Bacon Mushroom Burgers with Tomato Avocado Salad

The daughter of a friend of mine used to say "I can't like that Papa," instead of "I don't like that Papa." I love that. And I totally get where she is coming from. I have tried to love mushrooms. I'm getting there. But right now, I can't like them.

Despite this, these burgers looked sooo good in the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook. I gave that book back to my colleague almost 2 weeks ago and I've been thinking about making them since. Bacon and mushrooms mixed into the beef and then grilled. How could that be bad?

Ok, bad for your arteries, maybe. But great for your taste buds. I didn't even miss the bun. In fact, I think I liked the burger better with the citrus-y, creamy salad eaten with each bite. You can taste the burger much better without the bun in the way.

It occurred to me today (while in the shower... random... I guess I'm always thinking about food) that the Paleo Diet, aka Caveman Diet, is kind of like the Atkins Diet version 2.0. Low carb, lots of meat and fat. Dr Atkins died of a heart attack. Go figure. And how long did cavemen live? I believe 33 was a ripe old age. Though that may have been more due to the saber-toothed tigers than their diet.

 BACON MUSHROOM BURGERS WITH TOMATO AND AVOCADO SALAD

Serves 4

Even if you are not going to make these burgers right now, at least just click through to see the mouthwatering juicy, bacon-y meat goodness. The recipe calls for pan-frying the burgers. We grilled them on the barbeque. The salad would be great with chicken or salmon as well.

• Bacon Mushroom Burgers
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped
• 1/2 an English cucumber, chopped
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1/2 a lemon
• small handful cilantro, chopped  

Mix tomato, avocado, cucumber. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze lemon over. Add cilantro and stir well. Serve with burgers, with or without buns.

Hoisin Glazed Salmon with Indian-Spiced Lentil Mango Salad

I cannot even tell out how proud I am of this dish. This is great stuff folks. On a Monday after work even. A crappy Monday at work. A delicious meal is one way to cheer me up. Wine is another. I don't generally drink on Monday nights. However, if I had a nice Gwurztraminer on hand I would have totally popped it open (I know nothing about wine pairing- I have no idea if that would be good with this dish. If you try it let me know!).

Have you noticed the lack of seafood recipes on Four Seasons Kitchen? We eat shrimp occasionally, but Tyler really only eats shellfish. Or battered and deep fried fish. I usually end up ordering salmon at a restaurant. Consequently I've never really cooked salmon before, so when somebody asked today how I would prepare it (yeah, I talk about food a lot), I actually didn't know.

The inspiration for this recipe a grilled salmon. I'm sure we all remember my grilling track record. That's a no go. I was going to broil it but realized the broiler on my oven isn't working. Fantastic. Well, when I doubt I roast. And cook salmon perfectly! Boo-ya. Tyler even conceded it was good mixed in the salad (but lamented the lack of tartar sauce. I told him if he put ranch dressing on it I would kick him). Parker ate all of his. I call that a win.

One Year Ago: Cream Puff Baby Duckies, Empanada Gallega

Two Years Ago: Tomato recipe round-up, Jerk Honey Garlic Hot Wings, Breaded Pork Chops and Creamy Orzo

Three Years Ago: Beef and Vegetable Empenadas, Mexican Pizza, Moroccan Chicken and Eggplant

HOISIN GLAZED SALMON WITH INDIAN-SPICED LENTIL MANGO SALAD

Adapted from Chatelaine

• 1 piece fresh salmon per person
• salt and pepper
• hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup red lentils
• 1 mango, peeled, seeded, and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 of a large cucumber, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place salmon on a greased baking sheet, skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread with hoisin sauce to cover each piece of fish with a thin coating of sauce. Once oven is heated place baking sheet in middle of oven. Roast salmon until the tip of a knife inserted in the middle of a piece of fish for 8 seconds comes out warm to the touch (don't test with your tongue- if overcooked you'll burn your tongue. I know from experience), about 15 minutes per inch of thickness.

Meanwhile, boil a small pot of water. Salt the water as you would for pasta (a good large pinch). Add lentils and reduce to a simmer. Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes. Don't overcook or they'll turn to mush.

Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Serve lentil salad over fish.

Grilled Chicken and Bulgar Salad with Goat Cheese

Bulgar is officially my new favorite thing. I mentioned in the last meal planning post that I was going to make this salad with bulgar instead of farro. Well. That was a genius move if I say so myself.

First of all, bulgar is easier to find- I bought it at my small town grocery store- and probably cheaper too. It is nutty, toothsome (I love that word), and maybe the best part.... wait for it... you don't have to cook it. It's parboiled- which it what makes it bulgar not cracked wheat- so it just has to re-hydrate. Just mix a 2:1 ratio of water to bulgar and let it rest for an hour. I did mine a couple of days ago in a Tupperware container stuck it in the fridge so it was ready to go in advance.

As I've said before, I have a hard time following a recipe exactly. Or at all, as it turns out in this case. The recipe from Bon Appetit was more of an inspiration in this case. 

Also, I managed to barbecue without setting anything on fire tonight. Yay me.

I'll admit, this salad looks all weird and healthy when it's all mixed up (rather than layered nicely in the photo above). My brother came over for a swim tonight after we'd had dinner and was all, "What's that?"
Me: "Bulgar"
Him: "Vulgar? Yeah it looks vulgar" 
I made him taste some and he asked if he could take home the leftovers. Ha, take that.

One Year Ago: Creamy Chicken Salad Sandwiches + Pastel Vanilla Cupcakes with  Chocolate Butterflies

Two Years Ago: Panini Bar +Summer Party Menu with Flank Steak Tacos

Three Years Ago: Slow Cooker Brisket + My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe + Greek Shrimp and Tomatoes with Crostini

 

GRILLED CHICKEN AND BULGAR SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

Serves 4

Keep in mind the bulgar needs to an hour to start, so plan accordingly.

• 1 cup bulgar
• 2 cups water
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• large handful asparagus, tough ends removed
• large handful green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tomato
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• large handful fresh herbs, chopped- I used basil, parsley, oregano as this what's in my garden
• salt and pepper

Combine bulgar and water in a bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Alternatively, make bulgar a couple of days in advance and keep refrigerated.

Boil a pot of water. Add a good pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook 4 minutes or until just tender. Remove green beans to an ice water bath to cool them quickly. Drain, dry, and set aside.

Heat grill to high. Season chicken with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through. While chicken is cooking, carefully place asparagus spears on the grill so that they don't fall through the grates. Grill asapargus about 5 minutes or until slightly charred. Remove and let cool slightly before chopping into 1/2-inch pieces.

 Whisk together dressing ingredients in bottom of serving bowl. Add bulgar, chicken, vegetables, and goat cheese. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

30th Birthday Barbecue

I've been 30 for five days now. I survived! I did so by drinking heavily (just kidding... kind of). But seriously, we had a great pool party and barbecue on Saturday. It was the perfect day. Friends, old and new, and family came, kiddos swam like fishes in the pool and Parker got to show off all his toys and play with some new friends. It was a great day, the weather co-operated, and we had great food to boot.

If you are thinking of hosting a party for 20 to 30 people, here's the game plan I followed:

1. Go out for dinner on the night of your birthday and eat a bunch of tacos and have a couple of drinks. Go grocery shopping at a store that you've never been to where you can't find anything and spend too much money cause you've had a couple of drinks. Get home and make some raspberry ice cream for the party two days from now.

2.  The next day go to your parents place for dinner after work and accidentally drink a bottle of wine. Get home at 11:30pm, rub your meat (the pork shoulder people, the pork shoulder) and make bbq sauce. Decide you're not tired yet and start on cupcakes. Go to bed close to 2am once three batches of cupcakes are finally baked.

3. Get up the day of the party, pop some Tylenol, and start on salads and appetizers. Which you will making for the next 6 hours. Realize a close to the party start time that you haven't showered, gotten ice, that you forgot to get about five things from the grocery store, and haven't been to the LCBO to get your beverage of choice for the party.

4. Panic. Drive faster than you should. Somehow get lost in a small town with basically two main streets. Swear. Miraculously get home within an hour, finish cooking by the time guests arrive, and proceed have a great time since you did everything ahead of time. Yay you!

On second thought, don't follow that schedule. You may want to plan things better. But ever'ting work out in the end mon. No worries.

Tyler made pulled pork. We are still working on the perfect barbecued pulled pork but it wasn't the perfect pulled pork. It was very good, but it didn't pull easily. I've only gotten pork to shred really easily cooked in the slow cooker, but that kind of negates the purpose of having a barbecue, right?

I made two salads to go with the pork sandwiches. They were my favorite part of the whole meal. I was going to make wild rice salad but I couldn't get wild rice at store I was at. They had about twelve other rices I'd never made before, but of course not the rice I needed. I improvised and made an orzo pasta salad instead that turned out so great. I could eat, and have been eating, it as a meal. Along with the other salad, a beautiful grilled corn coleslaw, these were the perfect sides for a summer barbecue.

What about the cake, you say? I had big plans for my 30th birthday cake. I had visions of layer cakes decorated beautifully that everyone would swoon over. Then a week before the big day I came to my senses and remembered that a) I suck at decorating cakes. b) last time I made a layer cake was for Tyler's 30th and I had a cake induced melt down that resulted in a 30th birthday marital spat. c) I'm just not that kind of girl. I'd rather have a rustic rhubarb crumble pie (I seriously considered this as my birthday dessert actually). So I met myself half way. The cupcakes I made turned out beautifully but were not too fussy. And there's cream cheese icing involved. Sold.

Here's the full menu:

*Fruit with Orange Creamsicle Dip
*Caprese Skewers (boccocini cheese, a small basil leaf, half a grape tomato on a toothpick. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar)

*Pulled Pork
*Greek Orzo Salad (recipe below)
*Grilled Corn Slaw (recipe below)

*Hummingbird Cupcakes
*Raspberry Ice Cream

GREEK ORZO SALAD

 Serves 10 as a side dish

I was trying to get everything done and not thinking about blogging the recipe, so I wasn't diligent in measuring, so measurements here are approximate. This is a simple recipe anyway- taste it, if it needs more of something just stir it in. It will work out. 

• 450g orzo pasta
• 1 English cucumber, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Vinaigrette:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• zest and juice of two lemons
• two garlic cloves, very finely chopped, or grated on a Microplane
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried dill

Cook orzo in salted water according to package directions- do not over cook- cook to al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Whisk ingredients for vinaigrette in the bottom of your serving bowl. Add drained pasta and remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

GRILLED CORN SLAW

Adapted from My Invisible Crown

Serves 10 as a side dish

• 5 ears corn, shucked and cleaned of silks
• 1 small red cabbage, shredded - a food processor makes quick work of this
• 2 red peppers, thinly sliced
• 340g bag carrot slaw (like this one from PC brand)
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Dressing:

• zest and juice of 3 limes
• 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper

Grill corn on high direct heat, turning often, until charred- about 12 minutes total. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, cut kernels off cobs and add to a large bowl. Add remaining salad ingredients except sunflower seeds. Mix salad dressing ingredients in a blender or with an immersion blender. Toss salad with seeds and dressing just before serving.

Greek Potato Salad

Wow it's been a while since I have posted anything. I know, not at peep from me lately. In the 3+ years I've been writing this blog I think this is longest I've gone between posts, and that includes when I was pregnant and food turned my stomach. What gives?

I don't know, really. I've been back to work full time a year now and I think the daily grind of pumping out quick meals when I get home from work has sapped my creativity. I also find I'm eating more for health than pure enjoyment lately. 'Cause let's be honest, avocado chocolate pudding is good, but it's no butter-laden chocolate chip cookie people.

I think that's enough excuses now, non? Let's get to the food.

I have made this potato salad twice in the last few weeks. It is a nice fresh twist on the regular old potluck potato salad (or the one in the plastic container from the grocery store Tyler likes... UGH). My Greek Potato Salad is loaded with more veg that you will usually find in potato salad, plus lemon zest makes everything better. Make this for your next BBQ and you'll be asked for the recipe, guaranteed. I should have prettied it up for the photo with some chopped parsley sprinkled on top or something, but whatever. Trust me, it is delish.

Oh, I just thought of one more excuse... I'm turning 30 in three weeks and I'm kinda FREAKING OUT. I used to think my Grannie was ridiculous saying she was 29 for twenty years straight, but now I get it. I may pull a Grannie. 29 forevah bitches (sorry for the swear Dad... it just fits).

One Year Ago: Let's just do this- here are the April 2012 and May 2012 archives

Two Years Ago: Super Quick Chicken Dish + Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Quiche + Dog Cookies

Three Years Ago: Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta + Stuffed Shells + Casual Entertaining Menu + Heavenly Cheesecake

GREEK POTATO SALAD

Serves 4

This is one of those recipes I am so fond of that isn't really a recipe. Why measure a specific amount of cucumber- who cares how much goes in exactly? Just go with it. The potatoes are tossed with the dressing while still hot so that they absorb the dressing and become more delicious.

• 4 small to medium yellow fleshed potatoes
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 a cucumber, roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup low fat mayo
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• splash red wine or white wine vinegar
• splash olive oil
• dash garlic powder
• bigger dash dried oregano
• handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• small handful fresh dill, chopped (or use dried dill to taste)
• salt and pepper (I like it with lots of pepper)

Cook the potatoes in the microwave or in a pot of water until just cooked through. Let cool a few minutes. While potatoes are cooling whisk together dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Using a sharp knife in order to keep the skin in tact, chop potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place in bowl with dressing. Mix gently (a spatula works well here) to coat potatoes. Refrigerate until cooled.

When cooled gently mix in remaining salad ingredients. Refrigerate until serving. Leftovers will keep a day, but after that things get fairly soggy.

Healthy Lunch: Quinoa Salad

Everybody gets on the healthy bandwagon in January, don't they? I am no exception. For two weeks in December I have this mentality that I have to eat every unhealthy thing in sight. I'm looking at you, bake sale at work. I spent $15 in one day on baked goods. And ate them all. Yikes. It also didn't help that it was cold enough that I didn't want to run outside (I draw the line below minus 5 Celsius) so therefore I gave up on fitness for the last couple weeks of December as well. Holy Hell, did I feel gross come January 1 (and not just because of the NYE champagne).

Usually I don't want salads in the winter. This salad however, with it's lack of lettuce, hits the mark. Plus, I don't have to get up from my desk to go upstairs to the lunch room to warm it up. Which I realize is counter-healthy resolution month but I'm just being honest here.

QUINOA SALAD

An Amy Original

Serves 1

• 1/3 cup quinoa
• chopped vegetables- I've done cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli or shredded carrot, tomatoes, roasted peppers, etc. Use what you have.
• 2 tbsp reduced fat Feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• balsamic vinaigrette, store-bought or recipe below

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender- 10-15 minutes. You can tell it's cooked by looking at it- the grains will expand and be opaque throughout. Drain and rinse under cold water if making salad right away.

Toss all ingredients together, adding as much balsamic dressing as desired. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Makes multiple servings. 

This is one of my sorta-recipes. A guideline if you will. I like more vinegar than oil in my dressings, but you can easily change it to suit your tastes.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• a squeeze of honey
• a dollop of Dijon mustard 
• 1/2 clover garlic, grated on a Microplane or chopped very finely
• salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to a mason jar or other container with a lid. Shake well. Store any unused portion in the fridge.

Thai Feast

Last year for Christmas I gave my parents a meal cooked by a personal chef. The chef being... me! It turns out that I get the procrastination trait from my dad. I cooked this dinner last weekend. Yes. December 1st.

I told them to pick a menu or theme. They chose Thai. Not 10 days before that I had announced that I was never again making Pad Thai as it never turns out right. So I had a little panic attack and then got to work on figuring out what I was going to make that wasn't Pad Thai.

It turned out amazing (if I do say so myself)! I will make these recipes again and again. They are fairly easy and all gluten free, as it so happens. I spent an enjoyable hour in the Asian supermarket up the street from my office looking perusing the strange (to me) and wonderful foods. I found all of the authentic ingredients I needed, despite asking for help and the clerk not understanding a word I said. A lot of them were frozen, so I have lots of left over ingredients to use up. Excellent.

Here is the menu. I followed the recipe for all the dishes except the mango salad as I was pretty confident about that dish having eaten it lots of time before. The other recipes, not much. I've never eaten those dishes and didn't have time to do a test run so I went by the (Mac)book. 

Green Papaya and Mango Salad adapted from Canadian Living
I wanted to do just green papaya, and I even found a green papaya at the Asian market. But when chopped it up, I found that it was totally bland. Maybe it needed to ripen, but I thought the point was that it is green? So I used some papaya and some mango. It turned out perfectly. I could go for some right now, actually.

Red Curry Shrimp from Food and Wine
Totally easy and yummy. I didn't make the tartar sauce in the linked recipe- I just did the shrimp. Next time I'd like to find a recipe for homemade red curry paste. As I found out with the next dish, the jarred stuff vs. your own curry paste is like night and day.

Green Curry Chicken from Real Thai Recipes
This was unreal. So delicious. I forgot to take photos of the whole meal the night of, so I made this again on Sunday. The first time I pounded the ingredients for the curry paste in a pestle and mortar, the second time I did it in the food processor. Use a pestle and mortar if you have one. I wouldn't have believed it, but you can taste the difference. It's almost as if the flavors are coaxed (or threatened within an inch of their life) by being pounded and ground by hand. Be careful when adding the coconut milk at the end of the recipe- I added the whole cup the recipe calls for at once and the sauce ended up too thin- add a bit at a time. Also, be careful not to take a huge whiff of the shrimp paste. Gag city. Think fish sauce times five. Oh, and one more thing. I don't usually love eggplant but it really soaks up all the flavours in the sauce. The second time around I used red pepper and carrots as that's all I had and that was ok too though.

Spicy Glass Noodles with Crispy Pork from The Kitchn
This was the sleeper hit of the night. The recipe is easy and sounds unassuming, but the result is fantastic. I like that it is to be served cold or at room temp. That's part of the reason I chose this recipe, actually. I figured I'd make it and let it sit while the green curry finished cooking. It all went according to plan. I wouldn't recommend serving this hot, in fact, as the noodles need some time to absorb the sauce. I poured in all the sauce the recipe called for and it looked soupy and I was really disappointed, but by the time it was served it was perfect.  

Sticky Rice with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce from i eat food
I have made sticky rice many, many times. Tyler's cousin used to work at a Thai restaurant and gave me a steamer contraption for making steamed sticky rice as I love it every time he makes it. It pretty much looks like the one in the link, but bigger because it's the Vietnamese version or something. Same idea though. I cook mine differently than she does. I just dump the soaked rice in the basket and stick a sauce pot lid on top to cover it. It doesn't seem to take as long to cook this way. You do, however, have to pick dried bits of rice of the bamboo after though. You've been warned.

Coconut and Lime Creme Brulee (recipe below)
This is my own recipe. I adapted a no-bake pumpkin creme brulee recipe that I made the other week. This was originally going to be a tropical fruit creme brulee- mango, banana, lime- but that one didn't set and it tasted more like banana pudding. That went down the drain (told you it didn't set). The second version came out much better. Use a kitchen torch or a blow torch (seriously- careful!) to brulee though. I stuck them under the broiler to save some time and the custard got heated through and wasn't as nice. Lesson learned: always go with the blow torch option. Always.

THAI GREEN PAPAYA AND MANGO SALAD
Adapted from Canadian Living

Serves 4

If you can't find green papaya, use some slightly under ripe mango. I used my handy OXO julienne peeler for the papaya and carrot which makes it really easy.

Salad:

• 1/2 small green papaya, julienned
• 1 ripe mango, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 small carrot, julienned
• 1/4 cup shredded red cabbage
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp julienned mint leaves
• 1/2 cup salted roasted cashews, finely chopped

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• zest of 1 lime (use a Microplane or small grater)
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1-2 finely chopped thai chilis, depending on how hot you want it

Mix the dressing ingredients in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add the salad ingredients except 1 tbsp mint and the cashews and toss to combine. Let rest 15 to 20 minutes. Serve topped with reserved mint and cashews.

COCONUT AND LIME CREME BRULEE

Serves 4

• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• zest of 1 lime, zested on Microplane or small grater
• 1 1/2 cups lite coconut milk
• 2 sprigs mint leaves
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 8 tsp fine sugar, for bruleeing

Heat coconut milk in a saucepan over medium heat with mint leaves (don't bother stripping from stem- just throw the whole thing in) until bubbles form around the outside and milk is steaming.

Meanwhile, mix cornstarch, sugar, salt, egg yolks, lime zest in a medium bowl. Slowly add heated coconut milk while whisking yolk mixture. Add mixture back to pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until very thick. Pour into four ramekins, cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of custard, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

To serve, sprinkle each custard with 1 tsp sugar. Brulee with a kitchen torch or bring out the big guns and (carefully!) use a full on blow torch. Sprinkle with another tsp of sugar and brulee again. Serve with 5 minutes so that the sugar topping doesn't soften.

Vegetable of the Week: Cabbage

A new low on Four Seasons Kitchen; the chicken fingers on this sandwich are from a box

Sometimes people think I'm all fancy and such. I know this because they'll say "Amy, you're so fancy and such", generally after I talk about making ricotta or caramel or something. Sure, I also like to wear (fake) pearls, I've been to France, and I try to emulate Martha Stewart in my decor, but here's the thing- I also like chicken finger sandwiches. And potato chips on my burgers. That coleslaw in the photo above? Made with bottled Thousand Island dressing. Who's fancy now? Not I.

Cabbage is the ultimate cheap healthy food. I have had a head of cabbage in the fridge for probably almost a month and it's still good. Seriously. This thing was the size of a basketball and it only cost a dollar. A dollar! I've just been slicing some off, wrapping it up in plastic wrap, and sticking it back in the fridge. Amazing. Here are some recipes from the Four Seasons Kitchen archives and others that I have bookmarked to try.

One Year Ago: Three Corn Cornbread + Waffle Fail 

Two Years Ago: Nada 

APPLE AND CABBAGE COLESLAW

Grate 1 apple and 1/4 head of cabbage. Mix in bottled dressing (Ranch would be good, Thousand Island wasn't the best choice as it turns out), a splash of apple cider vinegar, and season with a little salt and lots of pepper. Stir to combine.

CABBAGE RECIPES:
Sweet and Sour Cabbage (Four Seasons Kitchen)
Fried Udon Noodles (Four Seasons Kitchen)
Potato, Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Creme Fraiche (Bon Appetit)
Cabbage and Kale Soup with Farro (Food and Wine)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts (Food and Wine)
Cottage Pie with Irish Cabbage and Peas (Chef Anthony Seklak via Steven and Chris Show)

Mystery Box Dinner Revealed!

Well Hallelujah, finally a comment on the previous post (thank you cous!). Y'all weren't getting the reveal until I got at least one response so let's all thank Katie and Chris. And next time, a little more love please? I can tell from the stats that you read the post and I know where you live (just kidding).

So, what did I make? Katie, we were on the same page here with the kale salad with crispy prosciutto. Nice one. There was also roast chicken with garlic and herb butter and thyme roasted carrots and parsnips. And for dessert, which didn't photograph well and there was some wine involved by this point in the evening, Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding. Whoa. Epic meal time. Without the burgers... and the bacon weave... anyway, here are the recipes.

One Year Ago: Baked Rigatoni, Bulgar Salad

Two Years Ago: Almond Cake for Spring

KALE SALAD WITH PROSCIUTTO, HONEY GOAT CHEESE, AND WARM BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Serves 4

• 1 bunch kale, leaves stripped from thick stem (discard stem) and sliced into ribbons
• 6 slices prosciutto, sliced into ribbons
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• aged goat cheese or similar hard cheese (Parmesan would be good too)

Divide kale between serving plates for each person. Heat a small frying pan over medium high heat. Add prosciutto, cook until crisped. Turn off heat and divide prosciutto between plates. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to pan to warm. Pour over kale. With a vegetable peeler, shave cheese over each plate.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH GARLIC AND HERB BUTTER

I have included ingredient measurements, but really I eyeballed it. A little more, a little less, it'll work out. Plus, my chicken was huge- scale the ingredients down if yours is smaller of course.

• 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh herbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 five pound chicken

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F with rack set to lower middle position. Puree butter, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper to season in a food processor. Alternatively, chop herbs and garlic and mix into butter with salt and pepper. Loosen chicken skin on breast and legs from the meat. Spread butter mixture under the skin. Season chicken with more salt and pepper.

Place chicken in a roasting pan with a rack* breast side up. Roast until chicken is cooked though- 180 degrees F- turning chicken over partway through cooking if skin is getting too dark. Rest covered with foil 10 minutes before carving.

*If you don't have a roasting pan with a rack I've seen Michael Smith make a "rack" out of vegetables but I can't attest to the effectiveness of this method.

ROASTED CARROTS AND PARSNIPS

This will work for any root vegetables. Peel parsnips and scrub carrots. Cut into pieces- the trick here is to cut large enough so they won't burn in the oven but not too big that they'll take forever to cook. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried thyme. Roast on a baking sheet 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Turn, roast10 more minutes.

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD PUDDING

Get the recipe at LCBO.com. I made some modifications, of course. I used part half and half and part skim milk. And I used my banana bread recipe- I had one frozen so I thawed it in the fridge overnight and it worked perfectly.

Bulgar Salad

The snow is almost all melted. I even opened some windows in the house for a couple of hours yesterday. This makes me want salad. I made this tabbouleh-inspired salad for lunch yesterday and it was the perfect foil to the warmer weather.

Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern bulgar, parsley, and mint salad. I added some chickpeas and black beans as I had some in the fridge that needed to be used up, plus some red pepper and cabbage. The dressing is a lemon vinaigrette that is my go to for any salad. Keep this one in your back pocket.

See that green stuff on top of the salad in the photo? Looks fancy, right? Those are pea shoots. These are a revelation. It's just sprouted peas- as in, if you planted them in the garden you'd get a big bean stalk. I didn't know you could eat them just after they've sprouted. They taste like spring. Tender, crunchy, juicy, and refreshingly pea-y. We got them in our food box delivered from Pfennings this week (remember this post about local food? Now that I live in the boonies, having it delivered is easier than driving into town to pick it up every week). I've been picking off leaves and eating them like candy all week. If you do one thing this weekend, go find some pea shoots. Bonus points if you grow them yourself.

Pea Shoots growing in their little tray of dirt. See the little peas they are sprouting from?

BULGAR AND CHICKPEA SALAD

2 servings

• 1/2 cup bulgar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 small head cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
• 1 carrot, sliced thinly
• 1/4 red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 can black beans, drained (optional)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• lemon vinaigrette - see below
• 1 small bunch pea shoots

Combine bulgar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Drain any remaining water and rinse bulgar under cold water. Combine with remaining ingredients. Garnish with pea shoots.

LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Add more olive oil if you prefer it less tangy.

• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil equal to the amount of lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey
• salt and pepper to season

Combine all in a jar and shake. Alternatively, combine all except oil in a bowl and whisk olive oil in a slow stream. Or use a blender.

Broccoli Salad

I know, it's not really a salad kind of day today, being windy and cloudy and cold. I made this salad the other day when it was still nice out, however I think it can work for a fall day too due to the bacon and pecans. Ah, the magic of bacon and pecans.

BROCCOLI SALAD

Makes 4 servings

Soaking the onion in vinegar briefly mellows it out, which I prefer over onion breath. 

4 tbsp red wine vinegar, divided
4 tbsp low-fat mayo
salt and pepper to taste
1 large head broccoli
1/2 red onion, finely diced
3-4 slices bacon, depending on the thickness
1/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped

In a large bowl, whisk 2 tbsp vinegar, mayo, salt and pepper. Trim and discard any dry ends and leaves from broccoli stalk. Chop broccoli, including stalk, into small pieces- I used the slicing attachment on my food processor for this. Place in bowl with dressing.

In a small bowl, mix onion and 2 tbsp vinegar. Cook bacon in a pan, or in a 400 degree F oven on a rack, until crispy. Drain on paper towel and crumble into broccoli. Toast pecans in a dry pan over medium heat until lightly browned a fragrant. Add to broccoli. Strain onions from vinegar, discarding vinegar, and add onions to broccoli. Toss everything together and serve.

Green Curry Chicken Summer Roll Salad

Photo from Food and Drink Magazine

As promised, here is the recipe for last Wednesday's dinner. Clearly the photo above is a summer roll, not a summer roll salad. I didn't take a photo of the salad when I made it as I assumed the recipe with a photo would be on their website and I was going to just link to it in the previous post, but alas, it didn't work out that way.

This salad is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. In the note preceding the recipe in Food and Drink magazine they describe it as "deconstructed summer rolls". It's very refreshing light. And delicious of course.

As I mentioned in the the previous post, the flavor of the green curry paste didn't come through in the salad as it was only in the marinade for the chicken. I have adapted the recipe to include some green curry paste in the dressing for the salad as well.

GREEN CURRY CHICKEN SUMMER ROLL SALAD

Adapted from Food and Drink

Serves 4 for lunch or 2 for dinner

*All of the components of salad can be made up to 24 hours in advance, refrigerated, and and tossed together when ready to serve. 

*To change up the salad, you could also use shrimp in place of chicken, shortening the marinating time to just an hour.

Marinade

• 1/2 cup coconut milk from a 398 ml can
• 1 tsp packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp green curry paste
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 large)

Salad

• 8 oz rice vermicelli
• 2 large carrots, julienned
• 1 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 large red pepper, thinly sliced
• chopped fresh cilantro or mint, to garnish

Dressing

• remaining coconut milk from can
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp green curry paste
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Combine marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag and add chicken. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours.

Preheat grill to medium or preheat broiler. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade, and season with salt and pepper. Place on oiled grill or on baking sheet under broiler for about 20 minutes, turning once, or until no longer pink inside. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place rice noodles in a large, heatproof bowl or baking dish and cover with enough boiling water to cover. Let soak for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Drain water and rinse under cold water. Drain well.

For dressing, combine coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, and curry paste in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring often, until reduced by about one third. Remove from heat and stir in lime zest and lime juice. Pour into salad bowl that you will be using to serve salad and cool slightly. Add drained noodles, toss, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

To serve, slice chicken, add chicken and vegetables noodles and garnish with cilantro or mint.

Birthday Dinner

Not my birthday, my father-in-law's. This dinner took place a couple of months ago- I had this typed up and saved in draft form for a time like this when I don't feel like cooking much (which hardly ever happens!). I don't have any photos of the meal unfortunately so you'll have to use your imagination.

Tyler wanted to have steak, which we know his dad loves, so I did a French bistro-inspired menu:

• Celeri Remoulade with homemade Lemon Aioli *
  
• Steak Frites (roasted fingerling and sweet potatoes instead of frites though) with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
• Profiteroles from Epicurious, but with Brown Sugar Balsamic Swirl Ice Cream ** instead

Celeri Remoulade: Julienne 1 celery root (following Orangette's method of julienning the celery root). Mix julienned celery root with enough aioli to moisten, mix in 1/2 tsp dried thyme, season with salt and white pepper.

Lemon Aioli: Combine 1/3 cup olive oil and 2/3 cup canola oil in a measuring cup. Whisk 2 egg yolks, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp lemon juice, zest of one lemon, and 1/2 a finely grated garlic clove in a bowl. While whisking continuously, pour in oil, drop by drop for 1st 1/4 cup or so, until you have a thick mayonnaise. Season with salt and white pepper and more lemon juice if needed.

Steak: I pan fried the steaks using my fabulous new All Clad French Skillet and a second cast iron skillet. Season steaks with lots of salt and pepper (beef will stand up to a lot of seasoning), heat your pan on med-high or high if you're brave, add some butter and canola oil to the pan, fry steaks for a few minutes on each side until crusty and brown and cooked as you like (medium rare for me please). Rest steaks on a cutting board while you have your salad (or for 10 minutes), covering with foil to keep warm.

Red Wine Mushroom Sauce: Using same pan steaks were cooked in without washing, place over medium heat. Add baby mushrooms or sliced mushrooms, cook until browned. Add some red wine, cook at a low boil (you know, somewhere between simmering an boiling) until reduced by half. Season with ground black pepper and pour over steaks on plate.

Roasted Potatoes: Cut fingerling potatoes in half and sweet potatoes into wedges. Toss with a good drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread vegetables in a single layer and roast at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes (until nicely browned), flipping them halfway through.

* I posted an aioli back in November, but this one is easier. The November recipe does have the benefit of cooking the eggs, however, in case you're worried about eating raw eggs.

** This is the best ice cream I have ever made. I made this and Egg Nog ice cream for dessert at Christmas, but we didn't end up eating dessert at all! I know it's winter and maybe you don't want ice cream, but I think this is a winter ice cream because the brown sugar flavor is comforting.

Man sized salad

I love Cobb Salad. I order it at restaurants all the time which costs about 12 bucks. For a salad. I got to thinking that I don't ever make it at home, and I should. It'd be cheaper, that's for sure. Cause I cry a little inside every time I shell out $12.95 for a salad at a chain restaurant.

The first photo at the top of the post is the prettily arranged salad on a plate. The salad ended up being so big that I had to dump our plates into big wooden salad bowls in order to mix it all up to eat, which is the photo below because it was funny.


I don't have a recipe per se, but below is what I put in the Cobb salad and how I prepared each item.

• Romaine lettuce, cut to bite size pieces
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
• Red pepper, thinly sliced
• Hard boiled eggs, diced
• Bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and fried in a pan
• Cheese, cut into small cubes. I happened to have mozzarella and herbed harvarti in the fridge
• Croutons- whole wheat sandwich bread cut into cubes, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and baked at 350 degrees F until golden brown (10 minutes or so)
• Ranch dressing (low fat), doctored with some lemon juice and low fat sour cream
  

Some grilled chicken wouldn't go amiss here either, I just didn't have any chicken.

Sorry, the photos lately are so yellow- even if it didn't get dark here at 5:00 pm, we usually don't eat until after 8:00 so it's dark anyways, and the photos actually look better without using the flash on the camera...