grilled, savory sandwich, too..
Smoky-Spicy Tamale Pies
Smoky-Spicy Tamale Pies, from Cooking Light’s “For Two” column
Hubby and I liked these a lot. They were a bit too spicy for Girl, but she’s not feeling well and wasn’t too excited about dinner, in general, anyway. Boy got hungry before these were finished baking. These were tasty and simple, but more time-consuming than this tamale pie recipe (although not a lot more). It’s a nice variation, but the two are pretty different. The first one is more like a soupy chili with soft polenta topping and this one is more like a spicy turkey-tomato stew with a cornbread topping. I added a little bit of oregano and assorted seasonings to the cornbread, which turned out to be a good move; it would have been TOTALLY bland without it. Overall, this was pretty good, just very different than the other one. I doubled the recipe to make 4 and ended up using some small fruit bowls that are a part of my (ovenproof) everyday dishes. The recipe calls for 1.5 cup ramekins, but I’ve NEVER seen ramekins that big. If you have something like onion soup crocks or ovenproof soup bowls, etc., that would work nicely.
Sick teenager food
Her favorite crackers, apple and American (yeah, I know, but she’s sick – cut me a break!) cheese, with ginger ale and/or Gatorade.
Ina Garten’s Asian Salmon and Crunchy Noodle Salad
Asian Salmon and Crunchy Noodle Salad
These two recipes are from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa show on Food Network. I LOVE watching Ina’s show, but I am actually pretty surprised to admit that this is the first time that I’ve tried one of her recipes. For as many time as I’ve watched her show, that really is kind of unbelievable.
So, the salad was an absolute success. I substituted whole wheat udon noodles for the spaghetti because, well…just because and I substituted black sesame seeds for the white ones because I think they’re prettier. I left out the parsley because it just didn’t seem “right” to me. If I had had some cilantro in the house, I would have added that, but I (strangely, for me) didn’t have any in the house, so I just left the chopped herb garnish off. Cilantro would have been really nice. This salad could easily adapt to whatever Asian (-ish) veggies you might have on hand: broccoli, water chestnuts, bok choy, snow peas, edamame, etc. It was delicious, as is, but wouldn’t have to be made exactly the same way. I also cut the amount of vegetable oil to 3/4 cup because 1 cup just seemed like SO much. I don’t like things that are really oily. My dressing may have been a little richer as a result (higher percentage of peanut butter), but it was perfect. Another 1/4 cup of oil would have been too much. If you’re calorie conscious, you could probably get away with leaving off the last 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dressing (add some vinegar and a bit more oil and the remaining dressing would be GREAT on an Asian chicken salad). It was plenty “saucy.”
The salmon? Well…I think I did something wrong. I’m used to thinking of panko as being crunchy and this salmon, after being doused with the (delicious but waaaaaay too salty for my taste) sauce, was just, well…soggy. The flavors were still good and the amount of sauce that soaked into the fish itself was perfect, but the sauce-soggy bread topping was just too wet and salty for me, but Hubby loved it, so make of that what you will. Boy loved it, but he, too, scraped off the breadcrumbs.
So, the salad? A make-again. The salmon? Probably not in its current incarnation, but with some adaptations, maybe.
Escarole Soup with Meatballs
Girl is home sick today, so I made this for lunch for the three of us.
Escarole Soup with Little Meatballs, adapted from The Sopranos Family cookbook
4 cups chopped escarole, thoroughly washed and spun dry
(about 1/2 of a large head)
chicken broth, 4 to 6 quarts (start with 4 quarts, but have more on hand)
2 cups coarsely chopped carrots
for the meatballs:
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1 large garlic clove, minced or run through a press
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano is best)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil for browning, 2 to 3 Tbsp.
Mix all ingredients together, except for olive oil. Shape into balls about the size of a grape. Saute the meatballs (in batches) in the olive oil, in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, until they are lightly browned on all sides, but not cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, on a paper-towel-lined plated to drain and cool.
This is the same meatball that is used in this recipe, which it just so happens I made for dinner on Saturday night. I wanted the meatballs to be half pork-half beef, but could only find both meats in one-pound packages. I made a double batch of the meatballs and browned them all. We used half for dinner Saturday and I froze the other half (browned but not totally cooked through) for future use, so they were ready to go right into this soup.
8 ounces fideo pasta (or spaghetti, broken into small pieces)
extra freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread pasta in an even layer on a shallow baking pan and toast in the oven until golden. Set aside to cool.
In a VERY large stock pot, combine the escarole, broth and carrots. Bring to a simmer and cook until the escarole is tender, about 30 minutes, adding more broth, if necessary.
When the escarole is cooked, stir in the reserved browned meatballs and reserved pasta. Add more broth, if necessary. Cook over low heat, uncovered, until the meatballs are cooked through and the pasta is al dente (about 20 minutes). It may be necessary to add more broth as the pasta is cooking and absorbs some. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese over the top.
The verdict: The soup was tasty and VERY easy (because I already had escarole and pre-browned meatballs on hand) and is great for someone (Girl) who is not feeling well, but it was a little bit bland. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t GREAT, like the lentil soup last night was. If I make it again, I will saute a little minced garlic and chopped onion in the bottom of the pan before I add the carrots, escarole and broth. I think that would help it a lot. Maybe some chopped, fresh herbs, too. Don’t be afraid to be pretty generous with the salt and pepper, too – this soup really needs it.