Ramps - not just for skateboarding

The above photo is a ramp.  It is also called a wild leek.  I feel like it is a cross between green onions and garlic.  It's mellow like a green onion but with a bit of a kick that garlic has.  It's de-lish.  I use it as the only ingredient to saute vegetables or roast vegetables. 

They are only in season for a short time in the spring and early summer - so find this stuff and use it!

Roasted Asparagus with Ramps

1 bunch of Asparagus, with the tough ends nipped off
1 bunch of Ramps, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl toss the asparagus with the rest of the ingredients and set aside.  Next, line a baking sheet with foil and then evenly distribute the asparagus on the sheet and bake for about 20-25 min. until tender.

Enjoy!

Mexican Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

I know it is way more fun to have a photo of the dish so you can see what it looks like - or supposed to look like, but I didn't take one.  I don't know why either!  So, the photo above is robbed from the cookbook.  Sorry!  I have made it many times, and made it this past week when the family was in town.  It's not too difficult and makes a great left over for breakfast, especially because of the sauce.  The recipe that I have is out of my cookbook, Fresh Mexican by Monica Medin-Mora and Angeles Ayala.  I have made this recipe to their exact specifications, but the recipe that I am going to post here is an easier and less labor intensive version. 

Ingredients:

Meat Balls
8 oz lean ground pork
8 oz lean ground beef
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg
salt and pepper

Chipotle Sauce
3 Chipotle Chili's in Adobo and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock

First, make the meat balls. Mix the ground meats, onion, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper (I use a couple of pinches of each) in a bowl.  Shape the mixture into chestnut-size balls.  In a deep skillet, on medium high heat, brown the meat balls on all sides.  You will most likely have to do it in 2 batches.  You do not want to crowd them in the pan so that they can evenly brown.  Once all the meat balls have browned, set them aside and discard the oil from the skillet.

Once you have discarded the oil from the skillet, start the sauce.  Continue to keep the heat on medium high and add to the same skillet, the tomatoes, onion, garlic.  The juice from the tomatoes will deglaze the skillet and grab the brown bits from the meat.  Cover and let simmer for about 5 min, stirring occasionally.  While the tomatoes are simmering, add to a blender, 3 chiptole chilies, 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce, and 1/2 cup of chicken stock and blend till smooth.  Once the tomato mixture has softened, add the tomato mixture and another 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the blender with the chipotle sauce still it and blend till it is a smooth sauce.  Add the sauce back to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, thyme sprig, and bay leaf to the sauce and stir so it a nice "saucy" consistency.  Lastly, add the meatballs back to the sauce.  Give it a gentle stir so that the meatballs are covered with the sauce.  Cover the skillet and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve with rice, tortillas and pinto beans.  It also makes for a tasty left over with eggs!

Enjoy!

I think this is my next purchase

I need new pots and pans.  I am now convinced, well I think I might be, that these Bialetti Aeternum ceramic-coated pans are for me!

http://www.bialettishop.com/BialettiAeternumCookware.html

AND it isn't expensive.  If anyone has tried these pots and pans or has read reviews - good or bad - let me know!

I heart Food

I made a ton of dinners in the last 10 days and have really decided that I do well cooking for a large group - it's more fun... for me.  I made Thai, Italian(ish), Gumbo, British... all kinds of stuff.  Everything seemed to go over pretty well.  I think the winner may have been Christmas Dinner... Winner, winner, Christmas Dinner.  So here's the re-cap and the recipes.  I know some of you want them!

Jenny went back for seconds for the Gnocchi Gorganzola Gratin.  I got that recipe from Bon Appetit.  It was delicious, and if you want to be really lazy about it - buy prepared Italian Gnocchi from the store.  I got mine from Trader Joe's. 

The prime rib was delicious and the left overs made a really tasty Shepards Pie.  I got the recipe from the December issue of Cooking Light, Rosemary-Dijon Crusted Standing Rib Roast.  A couple of days later, I chopped up the remaining prime rib into small pieces and sauted it quickly with diced carrots and the remaining Au Jus.  I put the rib and carrot saute in a 9x13 glass baking casserole and covered it with mashed potatoes.  I planned to use the left over mash potatoes, but could not locate them, so I whipped up new mashed potatoes.  I then covered the potatoes with shredded cheddar and baked in the oven for 30 minutes and Voila! Shepards pie!

I think the Gnocchi and Prime Rib recipes can be made anytime, especially the Gnocchi.  I recommend both recipes! 

Holiday Appetizers... or anytime really

Back in October I took a trip to Bozeman with my friend Tamara. It was a quick trip and we made quite a few great meals.  My home girl, Sienna, came down to visit from Great Falls.  She is my homie; we have spent our life together and she is as close to me as my own sister.  We love enjoying ourselves and we love making delicious foods; and this visit was the first time in a long time that we had a throw down in the kitchen.  I have already shared one the recipes for our throw down in a previous post and now I want to share something that she made with you - which is reflected in the photo above.

Sienna's Salad Bruschetta with Artichokes and Brie

Ingredients:

1 loaf of Artisan Bread, a nice crispy crust kind
1 can of Artichoke Hearts, drained
1 14 oz round brie
1 bag of mixed green salad
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
a pinch of salt
a few dashes of ground black pepper

Whisk all of the above in a small bowl

For the rest.  Step  1: Make the Vinaigrette and set aside.  Step 2: Add the bag of mixed greens to a salad bowl.  Step 3: Drain the liquid from the can of artichokes and give them rough chop up and set aside. Step 4: Slice the Brie in 1/4" thick slices and set aside.  Step 5: Slice the bread evenly, about a 1/2 inch thick.  This should yield about 1 dozen slices.  Turn the oven to broil.  Put the slices of bread on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for about 1 minute each side.   Now, do not walk away from the oven because if you do - you will burn the hell out of the bread.  Depending on your oven it can take 1 minute to toast to a nice golden brown or it can take 30 seconds or it can take 2-3 minutes.  I did not realize that my oven would take 30 seconds and I burnt the hell out of the bread.

Step 6: Once done toasting, keep the bread on the cookie sheet and add evenly to each slice artichokes and add a slice or 2 of brie to the top.  Put it back in the oven and broil for about 1 minute.  Again, watch it so it doesn't burn. Once the brie is slightly melted and not quite golden brown in color, take out of the oven and set aside to cool.
Step 7:  Give the balsamic vinaigrette a quick whisk and poor on top of the greens.  Give it a nice toss so the greens are evenly covered in the vinaigrette.
Step 8: Transfer the bread to a serving plate and add the greens to the top of bread and poor yourself a nice glass of wine, if you have not already, and enjoy.
I had made this the other day as an appetizer, but my friend mentioned that it would also make a nice light lunch or dinner along side a piece of grilled meat.  And since Sienna made it the first time, I have made it a half dozen more times.  I have used arugula and spinach instead of mixed greens and one time, I used apples instead of artichokes.  Either way, it's darn delicious and makes a great addition to my arsenal of apps.  Thanks Sienna!

Thanksgiving Re-cap

This Thanksgiving we had some of the family out and in usual Mimi fashion, I went all out all weekend.  I pretty much had some sort of food plan for each day they were here.  I go pretty crazy over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I plan ahead...FAR AHEAD.  I have a binder and in that binder are recipes that have been successful, previous menus, and room for new menus and shopping lists.
The above photo is the delicious sticky buns that I made from a recipe in Cooking Light.  My plan for this post is to share my favs from the weekend and maybe you will make them too.   The holiday season is just beginning - so these recipes will be great from now until the new year!

Spiced Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze  - the photo above.  This was very easy to make and they kept well as day olds.

This was a Graham Cracker Crust Pumpkin Pie with Marshmallow Meringue.  The original recipe is from Bon Appetit, but they made it with Sweet Potatoes.  You can go either way.  I followed the recipe for the crust and the meringue but filled it with pumpkin.  It was a great way to eat pumpkin pie and a good change from the norm.  Click here for the recipe!

Since I didn't take a picture of my stuffing that I made - I robbed it from Bon Appetit: Spinach, Fennel, and Sausage Stuffing.  I did make this, but substituted the sausage for a chicken and roasted red pepper sausage from Trader Joes. I also went all out and made the Brioche.   It turned out awesome!  I also fried it up the next day and added an egg over easy to the top - made for a dang delicious breakfast. 

Until the next time...Turkey Noodle Soup!

Chicken Tagine with Cous Cous

I was in Bozeman last month and spent 3 days cooking for my family and friends - which is my FAVORITE thing to do.  I made a version of the Bon Appetit recipe for Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots (here is the link).  My version was made with chicken because not everyone can get down with lamb.  I followed the recipe in the magazine(except with my chicken substitution and I used canned chickpeas) and the recipe turned out GREAT.
Once we were done with dinner, we all had agreed that this would be great as a crock pot recipe.  When I got home, I decided to take the recipe and try to make it in a crock pot... and it worked out well.  So here you go - enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chick peas drained and rinsed
• 5 garlic cloves (2 whole, 3 chopped)
• 1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds 1" cubes Chicken Breast and or thighs (or a combo of both)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 teaspoons Ras-el-Haonout spice blend (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon chopped peeled ginger
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with juices (or 3 roma tomatoes diced)
• 3 cups (or more) low-salt chicken stock
• 1/2 cup halved dried apricots
• Steamed couscous
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation 

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown chicken on all sides, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to crock pot. Add onion to heavy pot; reduce heat to medium, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until soft and beginning to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic, Ras-el-Hanout, and ginger. Stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 3 cups stock bring to a boil. Transfer all the ingredients to the crock pot and stir in with chicken, reduce heat to low,  cover, and simmer... for pretty much the whole day.  If you are going to be gone ALL DAY, I would put 3 cups of stock and a cup of water.

When you get home drain chickpeas; add to medium saucepan. Add 2 whole garlic cloves and cinnamon stick. Add water to cover by 2". Bring to a boil, then transfer to the crock pot and stir in chickpeas; simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in apricots; simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon couscous onto a large, shallow platter, forming a large well in center. Spoon tagine into center. Sprinkle cilantro over.

Ras-el-Hanout

Ingredients - should do this one day ahead

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander 
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Mix all of that together in a bowl or blend together in a mortar and pestle.