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Hearty Soups!
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Almost Casserole Season!
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K’s Choice
Pastrami Sandwich
Deliciously Grilled Focaccia
This has been my favorite lunch (Or brunch, dinner, whatever) recipe since the first time I cooked it up in my oven, about 2 months ago now. And all this time I kept it to myself. I know, I have no shame. But here's the deal; I slapped it on the BGE today and hallelujah, I heard angels sing and a shaft of light fell down. Read More »
Smoked Salmon Croquettes
I need a ‘Getting fancy with leftovers” section. Suffice to say I had a lot of leftovers after Jeroen slow-smoked the salmon (among other things) for me during the demo---there was simply too much food for the 2.6 people my family consists of.
So, I pulled the Ziploc bag filled with salmon out of the fridge and just stood there, taking in the moment and thinking of what to do with it, when it finally hit me: smoked salmon croquettes! Of course! Or should I say bitterballen?
Whatever you call them, the perfect way to get fish and vegetables into my kid is to throw mashed taters into the equation, cover the whole shebang with breadcrumbs and deep-fry it. Sad but true.
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Pulled Chicken Sandwich
It’s time for junk food. Well, sorta. This pulled chicken sandwich doesn’t really qualify as junk food on its own so it’s no fair calling it that, but because I now serve these on our infamous junk food Friday, add loads of crispy French fries and coleslaw, it might be considered that. Nothing wrong with junk food as an occasional treat, the only thing wrong with it is people eating too much of it too often.
If you don't have time to make a pulled pork sandwich, don't eat it for religious reasons or simply don't like it, this one's for you. All this time I’ve been posting mostly European recipes---with a side-step to Surinamese or Indonesian food---and now it’s time to post a more American recipe for my Dutch friends here. Here’s my chicken version of a pulled pork sandwich and I cannot recommend it enough. You Dutchies are gonna love it, mark my words.
This one has been labeled ‘new favorite’ by the guys here, go figure.
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Garden Puree Bruschetta
Picture this: 6:15am, after a humid night with too little sleep, I summoned the kid back to bed and kindly asked him not to bug me again until the bunny in his clock was wide awake and hyperly hopping around. ‘Hyperly’, is that even a word?
Anyway, I was unable to sleep again when he decided this would be the perfect time to play dinosaur, matching sounds, arm flapping and all---he’s into Pteranodons, go figure. Turned on the tv and was flipping through some channels when I ended up on the Food Network. Now that happens a lot these days. It’s broadcasted day and night, it's entertaining and some of the food they cook is amazing.
I stumbled upon my favorite chef, Tyler Florence, who was making a mouth-watering Bruschetta recipe that had me drooling all over my pillow, even at this ungodly hour of the day. The puree was a combination of some of the freshest garden vegetables with creamy ricotta, spread on top of a crunchy bruschetta. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind me borrowing his recipe to spread the love!
It turned out to be every bit as drool-worthy as I imagined it to be on that early morning in July.
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Curried Lentil Soup
Once in a while I have to give one of my old (tried and true) recipes a new twist to see what I can come up with. It’s one of my favorite pastimes, which I realize is totally pathetic. Is that something you do too, or do you stick with recipes as you know them? I’m just always messing with them, with varying results.
This time I took my basic lentil soup recipe---one that I think even my grandmother made---and revved it up with a touch of curry and cumin and turned it into a hearty soup that could easily pass for a stew. I absolutely love how it turned out: thick, fragrant and very satisfying. I’m using chicken broth but you can easily replace that with just water and salt turning this into a vegetarian/vegan recipe in the blink of an eye.
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Welsh Rarebit (the restaurant version)
I have access to Food Network (UK version) and now ya’ll are in trouble. No, seriously, I can’t stop watching that channel---it’s so much stronger than I am. I’m smitten with Bobby Flay, have a major crush on Tyler Florence, I get all happy when I see the cheerful Rachael Ray and I cringe and quickly zap channels when I spot Giada de Laurentiis.
I’ve also seen some of the most amazing recipes fly across the screen and I’ve been making so many mental notes that I now need a mental note just to keep track of ‘em. One of them was the ‘make ahead and freeze’ version of Welsh Rarebit. Is that a novel idea or what? Welsh Rarebit is that delicious savory, really thick, gooey cheese sauce that you pour over (toasted) bread and then pop under a broiler. Beer and cheddar, what’s not to love? Your guy will love you for it, I promise.
I got this recipe from Andy Bates, he’s my new hero. He also demonstrated how to prep the sauce and freeze it in portions, making it really easy accessible for nighttime munchies, hence the phrase ‘restaurant version’. Not sure if it’s helping my diet much, seeing as I polished off an entire batch these past few days, but it sure is tasty! Let’s make some.
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