Category Archives: recipes

Soba Salad With Seaweed, Cucumbers, and Asparagus from serious eats

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  • 1 pound asparagus, 20150605-seaweed-pasta-salad-daniel-gritzer-13-thumb-625xauto-423921woody ends trimmed
  • 1/2 ounce dried wakame seaweed (see note above)
  • 300 grams (about 10 1/2 ounces) dried soba noodles
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh juice from 2 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons canola, vegetable, or grapeseed oil
  • 1 (1 1/2-inch) knob fresh peeled ginger, grated
  • 1 large English cucumber, ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced into quarter-moons
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
  • 2 scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced on the bias
  • Kosher salt

  1. Place wakame in a medium bowl and cover with plenty of warm water. Let stand until softened and rehydrated (about 10 minutes), then transfer to a fine mesh strainer to drain. In a large pot of salted boiling water, blanch asparagus until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to an ice-water bath to chill. Slice chilled asparagus into 1 1/2-inch lengths on a slight bias.

  2. In a new pot of salted boiling water, cook soba noodles until tender, according to package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold running water until chilled.

  3. In a small mixing bowl, stir together soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice, canola oil, and ginger. Drain wakame and squeeze out excess water with your hands.

  4. In a large bowl, combine soba noodles, asparagus, wakame, cucumber, sesame seeds, and scallions and toss well. Season with salt and serve, sprinkling more sesame seeds on individual plates, if desired.

Dante’s Potato Salad Recipe adapted from

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“Feeding the Fire: Recipes & Strategies for Better Barbecue & Grilling,” by Joe Carroll and Nick Fauchald

Feature-Image-Potato-Salad-Feeding-The-Fire-Dinner-Party-Entertaining-Joe-Carroll-Spuyten-Duyvil-St.-Anselm-Fette-Sau-Brooklyn-Williamsburg-NYC-BBQ-Grilling-Outdoor-Cooking-Recipe¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon, olive oil, divided
1 large Spanish onion, diced
4 pounds Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
¼ cup cider vinegar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives

1. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent and just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. You don’t want the onion to brown. Transfer the onion to a bowl and let cool.

2. In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with water by 1 inch and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a cutting board.

3. While the potatoes are cooling, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar and cayenne. Slowly whisk in the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

4. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into ½-inch dice.

5. Toss the warm potatoes and reserved onions with the vinaigrette. Add the chives, season with salt and pepper, and toss again. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day.  Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream and Dill Dressing from Martha

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cucumber salad with sour cream and dill dressing_vert

 

  • 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish (optional)
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 4 to 6 Kirby cucumbers (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

  1. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, lemon juice, and dill. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk well to combine.

  2. Add cucumbers, and toss to coat. Garnish with more dill, if desired. Serve, or refrigerate, covered, up to 4 hours.

 

Diamond Sevens Ranch Dressing

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1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a blender, blend the mayonnaise with the milk, vinegar, parsley, dill, salt, garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder and black pepper until smooth, about 2 minutes. Yield: 1 1/2 cups

If no cooling rack is available, the pickles can be broiled directly on a baking sheet. However, they will not crisp up as much as with a rack.

Un-fried Pickles, Trisha Yearwood

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YW0511_Unfried-Pickles-with-Ranch-Dressing_s4x3.jpg.rend.sni12col.landscapeNonstick cooking spray, for the cooling rack
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
One 16-ounce jar sliced dill pickles

Serve with Diamond Sevens Ranch Dressing

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to broil. Spray a cooling rack with nonstick cooking spray and place it on top of a baking sheet.

Whisk the eggs with the flour, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, chili powder, garlic powder and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Drain the dill pickles and pat dry with paper towels. Working in batches, toss the pickles in the egg mixture so they are fully coated. Remove the pickles, letting the excess egg drip off, and transfer to the breadcrumb mixture. Toss to fully coat. Spread the pickles out on the prepared cooling rack in a single layer (with none overlapping).

Place the baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven and broil until the tops of the pickles are a crisp golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the pickles and continue to cook until crisp golden brown all over, about 4 minutes.

Serve warm with the Diamond Sevens Ranch dressing.

 

Mushroom Stuffed Giant Shell Pasta from food52.com

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12 jumbo shell pasta
1 cup cultivated white mushrooms
1 cup chanterelles
1 cup oyster mushrooms
2 onions, separated
2 cloves garlic
A few springs of parsley, as desired
1 chile, seeded
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
Juice of 1/2 lemon, divided
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cream (or a mixture of milk and cream)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more as desired

Cook the pasta according to the package, but reduce the cooking time by 1 minute so that they are al dente. Preheat the oven to 360º F (160º C).

Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms and peel the garlic and onion. Roughly chop the mushrooms and onions. Finely dice the garlic, parsley, and chile.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/2 of the onion, and the garlic. Fry for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, chile, and salt and pepper to taste. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and add 1/2 of the lemon juice and the parsley. Add more lemon juice if preferred, or discard it (or save the rest for another recipe). Remove the mushroom mixture from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and add the other 1/2 of the onion. Fry for 1 minute. Pour in the cream, add salt and pepper to taste, and stir occasionally. Cook for 3 minutes. (If you used milk to dilute the cream, you might want to add a bit of flour or corn starch to make the sauce a bit thicker.)

Meanwhile, fill the al dente shells with the mushroom mix and place in an ovenproof dish. Pour the cream over the shells and sprinkle the Parmesan on top. Place the dish in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese turns golden brown. Serve with a few sprinkles of chopped parsley.

Serves 2 to 4

Pretzels on the Baking Steel

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12 oz warm water (110ish degrees)
1 T sugar
2 t salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
22 oz AP flour
2 oz butter
6 c water
1/2 c baking soda
pretzel salt (coarse sea salt will work as well)

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Combine water, sugar, salt in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to foam up for about 5 minutes.

3. Add melted butter and flour into mixer, and mix with dough hook for about 4 minutes. The dough will ball up and help clean the sides of the bowl for you, that’s a good sign.

4. Spray a mixing bowl and transfer the dough to that bowl, cover with plastic wrap and proof in a warm environment for up to an hour. You want to see the dough expand a little more than double.

*Chef’s Tip: Spray the top of the dough with pan spray too before wrapping in plastic wrap. This will help you when removing the dough from the bowl and not have any stick to the top.

5. Once your dough has proofed, get it onto a cutting board. At this time, you want to bring water and baking soda to a quick boil to dissolve and turn off. With a bench scraper or knife, portion the dough into 170g for pretzels, 85g for buns. Shape as you wish.

6. Dip your pretzels into the baking soda solution and let sit for about 10-15 seconds. (Traditionally, one would use lye to dip the pretzels in, but we don’t want to poison anyone here). Transfer soaked pretzels onto a baking steel with parchment paper and coat with pretzel salt.

7. Bake for approximately 12 minutes until golden brown and rest for about 3 minutes.

Grab your favorite mustard and dig in, you won’t be disappointed. These didn’t last very long in the test kitchen, believe me.  yields 6 medium pretzels/ 12 buns)

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown’s Good Eats

 

Seared Lima Beans with Roasted Pumpkin Seed, Damaris Phillips

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ZD0407H_Seared-Lima-Beans-with-Roasted-Pumpkin-Seeds_s4x3.jpg.rend.sni12col.landscape– 1/2 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
– 3 to 4 tablespoons coconut oil
– 16 ounces frozen large lima beans, thawed
– 5 small green onions, greens parts only, thinly sliced
– 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

– Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
– Kosher salt
– 3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Spread out the pepitas on a baking sheet; transfer to the oven and roast until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, tossing halfway through. Let cool to room temperature, then grind the pepitas in a food processor to a coarse-milled consistency.

3. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut oil and heat until very hot, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lima beans and sear on one side until light golden brown, 3 minutes. Add the green onions, parsley, roasted pepitas and the lemon zest. Stir, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and season with salt to taste.

4. Add the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired tanginess is reached. Serve right away or else the lima beans might never make it to the table!!!