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July 5, 2016

Poached Turnips

Turnips. No one gets excited about them. Whenever someone says they’re bringing turnips to the company potluck, no one shouts “AWESOME!”, and approximately zero spontaneous rounds of high-fives break out. Turnips just don’t elicit the kind of yearning that vegetables like potatoes do. Turnips don’t even grace pre-packaged vegetable platters like carrots and celery, nor are they used as ornamental garnishes in fancy salads like radishes. Poor turnips.

But why? Why is it neglected and so often overlooked? Turnips, after all, are packed with vitamins, are entirely edible from bulb to leafy greens, and may I say, they’re even a little bit sexy.

So shapely, oh myyyyy.

But most importantly, they are tasty. That is, as long as you stick with wee, tender little bebbeh turnips.
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AmyK

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May 31, 2016

Rice Salad with Fava Beans and Pistachios

I don’t know why, but I get Bon Appetit in my mail every month. I’m guessing it must have been some kind of promotion when I spent too much money at Williams-Sonoma, but it’s also possible that I subscribed late at night whilst tipsy, like how I woke up once after a night out to find that I had drunkenly signed up for Amazon Prime. I mean, out of all the things one could do while inebriated and on the internet, these things are certainly not the worst.

Also, it is very clear that I lead an incredibly exciting life. Be jealous.

Most of the time, none of the recipes in BA really interest me because I’m not cooking for 4+ people or willing to spend time and money on special harissa ground by nuns or whatever. But I came across a recipe for a wild rice salad in the summer 2014 issue, and it cried out: “Hey! Make me!”

AmyK

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May 26, 2016

Roasted Spring Onions

This isn’t so much a recipe as it is just basic instructions. But aren’t those the best “recipes”? When something is so easy to do that you can just rely on your own intuition to make something delicious? Even when your intuition sometimes leads to disastrous results, like when it was all “You should totally ask that guy out!” when in reality, no, you should have never asked that guy out, never.

Anyway.

I love spring onions. The first time I ever had them was at a friend’s lake house where her boyfriend threw some onto the grill and served them up wonderfully charred but otherwise unadorned. I still think about those from time to time (you also have fond food memories, don’t lie to yourself) — who knew that little onion bulbs could make such a big impression?

One of the vendors at the farmer’s market last weekend had a beautiful basket of spring onions, so of course I brought some home. I don’t have a grill, but figured roasting them along with some leftover carrots and potatoes would be just as good. And it is. Read more

AmyK

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May 10, 2016

“Pesto” Potato Salad

One of my standbys, especially when little baby potatoes are available by the bucketful, is this warm pesto-inspired potato salad. The little bitty potatoes and French (or green!) beans are briefly boiled, then rinsed into cold water to make sure they stay firm and wonderful instead of disintegrating into a mushy mess. Briefly boiled, so that when the temperature rises you don’t make things worse by running that stove for too long.

AmyK

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May 3, 2016

Pickled Jalapeños

I’m not a big fan of pickled things. That puckering sour, vinegar flavor isn’t one that I particularly enjoy, and I’ve been known to methodically extract all evidence of pickled carrots from my banh mis and run away from anyone who even tries to put relish on my hot dogs. Those monsters.

But there is one big exception to my pickle aversion: pickled peppers. I feel like the vinegar in pickled peppers helps make them a sweeter and the heat more tolerable, and pickled peppers sliced reeeeally thin make a great accent to rich, fatty foods (like the aforementioned hot dogs). In this case, I pickled some jalapenos just to use in my Texas-style kolaches.

Make these about a month out from when you’ll want to use them, though these have been sitting in my fridge for three months and are still plenty happy. Also, I usually throw in whatever fresh herbs I happen to have around, which means a sprig of rosemary here and some garlic chives there, though I’ve kept it out of the recipe for you. Just know that’s an option! I’ve also used white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar before and they still came out delicious.

AmyK

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March 9, 2016

Remy’s Ratatouille (aka Confit Byaldi)

What is the best movie Pixar has ever made?

If you answered with anything other than Ratatouille, you are wrong. Sorry, but it’s not my fault you have lived a life built on errors and lies all these years.

Busted.

I love movies about food, like Big Night, Romantics Anonymous, Chef, Haute Cuisine, and on and on. That said, there are also bad movies about food where it seems like everyone involved in the production of the film wouldn’t even be able to undertake the production of a ham sandwich. I’m looking at you, No Reservations. Shame on everyone involved in that sad-sack romcom.

But Ratatouille! This is an excellent food movie, and I love it more every time I watch it. It is far more charming than any story about an animated rat cooking in a professional kitchen has any right to be. It captures the joy of creating something, whether new or from someone else’s instructions, and sharing that creation with the people you love.

AmyK

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March 6, 2016

I’m Aliiiiiiive! And Some Focaccia, I Guess

I’ve had a cold all week, and have made and eaten so much chicken noodle soup that I’m pretty sure all of my blood has now been replaced with broth. Oy. After all of this, if one of my coworkers so much coughs within a 15 radius of me, they are definitely getting Lysol-ed in the face.

But finally, finally, I am on the mend. And the only thing I wanted after days of soup, soup, and more soup was a good piece of bread. I talked about the comfort of sandwich bread before, but this time I wanted something a little more interesting. Something to wake my mouth up from its chicken broth slumber. Something like focaccia!

I love focaccia. It’s fluffy and crusty, fairly simple to make (if a bit time-consuming with all the proofing and whatnot), and you can top it with all manner of delicious things. It also makes a decent “sandwich” bread if you slice it in half, but the fact that it’s soaked in olive oil will make eating that sandwich a messy experience. But I am shameless, so that never stops me, muahahahahahahaahahaha!!!!

AmyK

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February 25, 2016

Pao de Queijo (aka Brazilian Cheese Bread)

“Why do I have so much Parmesan cheese.”

I’m a serial Forgetter of What I Already Have, and Buyer of Things I Already Own when it comes to food items. I once ended up with multiple bottles of coriander seeds because I always forgot I already had it in my pantry, and then there was also the “Three Jars of Peanut Butter” incident. And now I found myself with six hunks of Parmesan cheese.

I love cheese, but six pieces of Parmesan is still a bit… excessive. I knew I had to cull my collection, especially before any of them tragically sprouted fuzzy mold. And after a quick rummage through my pantry rack yielded a bag of tapioca flour, I knew a nice batch of pao de queijo was in order.

Oops.

Pao de queijo is a snack-sized Brazilian cheese bread, which I first had at my (Brazilian) high-school boyfriend’s home. His mom bought them frozen and would pop a few into the oven several times a day so that there was always a supply of them on the kitchen island for snacking. Now fast forward several (okay, many) years later, and I found myself making them in a cooking class, and learning that these are insanely easy to whip up. And also a great way to use up surplus cheese, should you ever find yourself in the luxury of that situation.

These are bite-sized and chewy (thanks to the use of tapioca flour), and though it does use a good two cups of cheese, is actually pretty mild on the cheese taste — though that may depend on what kind of cheese you use. I’ve had the most success using hard cheeses like Parmesan, and I think Parm is the usual cheese of choice for these unless you can get your mitts on more traditionally Brazilian cheeses, though I also like to mix in a bit of Pecorino as well because I just like Pecorino, okay?

Everything comes together in a blender, making assembly and cleanup a breeze. More time for eating, I’d say.

AmyK

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February 2, 2016

Turkey Lettuce Cups

Like most of the American population, one of my goals for the new year is to make healthier eating decisions. You know, like maybe not eating a dozen cookies a night, as tragic as that sounds. But I also don’t want to hate being alive, so perhaps my new eating guidelines won’t be as strict as someone with more willpower, or who lost their tastebuds in a fire.

I don’t agree with extreme dieting, where you cut out all that is good and delicious from your life and replace it an endless parade of tedious salads and boiled chicken. I mean, what if I get hit by a bus? I don’t want to die at a moment when my most salacious fantasy is of eating a cheeseburger, you guys.

With that said, here is a healthier lunch option that doesn’t skimp on the flavor: tangy turkey lettuce cups. It’s white meat (lean protein!) and there’s plenty of vegetables involved to keep things colorful and crunchy. Also, it reheats nicely so you can pack it away for a not-so-boring desk lunch the next day.

AmyK

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September 14, 2015

Linguine with Chicken and Asparagus

I did a little decorating today, and I have to say that my kitchen prep station is much cheerier now for it. I’m sure you’ll recognize the quote, as it is also on the right side of this little blog. Ah, The Hobbit. How right you are.

I’ll be going on a little journey of my own this Thursday, though I do hope it is nowhere near as perilous as Bilbo’s trek to The Lonely Mountain, and that my own adventure will have 100% fewer giant spiders. I’m going to do the four-day hike from Cusco to Machu Picchu with a friend! I’m both excited and terrified, but you guys, I am going to hug so many llamas.

My friend Sara came over for dinner and to drop off Gregory, who will be accompanying me to Peru as my trusty sidekick.

Gregory.

I whipped this up for us, and it’s a pasta dish I’ve made many times before (though usually with shrimp). I did learn on this occasion, though, that not all jalapeños are created equal because whoooooooweeeee this one was spicier than any of the others I’ve ever used. So even though the recipe below says to use a whole jalapeño, it may be better to make sure your pepper doesn’t taste like the Fire of Mount Doom before tossing the entire thing in. Read more

AmyK

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