Monthly Archives: April 2014

Thai Kale Salad With Coconut Chicken & Spicy Peanut Sauce

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This week I went over to my best friend Meghan’s house to cook up a nice CSA inspired dinner. We decided to make a Thai kale salad topped with coconut chicken. It came out super good! She is an amazing cook and has a way of throwing things together that you wouldn’t think to try. We want to make a cookbook someday, so maybe this is the first recipe to get it started! Which reminds me, anyone want to fund our cookbook dreams? We will repay you with good food and a lot of high fives….totally worth it!

Main:
1 lb chicken
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup panko (we used a Tokyo style panko mix w/sesame seeds, garlic, onion, pepper & mustard seeds)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, whisked
4 cups lacinato kale, de-stemmed and chopped
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 large watermelon radish, thinly sliced
6 scallions, whole
4 garlic cloves, roasted whole
Non-stick coconut spray (or regular)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spicy Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 fresh lime, juiced
2 tablespoons Mike’s Hot Honey (or 2 tablespoons honey and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup hot water, to use as needed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Make your little chicken station with the coconut and panko mixed together in one bowl, your flour in a separate shallow dish, and your whisked egg in another separate bowl. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper, then dip it in the flour, followed by the egg, and lastly the coconut panko. Place all the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 10 minutes. You’ll want then to be nice golden brown color. During this time, also add your whole scallions and garlic to a separate baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the garlic is squishy and the scallions are slightly charred.

While the chicken cooks, make the peanut sauce by simply mixing the ingredients together (expect for the water.) Add tiny bits of hot water until your dressing has the consistency you like.

To assemble, place you kale, radish, carrot, and scallions in a large bowl. Break up the garlic with your fingers and sprinkle that in as well. Add the coconut chicken, and pour over the desired amount of peanut sauce! Alternatively, you can toss the kale in the peanut sauce before plating as well.

 

 

Creamy Lemon Pasta With Mushrooms & Swiss Chard

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After a long week of working late every night, I was finally able to cook some dinner! I ordered some local NY pasta from my CSA this week and was really excited to try it out. There’s definitely something special about cooking with local ingredients. You can taste the love and care put into every bite! I was craving a creamy pasta, so I made a nice lemony sauce to toss it in. I also added some pretty mushrooms I found at the corner store nearby and some fresh Swiss chard. The whole meal took about 20 minutes to make and was delicious!

Lemon Cream Sauce:
1 cup half & half
2 tablespoons butter
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Salt, to taste

Other:
16 oz pasta of your choice! (I used gnocchi sardi)
6 oz mixed mushrooms
Small bunch Swiss Chard, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
1 cup pasta water (to use as needed)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta as instructed. While the pasta cooks, make the cream sauce.

Add the olive oil and butter to a pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook for a minute or so. Next add the mushrooms and sauté for about 3-5 minutes, toss in the Swiss chard and cook for another 5 minutes or until the greens have cooked down a bit. Lastly, mix in the cream, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, white pepper, and salt.

Drain the pasta and reserve a cup of the water. Toss the pasta in the lemon cream sauce, coating all the noodles well. If the sauce dries out at all, add small amounts of the pasta water until it has the consistency you want. Taste and salt and pepper as needed. Plate and sprinkle a little extra parmesan cheese and fresh parsley!

 

 

 

Potato Kale & Goat Cheese Galette With Spiced Honey

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You can pretty much turn any ingredients into a yummy galette! I’ve used a variation of root vegetables in the winter months, and fresh berries in the summer. You can’t really go wrong! The hardest part I think is the crust- it’s important that the butter is very cold when you’re working with it, otherwise the dough will just crumble when you’re rolling it out. A great trick which I recently learned, is to roll the dough out on a large piece of saran wrap then simply flip it over onto your baking sheet when ready! It really helps it from breaking on you.

This one recipe that I threw together tonight was really delicious, but I do think I will add more cheese next time to make the inside gooey-er. I’m thinking if I mix the goat cheese with a 1/2 cup or so of ricotta cheese then it will add a nice texture. I also added some spiced honey which I bought at Bedford Cheese Shop in Brooklyn (or you can buy here) which I thought added a fun kick to it. You could always use plain non-spicy honey as well.

Ingredients:

Dough-
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
3 tablespoons ice water

Other:
3 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 small bunch kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
2 ounces goat cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Spiced (or regular) honey, to drizzle

To make the dough, place the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and salt into the food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the cold butter (make sure it is cold!) and pulse until the mixture is combined and the texture resembles small peas. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time while pulsing, you will know it is done when it sticks together without crumbling. Beware of over mixing! Place dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a disk shape. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sliced potatoes on a baking sheet with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. In the meantime, toss the kale in some olive oil and saute for about 5 minutes.

Remove dough from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface until you have a 12 inch circle. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and put back in the fridge for about 5-10 minutes. Assemble your galette by starting with a layer of potatoes, leaving a 1-2 inch boarder around the edges. Next add the kale, followed by the goat cheese. Repeat with 3 ingredients. Gently fold the sides of the dough over the edges. Place in oven for 30 minutes, then remove and drizzle with honey. Let cool for 5 minutes before eating!

Bacon Egg & Potato Skillet With Swiss Chard Pesto

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Pretty much any potato and egg concoction put in front of me I will devour. Add some bacon, and I might accept a complete strangers hand in marriage. So, as you can imagine when I came across this recipe for pesto potatoes with eggs (and decided to add bacon) I was a goner. Instead of making it with basil pesto, I made Swiss chard pesto instead. I also used a mixture of fingerling potatoes and red potatoes, but really any will work!

Ingredients: (Adapted from Naturally Ella)

Swiss chard pesto:
1 small bunch of Swiss chard
3 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Other:
2 cups fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices (skin on)
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
4 slices bacon (or as much as you want!)
1-2 large eggs

Start by cooking the bacon in a skillet until crispy, then chop and set aside. Remove most of the bacon grease from the pan but leave a little. Add the sliced potatoes with a little olive oil and cook for about 10 minutes, occasionally moving the potatoes around to make sure they don’t stick to the pan. Add the onions and cook for another 10-15 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking make the pesto. De-stem the Swiss chard and blanch it for 30 seconds in boiling water, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Squeeze out the excess water and place in a food processor with the olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lemon juice, and garlic. Blend until you have a pesto consistency, then salt and pepper to taste.

Add your pesto to the skillet with the potatoes and toss well, but being gentle not to break them all. Next add the crispy bacon then salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, create a small well in the center of the potatoes and crack as many ages as desired in the center. Cover with a lid and cook for about 2 minutes or until the egg whites are fully cooked. Plate and dig in!

Fried Avocado Tacos With A Beet & Orange Salsa

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I love tacos, I could eat them every day! I’ve tried a ton of different variations, but was intrigued recently when I saw a recipe with fried avocado and decided to try it out. I made a sweet and tangy beet and orange salsa to go with it- which was pretty damn good if you ask me! I also made a spicy Greek yogurt sauce to top my tacos with, instead of the usual mayo based kind. Aside from the oil, everything else in the taco is pretty healthy! I was going to try frying the avocados with coconut oil but wasn’t sure what it would taste like, so for this first time around I stuck to regular vegetable oil. Overall a nice Wednesday night meal…

Ingredients: (makes 4 tacos)
4 medium sized flour tortillas
1 large avocados
Panko breadcrumbs
1 large egg, whisked
Vegetable oil
2 beets, roasted and finely chopped
1 navel orange, segmented and finely chopped
1/2 red onion, minced
1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
Small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel beets and cut into chunks. Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil, and bake for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from oven and let cool a little before finely chopping. Place in a bowl and toss together with the chopped oranges, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

To fry your avocado slices, start by having your little station ready with a bowl of panko (seasoned with salt and pepper) and a separate bowl for your whisked egg. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Dip your avocado slices in egg, toss and coat well with the panko, then place in the frying pan. Cook for 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel lined plate until ready to assemble you tacos. Lastly, mix your Greek yogurt in a small bowl with the hot sauce and also set aside.

To assemble your tacos, place a few slices of fried avocado on your tortilla, followed by the beet and orange salsa, then top with some spicy Greek yogurt. Wrap it up and eat! When I’m not being lazy I like to char my tortillas over my gas stove a little as well…it’s easy and definitely adds a nice touch!

 

 

Carrot Coconut Scones With Honey

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Scones are one of my favorite morning breakfast snacks. They are so incredibly easy to make and you can really put whatever you like in them! In the summer months I like to use fresh fruit, but it’s a little early for that, so I went with carrots this round and added coconut and honey to sweeten it up. I will definitely be making these again! I may experiment a little next time and add a few crushed walnuts, or a little yogurt to make them even softer, but I liked them just the way they were too!

Ingredients: (adapted from Kitchen Trial & Error)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
3/4 cup peeled and shredded carrots
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Next add the cold butter and toss with the dry ingredients. At this point you can either incorporate the butter by rubbing the butter chunks into the flour mixture with your thumb and finger (as if you’re trying to snap your fingers) or you can use a pastry cutter which is what I did. Try to be fast though so the butter doesn’t melt too much. In a separate large bowl mix together the apple sauce, carrots, vanilla, honey, and egg. A little at a time add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and form the dough into a ball in the center, flattening it a big, then place covered in the fridge for 15 minutes. This makes it easier to cut. With a sharp knife, slice 6-8 pieces (depending on how big you want them) and place the dough on the same parchment paper right onto a baking sheet. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Let cool for a few minutes then drizzle with honey and serve!
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