I am a huge fan of Scottish oatmeal, which has a texture halfway between grits and rice cereal but ten times as much flavor. But it takes ten minutes to cook, whereas quick oats take only 5, and some mornings that really makes a difference. Also, the texture, being soft, is less interesting than rolled oats, and sometimes I have trouble eating when all my food is the same soft texture (I know, I'm fussy).
Problem with regular quick oatmeal is, it's gooey and gross. I have been known to describe it as a "bowl of grayish sludge". It's also less flavorful than steel-cut or Scottish oatmeal.
So, if you want the speed and textural contrast of quick oats WITHOUT the gooiness, WITHOUT too much compromising on flavor... I have the recipe for you.
Two servings:
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cup water or milk
Cinnamon, butter or margarine, and brown sugar to taste
Place the oats in a small saucepan, all by themselves. Turn the heat to medium-high and toast, stirring often, until the tiny broken oat fragments or oat dust on the bottom of the pan begin to turn golden and the oats smell toasty. This only takes a minute or two.
Add the water and stir quickly. It will steam and boil hotly for a few seconds, then subside.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and put a lid on the pan. Let sit 3 minutes.
Turn off the burner. Add the cinnamon and sugar and butter if you are using them. Stir once, gently, and replace the lid for 2 more minutes.
You will see that the oats have steamed like rice and have held their shape without getting mooshy. Fluff up and serve.
To store for later, fluff up first so they don't get too compacted, then store in a container with a tight lid.
I'm going to get a rice cooker and try using it to make oatmeal next!
Showing posts with label fast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fast. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Basic Italian Sausage Soup: A Template
So here's a new idea: a recipe template. I'm going to list ingredients as categories and give acceptable ranges of volume. Then you can freely adapt the template to work with whatever you have on hand, and vary it to make it interesting.
Ingredients:
1 package hot or sweet Italian chicken sausage
1 or 2 onions, white or yellow (red doesn't always work unless you add olives)
Garlic. Use ONE of the following:
- If fresh, 4 or more cloves.
- If powdered, 2 or more teaspoons.
- If paste, 1 or more teaspoons.
(OPTIONAL) 1/4 cup cooking wine or sherry
Dried Herbs. Use any or all of the following:
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/4 tsp powdered rosemary OR 1/2 tsp whole rosemary
- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
Tomatoes. Use ONE of the following:
- 1 can diced
- 4 fresh plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
(OPTIONAL) Additional Vegetables. Use any or all of the following:
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup black olives, or to taste
- 1 summer squash, chopped
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
8 ounces greens: spinach, chard, kale, etc. Frozen works well. Avoid delicate greens like arugula.
1 or 2 cans of beans, rinsed and drained. Use any of the following, or a combination:
- kidney beans
- cannellini beans
- navy beans
- lima beans (frozen, not canned, the canned ones are gross)
- butterbeans
(OPTIONAL) Squeeze of lemon, recommended only if you omitted the wine
(OPTIONAL) Cooked pasta
Preparation:
Slice the sausage and sautee in a large soup pot with a little olive oil until browned. Remove to a plate.
Sautee the onion and, if you're using fresh garlic, the garlic too until beginning to soften. Add the wine, if you're using it, and scrape the pot to get any browned bits.
Add any other chopped vegetables you're using EXCEPT greens. Add the broth, tomatoes, and the herbs.
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the vegetables are almost done. 3 or 4 minutes for delicate vegetables, 8 minutes if you've got carrots. Stir often to check progress.
Add the greens. Return to a boil and cook until greens are tender, about 2 minutes, but maybe a little longer for kale.
Add the beans. If you're using pasta, add that too. If you're using lemon, now's the time--don't go overboard though!
Serve. If you can eat cheese, this is great topped with parmesan, romano, provelone, manchego, or most Greek cheeses.
This soup stores well. Freeze leftovers or keep in the fridge. It gets better the next day.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Balsamic Bourbon Pan Sauce for Steak
We rarely eat steak, but Ariel's boss bought him some filet mignon recently. I didn't want to mess it up so I did some research and ended up just pan-searing the steaks and then offering this sauce on the side, along with bacon crumbles. Ariel liked it that way because then he could eat part of the steak plain (purist style) and the rest with sauce on it. This is a luxury sauce for sure, but it would be just as good brushed onto grill meats or served on hamburgers.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp high quality barbecue sauce, ideally Jack Daniels brands, or extra thick Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any good barbecue sauce
2 tbsp cold butter (not margarine) cut into 4 pieces
First, cook the steaks in a heat-safe skillet. While they're cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients together.
When the steaks are done, remove to a plate and pour the sauce into the skillet. Stir to loosen any tasty brown bits stuck to the pan.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened and all the alcohol is boiled off. Reduce heat to low and drop the butter in one piece at a time. Whisk each piece thoroughly into the sauce to form a suspension. This adds body and richness.
Serve in a small gravy boat or other serving thing with a pour spout.
Note: You can leave out the butter if you are serving a well-marbled steak. Just cook the sauce down a little longer so it's thick enough. The filet mignon is (according to the Internet) so lean that it is best to serve it with a sauce that has fat in it, ideally butter, to bring out the flavor. London broil would probably be the same, but you wouldn't need butter for, say, Delmonico.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp high quality barbecue sauce, ideally Jack Daniels brands, or extra thick Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any good barbecue sauce
2 tbsp cold butter (not margarine) cut into 4 pieces
First, cook the steaks in a heat-safe skillet. While they're cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients together.
When the steaks are done, remove to a plate and pour the sauce into the skillet. Stir to loosen any tasty brown bits stuck to the pan.
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened and all the alcohol is boiled off. Reduce heat to low and drop the butter in one piece at a time. Whisk each piece thoroughly into the sauce to form a suspension. This adds body and richness.
Serve in a small gravy boat or other serving thing with a pour spout.
Note: You can leave out the butter if you are serving a well-marbled steak. Just cook the sauce down a little longer so it's thick enough. The filet mignon is (according to the Internet) so lean that it is best to serve it with a sauce that has fat in it, ideally butter, to bring out the flavor. London broil would probably be the same, but you wouldn't need butter for, say, Delmonico.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Black Bean Burgers with Eggs
An enhanced version of the recipe found in September 2012 edition of Cooking Light.
Ingredients:
To make the patties:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup panko
Finishing the patties:
4 eggs
1/4 cup panko
Peanut or canola oil
Cheddar cheese with chipotle (optional but delicious)
Combine the ingredients for the patties in a food processor and process until combined but still pretty chunky.
Pour enough oil into a nonstick pan to cover the bottom. Preheat over medium heat.
Divide the mixture into quarters. Place remaining panko on a plate. Scoop up a quarter of the bean mixture, plop it into the panko, and press it gently flat. Then scoop up the patty and carefully lay it on the hot pan. Repeat with remaining bean mixture to form 4 patties.
You will note that panko is applied to only one side. If the patty sticks to the spoon when you press it flat in the panko, DO NOT PANIC. This is actually quite convenient. Let it stay stuck to the spoon and use that as an easy way to transfer the patty to the frying pan. Use a soft spatula to scrape it off the spoon and directly onto the hot pan.
Fry for 4 minutes, turn, and fry for 3 more minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels.
Pour excess oil and any burnt bits of panko out of the pan, and return to stove. Crack four eggs into the pan and cook until firm.
Top each patty with an egg. If you're using the cheese, put as much cheese as you like atop the egg - the hot egg melts it. Serve immediately.
Ingredients:
To make the patties:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup panko
Finishing the patties:
4 eggs
1/4 cup panko
Peanut or canola oil
Cheddar cheese with chipotle (optional but delicious)
Combine the ingredients for the patties in a food processor and process until combined but still pretty chunky.
Pour enough oil into a nonstick pan to cover the bottom. Preheat over medium heat.
Divide the mixture into quarters. Place remaining panko on a plate. Scoop up a quarter of the bean mixture, plop it into the panko, and press it gently flat. Then scoop up the patty and carefully lay it on the hot pan. Repeat with remaining bean mixture to form 4 patties.
You will note that panko is applied to only one side. If the patty sticks to the spoon when you press it flat in the panko, DO NOT PANIC. This is actually quite convenient. Let it stay stuck to the spoon and use that as an easy way to transfer the patty to the frying pan. Use a soft spatula to scrape it off the spoon and directly onto the hot pan.
Fry for 4 minutes, turn, and fry for 3 more minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels.
Pour excess oil and any burnt bits of panko out of the pan, and return to stove. Crack four eggs into the pan and cook until firm.
Top each patty with an egg. If you're using the cheese, put as much cheese as you like atop the egg - the hot egg melts it. Serve immediately.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie
A long time ago I posted a recipe for chicken pot pie "better than store bought." I still like that recipe, but since then I have gotten lazier about making it and now I have a much faster and incidentally somewhat cheaper version that is still delicious enough to serve to company.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 bag frozen peas and carrots
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions (NOT in sauce, just plain onions), or more to taste
Breast meat of 1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon or equivalent broth mix
Topping:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pastry or cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 stick butter or stick margarine
2/3 cup milk
First, make the topping. Preheat the oven to 450. Also put a large pot of water on to boil.
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir. Chop the butter into small pieces and drop into the dry ingredients. Then, use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than peas. Add the milk and stir gently until a dough forms. It will be stiff.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead carefully 8 times. Kneading a biscuit is not the same as kneading bread dough; each time you knead the dough, you will press it out flat to about an inch thick, then fold it in half. This creates the nice tender layers in the biscuit.
Roll the biscuit dough out into a shape that will fit into whatever container you're going to use for the pie. Basically, the topping is going to be one giant biscuit. You can use a pie plate or a rectangular Corningware, whatever you like that is about the right size. It doesn't have to be oven-safe.
Lay a sheet of tinfoil on a baking sheet that is safe to use at high heat. Most nonstick baking sheets are NOT SAFE at high heat. If all you have is nonstick sheets, then just use a double thickness of tinfoil.
Grease the tinfoil and then laay the giant biscuit on top. Carefully fold up the edges of the tinfoil to make about a 1/2 inch lip all the way around. This will catch any butter that melts out of the huge biscuit, so it doesn't drip onto your oven and smoke.
Bake the biscuit for 12 minutes or until golden. You will want to bake it a tiny bit longer than you usually bake biscuits to be sure it's cooked all the way through.
While the biscuit is cooking, make the filling. The water should be boiling now so just dump in the frozen veggies. Set a timer for 5 minutes and start working on the gravy.
For the gravy, whisk the flour directly into the cold milk until smooth. Then pour the milk mixture into a saucepan and add the water and bouillon and (optional) any herbs you want to add, such as a pinch of thyme, parsley, or sage. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
By now the veggies are probably done. When they are done cooking, dump them into a colander to strain out the water, then pour them into the pie plate (or other serving container that you're going to serve the pie in).
If you haven't already chopped the chicken, do it now, and then add the chicken pieces to the veggies.
Pour the gravy over the veggies and chicken, and stir gently.
By this time the biscuit is probably done baking. Carefully, using two large spatulas or pancake turners, lift the giant biscuit off the tinfoil and place on top of the gravy mixture.
Ta-daaa! Your chicken pie is done, and it is PERFECT. Eat it!
Variations:
You can use the whole chicken including dark meat if you like dark meat. I don't, so I feed the legs to Ariel (hubby). Or, you can cook your own chicken, but rotisserie is really really good so I don't recommend this unless you don't have access to rotisserie or it's too expensive.
You can use frozen mixed vegetables instead of peas and carrots, but you must pick out the green beans. They make the filling soggy.
You can also make drop biscuits instead of the giant biscuit if you don't want to bother rolling it out and kneading it.
You can save calories and carbs by making a half recipe of the biscuit topping. It will be thinner and bake in much less time, so check on it after 7 minutes.
Can't find frozen pearl onions? You can use frozen chopped onions instead of pearl onions. The pearl onions are nicer, but the regular chopped onions are fine if that's all you can get. Don't use the kind that comes in a sauce or your gravy will be too salty.
Don't have pastry flour? Substitute an additional 1/4 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.
Don't have whole wheat flour? Use 2 cups regular flour and leave out the pastry flour.
Don't have cream of tartar? Use an additional 1/2 tsp baking powder, although you should try the cream of tartar sometime. You might find you really like biscuits made with it.
Can't drink milk? Replace it with water. It will still be good. DO NOT use a milk substitute, because they will all make the gravy come out wrong. Lactaid milk is fine.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 bag frozen peas and carrots
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions (NOT in sauce, just plain onions), or more to taste
Breast meat of 1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon or equivalent broth mix
Topping:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pastry or cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 stick butter or stick margarine
2/3 cup milk
First, make the topping. Preheat the oven to 450. Also put a large pot of water on to boil.
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir. Chop the butter into small pieces and drop into the dry ingredients. Then, use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than peas. Add the milk and stir gently until a dough forms. It will be stiff.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead carefully 8 times. Kneading a biscuit is not the same as kneading bread dough; each time you knead the dough, you will press it out flat to about an inch thick, then fold it in half. This creates the nice tender layers in the biscuit.
Roll the biscuit dough out into a shape that will fit into whatever container you're going to use for the pie. Basically, the topping is going to be one giant biscuit. You can use a pie plate or a rectangular Corningware, whatever you like that is about the right size. It doesn't have to be oven-safe.
Lay a sheet of tinfoil on a baking sheet that is safe to use at high heat. Most nonstick baking sheets are NOT SAFE at high heat. If all you have is nonstick sheets, then just use a double thickness of tinfoil.
Grease the tinfoil and then laay the giant biscuit on top. Carefully fold up the edges of the tinfoil to make about a 1/2 inch lip all the way around. This will catch any butter that melts out of the huge biscuit, so it doesn't drip onto your oven and smoke.
Bake the biscuit for 12 minutes or until golden. You will want to bake it a tiny bit longer than you usually bake biscuits to be sure it's cooked all the way through.
While the biscuit is cooking, make the filling. The water should be boiling now so just dump in the frozen veggies. Set a timer for 5 minutes and start working on the gravy.
For the gravy, whisk the flour directly into the cold milk until smooth. Then pour the milk mixture into a saucepan and add the water and bouillon and (optional) any herbs you want to add, such as a pinch of thyme, parsley, or sage. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
By now the veggies are probably done. When they are done cooking, dump them into a colander to strain out the water, then pour them into the pie plate (or other serving container that you're going to serve the pie in).
If you haven't already chopped the chicken, do it now, and then add the chicken pieces to the veggies.
Pour the gravy over the veggies and chicken, and stir gently.
By this time the biscuit is probably done baking. Carefully, using two large spatulas or pancake turners, lift the giant biscuit off the tinfoil and place on top of the gravy mixture.
Ta-daaa! Your chicken pie is done, and it is PERFECT. Eat it!
Variations:
You can use the whole chicken including dark meat if you like dark meat. I don't, so I feed the legs to Ariel (hubby). Or, you can cook your own chicken, but rotisserie is really really good so I don't recommend this unless you don't have access to rotisserie or it's too expensive.
You can use frozen mixed vegetables instead of peas and carrots, but you must pick out the green beans. They make the filling soggy.
You can also make drop biscuits instead of the giant biscuit if you don't want to bother rolling it out and kneading it.
You can save calories and carbs by making a half recipe of the biscuit topping. It will be thinner and bake in much less time, so check on it after 7 minutes.
Can't find frozen pearl onions? You can use frozen chopped onions instead of pearl onions. The pearl onions are nicer, but the regular chopped onions are fine if that's all you can get. Don't use the kind that comes in a sauce or your gravy will be too salty.
Don't have pastry flour? Substitute an additional 1/4 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.
Don't have whole wheat flour? Use 2 cups regular flour and leave out the pastry flour.
Don't have cream of tartar? Use an additional 1/2 tsp baking powder, although you should try the cream of tartar sometime. You might find you really like biscuits made with it.
Can't drink milk? Replace it with water. It will still be good. DO NOT use a milk substitute, because they will all make the gravy come out wrong. Lactaid milk is fine.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Italian Cauliflower Casserole
From Cooking Light but edited to make it a more filling meal for active folks like us. To make it lighter you can reduce the amount of beef and/or cheese. To make it non-dairy just use Veggie Shreds for the cheese. You can leave off the breadcrumbs if anyone is gluten intolerant or can't have carbs.
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
1 large yellow onion, minced
4 garlic cloves or equivalent garlic powder
1 tsp sriracha or ground red pepper to taste
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, ideally a garlicky or herby one
1/2 cup grated garlic and herb cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup bread crumbs
Steam the cauliflower 5 minutes or until it's crisp-tender. Drain and place in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheddar.
Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes until it begins to soften. Then add the beef, stirring to crumble, and raise the heat to medium-high. Keep stirring and cooking the beef until it is all browned. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper while the beef cooks.
When the beef is done, stir in the tomato sauce and heat through. Pour the meat mixture over the cauliflower and stir to combine, gently so the cauliflower doesn't crumble.
Sprinkle the parmesan and bread crumbs over the top of the casserole. Broil for 4 minutes or until golden, and serve.
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
1 large yellow onion, minced
4 garlic cloves or equivalent garlic powder
1 tsp sriracha or ground red pepper to taste
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, ideally a garlicky or herby one
1/2 cup grated garlic and herb cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup bread crumbs
Steam the cauliflower 5 minutes or until it's crisp-tender. Drain and place in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheddar.
Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes until it begins to soften. Then add the beef, stirring to crumble, and raise the heat to medium-high. Keep stirring and cooking the beef until it is all browned. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper while the beef cooks.
When the beef is done, stir in the tomato sauce and heat through. Pour the meat mixture over the cauliflower and stir to combine, gently so the cauliflower doesn't crumble.
Sprinkle the parmesan and bread crumbs over the top of the casserole. Broil for 4 minutes or until golden, and serve.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Delicious Almond Milk Drink
I tried making homemade almond milk recently, grinding the almonds in my blender. It tasted great, but the texture was gritty and straining it through the cheesecloth was a pain.
So I tried commercial almond milk, specifically Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond's almondmilk). The flavor wasn't as good as my own, having an oddly metallic taste that I suspect comes from the vitamins and minerals added to make it a better substitute for cow's milk. But I've been enjoying playing with it nonetheless, and have settled on a favorite Indian-inspired recipe for it.
Makes 1 serving
1/2 cup Almond Breeze
1/3 cup whole milk
2 packets Ideal, Truvia, or whatever sweetener you like, or 1 1/2 tbsp Splenda or sugar
Honey to taste, optional
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Dash cinnamon
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Just mix it all up in a cup and you're good to go. Indian food lore says the combination of almonds, milk and cardamom is an excellent restorative and cooling drink. I say it's really tasty.
So I tried commercial almond milk, specifically Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond's almondmilk). The flavor wasn't as good as my own, having an oddly metallic taste that I suspect comes from the vitamins and minerals added to make it a better substitute for cow's milk. But I've been enjoying playing with it nonetheless, and have settled on a favorite Indian-inspired recipe for it.
Makes 1 serving
1/2 cup Almond Breeze
1/3 cup whole milk
2 packets Ideal, Truvia, or whatever sweetener you like, or 1 1/2 tbsp Splenda or sugar
Honey to taste, optional
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Dash cinnamon
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Just mix it all up in a cup and you're good to go. Indian food lore says the combination of almonds, milk and cardamom is an excellent restorative and cooling drink. I say it's really tasty.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Korean Meatballs
Based on this recipe from Cooking Light, these meatballs are easy, fast, and delicious. I'm a big fan of the Korean sweet-and-garlicky meat style, but find it difficult to incorporate into everyday meals, so this was pretty awesome. I've made a few changes to make the recipe even easier and faster.
Ingredients:
1 package ground meat, any kind will do. About a pound or a pound and a half.
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp tamari
Mix with a spoon, and then form into meatballs with your gloved hands while a nonstick pan heats over medium-high heat. Also be heating the oven to 375.
Form the meatballs, about the size of ping-pong balls. Add a teaspoon of peanut oil or canola oil to the pan, and add the meatballs. Press down on them gently to flatten a little bit. That's so they cook more evenly and don't stick.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side, long enough to brown. Then, move to the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until done. Serve with Sriracha (chile paste with garlic).
Changes I made, and why:
1. MEAT: Recipe calls for grinding chicken breast in the food processor, and I was like WHAAA? No way! So I used ground turkey, but I think ground beef or pork would also be very good, and more authentic, too.
2. Sugar and molasses: You could also use 3 tbsp brown sugar, but I prefer to use raw sugar and then added the molasses for moisture and flavor. It's just a personal preference.
3. Garlic powder: Recipe called for tons of chopped garlic. I dislike chopping garlic, and anyway the garlic wouldn't have integrated very well into the meat, so I chose to use garlic powder for its smooth, fine texture and ease of use.
4. Tamari: Recipe called for salt + low-sodium soy sauce. That's just silly. Tamari has a better flavor than soy sauce, so if we're going to be adding salt anyway, we might as well use the better-tasting Tamari. It's a good idea to keep low-sodium soy sauce on hand anyway, though, because when making sauces that recipe volume, it's better to use the low-sodium sauce instead or it will become too salty.
5. Flattening the meatballs: Rolling meatballs around to brown them always causes them to fall apart, at least for me. Flattening them means they can be cooked like mini hamburger patties. they hold their shape, are easy to flip, and don't stick. The only sacrifice is an oblong meatball instead of a spherical one, which doesn't bother me.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 package ground meat, any kind will do. About a pound or a pound and a half.
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp tamari
Mix with a spoon, and then form into meatballs with your gloved hands while a nonstick pan heats over medium-high heat. Also be heating the oven to 375.
Form the meatballs, about the size of ping-pong balls. Add a teaspoon of peanut oil or canola oil to the pan, and add the meatballs. Press down on them gently to flatten a little bit. That's so they cook more evenly and don't stick.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side, long enough to brown. Then, move to the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until done. Serve with Sriracha (chile paste with garlic).
Changes I made, and why:
1. MEAT: Recipe calls for grinding chicken breast in the food processor, and I was like WHAAA? No way! So I used ground turkey, but I think ground beef or pork would also be very good, and more authentic, too.
2. Sugar and molasses: You could also use 3 tbsp brown sugar, but I prefer to use raw sugar and then added the molasses for moisture and flavor. It's just a personal preference.
3. Garlic powder: Recipe called for tons of chopped garlic. I dislike chopping garlic, and anyway the garlic wouldn't have integrated very well into the meat, so I chose to use garlic powder for its smooth, fine texture and ease of use.
4. Tamari: Recipe called for salt + low-sodium soy sauce. That's just silly. Tamari has a better flavor than soy sauce, so if we're going to be adding salt anyway, we might as well use the better-tasting Tamari. It's a good idea to keep low-sodium soy sauce on hand anyway, though, because when making sauces that recipe volume, it's better to use the low-sodium sauce instead or it will become too salty.
5. Flattening the meatballs: Rolling meatballs around to brown them always causes them to fall apart, at least for me. Flattening them means they can be cooked like mini hamburger patties. they hold their shape, are easy to flip, and don't stick. The only sacrifice is an oblong meatball instead of a spherical one, which doesn't bother me.
Enjoy!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Hello and Welcome to Fall - Autumnal Turkey Cutlets
Autumnal Turkey Cutlets
4 turkey cutlets
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cooking sherry
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray, and spread the turkey in the skillet to cook for 3 minutes.
Turn the turkey over, and sprinkle all the other ingredients on top EXCEPT the sherry. Cover and cook for another four minutes or until done. Remove the turkey to a plate.
Add the sherry to deglaze the pan, and cook off the alcohol. Drizzle the resultant pan juices over the turkey.
I served this with honey-roasted root vegetables as listed in Cooking Light, one of my favorite side dishes. Though its extensive labor in chopping the veggies kind of negates the speed and convenience of the turkey cutlets!
4 turkey cutlets
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cooking sherry
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray, and spread the turkey in the skillet to cook for 3 minutes.
Turn the turkey over, and sprinkle all the other ingredients on top EXCEPT the sherry. Cover and cook for another four minutes or until done. Remove the turkey to a plate.
Add the sherry to deglaze the pan, and cook off the alcohol. Drizzle the resultant pan juices over the turkey.
I served this with honey-roasted root vegetables as listed in Cooking Light, one of my favorite side dishes. Though its extensive labor in chopping the veggies kind of negates the speed and convenience of the turkey cutlets!
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