One of the best parts of summer, at least for me, are all the cookouts, picnics and basically any occasion to get together, be outside and eat yummy food. Last week, my co-workers and I enjoyed one of these fun activities, as we had a festive summer picnic on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Everyone brought a dish, and we all feasted to oblivion. I wanted to keep things light but also intended to make something substantial that wouldn't leave us hungry, so I put together this light summer pasta salad. Including only veggies, such as grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, thinly sliced red onion and lots of fresh lime juice and olive oil, the dish didn't leave you feeling heavy. In fact, lots of my co-workers commented about just how lovely and vibrant it was.
It didn't take too long to make, and I actually adapted it from a corn salad recipe that I saw on bonappetit.com. Adding in the pasta gave it a little more umph, and made it feel like a more well-rounded dish. You can enjoy it on its own, or with some yummy grilled chicken, shrimp or what have you.
Charred corn salad recipe (just add pasta to it to replicate my dish above)
As football mania continues with the Giants’ big win last week, I’ve been experimenting with fun football treats that I’ve been trying out on friends and family. Last week’s was a creative rendition of deviled eggs, which were made with sinful, smoky bacon bits inside the egg filling and on top too.
I got the idea to do this from an article in this month’s Bon Appetit that highlighted many non-traditional ways to make a deviled egg. The bacon option really appealed to me, especially since I’ve been on a bacon kick lately (i.e. did you see my chocolate chip bacon pancakes?).
Broiling off some really good quality bacon, I got it nice and crisp, then let it cool down and cut it up into little chunks. This then got mixed in with the egg yolk filling, together with some creamy mayo and also the super flavorful bacon drippings that I saved for myself. As you can tell from the picture, the overall effect looked vibrant and appetizing, and my guests were pretty happy with it too. I stuffed the eggs in a rustic fashion, simply by using a spoon instead of a fancy piping technique, and it definitely fit the occasion.
Hope you have fun experimenting too, and do let me know about the different combinations you come up with.
Bacon Deviled Eggs (serves 6)
Ingredients:
12 eggs, hard boiled
3 tbs of mayonnaise
2 tsp of grain mustard or Dijon mustard
3 - 4 pieces of organic bacon, broiled
Handful of parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 or set to broil. Place bacon on a lined baking sheet and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes. Chop into small pieces and reserve about 1/4 of it for the topping. Strain bacon drippings into a small bowl.
Place eggs in a large saucepan, add water to cover by 1". Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool completely, about 10 minutes; peel. Halve lengthwise and remove yolks.
Finely mash reserved yolks, bacon fat, mayonnaise and mustard in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper, but use the salt sparingly.
Take a spoon and scoop out the filling into each egg in a rustic fashion. Top with the remainder of the bacon and the chopped parsley.
Recipe adopted from Bon Appetit, February 2012 issue
The weekend of Hurricane Irene was pretty stellar for me in terms of cooking, as I literally cooked my hiney off the entire time, creating dynamic dishes for three days straight. One of these were vegetarian South Indian lentil cakes, which were a bit of a pain to put together, but in the end were really rewarding.
Made of a mix of dried legumes (in my case lentils), brown rice, peas, cilantro, mint and a big hunk of roasted garlic on top, it was a healthy yet very hearty dish that satisfied our insatiable bellies during time of intense boredom and restlessness. I loved making the dish, especially since I got to create my own raita, made of low fat yogurt, garlic, cumin, cucumber, fresh herbs and lemon juice.
The entire combination was deliciously fresh and the raita added something special, raising the sophistication of this dish and at the same time making it feel more authentic. Even though it takes a little while to prepare, all the effort is absolutely worth it. In Dan's words, it tasted like a "flavorful falafel cake." I'll take that compliment, thank you.
Here's the recipe by way of Bon Appetit.
South Indian Lentil Cakes with Raita
While I try to limit my pasta intake, when I do have it, I go all out. In the mood to make something hearty and colorful (hence the vibrancy of this dish), I found a neat little recipe on bonappetit.com for Creamy Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Asparagus, Mushrooms and Peas.
I immediately loved all the ingredients in it, as it contained tons of veggies and just a hint of meat from the prosciutto. Amending the recipe as I usually do, I substituted the cream based sauce for 1% lowfat milk and also substituted olive oil for butter.
My favorite ingredient in this was the asparagus, which came out fresh and crunchy, and the key is using a really good organic kind. I was also quite pleased with the prosciutto aspect, which I decided to roast instead of sautee, producing that deliciously crunchy texture. It tasted like smoky bacon, and that's just what I was going for. After I had a bowl of it, I was completely sated and content. Bon Appetit to that!
Everything But the Kitchen Sink Pasta (as I'm nicknaming it). Recipe courtesy of Bonappetit.com
“Hurricane” Irene served us good for one thing, in that it got us to stay home all weekend and cook. These days with my non-stop schedule, staying home seems to be a luxury so I guess I have the tumultuous weather to thank for letting me slow down and unwind a bit.
In our nesting state, we stocked up on good ingredients to cook with. As is the norm in our household, we bought a lot of fresh produce, fish and other proteins to sustain us. I made a baked fish dish for dinner last night that was quite a hit with Dan, so I thought I’d share it with you.
I got the recipe for it in the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine, which happens to be its annual restaurant issue. In the particular section where I scoped out this recipe, chefs shared easy, turnkey recipes they often make at home. This one came from Chef Jason Alley of Richmond’s Comfort restaurant. Not only is it healthy, but takes about 20 minutes to put together, and the ingredients are most likely what you already have in your fridge. Hope you give it a try one of these days.
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 lb of very ripe tomatoes, cored quartered (halved if small). I used cherry tomatoes and just halved them (but didn’t core them)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh basil
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
(4) 6 – 8 oz. boneless flounder fillets
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss first 5 ingredients in a large baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Spread out in an even layer.
Bake tomato mixture for 5 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper. Arrange fish in a single layer over tomato mixture. Roast fish with tomato mixture until fish just begins to flake, about 10 minutes.
