Throwback Thursday: Products to Make Eating Right a Bit Easier

This post originally appeared here on February 18, 2019.

-------------------------------------------------

Every year, millions of us go on diets, claiming to lose a few pounds, get fit, or transform our lives. But it's difficult to stick with bland diet programs and sheer hell to keep a gym schedule. (Me, I'm more into dancing than treadmills.) There's not a one of us who doesn't get what I call, "snacky," a condition that often leads to a diet downfall. The rest of the time, we might just have a hard time finding the right substitutions for products we can no longer eat on whatever plan we're on at the time.

Personally, I'd love a diet that consisted entirely of coffee, cheese, chocolate, and sugar. Ok, so that is my regular diet. But I can't lose weight that way. Whole30 does work for me, albeit slowly, and it really works for Mr Minx. The following food products are great for fellow Whole30 adherents; they're delicious too, which is the most important thing.

I discovered this product and the next while perusing the many delight-filled aisles at last year's Fancy Food Show in NY. First there's Tio Gazpacho. I must admit I’m a bit of a gazpachoholic and can eat it every day, but I’m not into washing the blender on a daily basis. Enter Tio, a bottled chilled soup that owes its deliciousness to chef and humanitarian José Andrés, who crafted each flavor. Tio Gazpacho is made from real ingredients like carrots, tomatoes, sherry vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil, and is certified organic, non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free, plus four of the five flavors are Whole30 approved. I love that I can tuck a bottle into my lunch bag and enjoy my fave soup every day.

In another aisle, as I was attempting to shovel a sample of chamomile tea-flavored ice cream into my mouth, I was interrupted by a group of French guys hawking mayonnaise made with microalgae. It’s hard to find non-soy (soy being a no-no on Whole30) mayo that tastes good. I’ve tried the ones with avocado oil and nuh-uh, they don’t work for me; let’s say I was skeptical about the algae stuff. But after a few spoonfuls, I was convinced. I swear it tastes like homemade mayo, yet it contains no eggs. No eggs means less fat, but that also makes it vegan. Who knew lowly microalgae could be transformed into something that doesn’t taste like, well, algae? The Good Spoon Mayonnaise comes in classic, curry, garlic & herbs, and smoky spicy flavors, all great in everything from potato salad to a turkey sandwich.

A Whole30-friendly product I found on my own is Nutpods. There are squillions of non-dairy milks out there, but dairy-free creamers that aren’t full of sugar are as rare as hen’s teeth. You might think: why not just use plain unsweetened almond milk? Have you tried doing that? It takes far more “milk” to adequately lighten a cup of coffee or tea to the same degree as a few teaspoons of cow-based half-and-half. All that liquid also makes hot coffee cold. That’s why I was excited to find Nutpods. Made from coconut and almonds, it only takes a tablespoon or so to make my coffee as light as I like. It also comes in flavors, all of which are unsweetened. Vanilla is tasty year ‘round, but the holiday season will bring Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint Mocha, too.

Last but not least are two snack bars that we use as meal replacements, though that's not quite in the "spirit of the diet." But when I am trying to lose a pound or ten and embark on some new eating plan that requires me to give up my three favorite food groups (sugar, grains, and dairy), I find breakfast and lunch a bit hard to deal with. I can’t have oatmeal or cereal, but I can have eggs if I don’t eat toast. Doughnuts or bagels are verboten. What I find myself relying on, especially during the work week, are RX Bars and Larabars. They’re both made with fruit and nuts, with natural sweetness provided by dates. RX Bars have a chewier texture, thanks to the addition of egg whites, while Larabars are softer. Each has 200-ish calories, which is plenty to keep me going for a few hours. I think they taste great, and eat one for either breakfast or lunch most days.

Anything that doesn't break the rules and keeps me sane are good things, right?

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com. 

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spicy Saucy Goodness

I put this on everything. You should too. It's based on a recipe from Chef Annmarie Langton, formerly of The Queen Truckstaurant. She used her version on her crab cake tacos, so it was made it in a larger quantity than one might need at home. I fiddled around with the recipe and came up with one I can make in varying amounts with ingredients in my pantry, and I make it to taste according to what I plan to serve it with. 

Spicy Saucy Goodness

Perhaps you find recipes without exact amounts annoying, but that's mostly how I cook. Sorry (not sorry).

A few tablespoons of your favorite mayonnaise (I like Duke's), sour cream, Greek yogurt, or a combination of all of them

Smoked paprika

Chipotle chile powder

Garlic powder

Real maple syrup 

Lime juice

Kosher salt

Glop some mayo in a bowl. Let's say you use the equivalent of 1/4 cup. To that, add about 1/4 teaspoon each of the smoked pap and the chipotle powder. Stir it in well. Dip your pinky in the mix and taste. Is it smoky? is it spicy? If yes, you're good. If no, then add a bit more of each and stir again. Add a pinch of garlic powder and stir it in. Now add about 1/2 teaspoon of the maple syrup. Please don't use pancake syrup. Add a big squeeze of lime juice. Stir the sauce again and taste again. Is it sweet? is it tangy?  If yes, you're good. If no, then add a bit more of each and stir again. Yeah, you get it. You might need to add more spice or smoke once you have the acid and sweetness in there. Does the sauce taste pretty good but still seem to be missing something? Time to add a pinch of salt. Stir it in well, wait a few beats for the salt to dissolve, and taste again. Keep doing all of the above until you get a sauce that tastes good to your palate. If all the various powders are starting to make your sauce seem too thick, then add a dribble of water. If you feel like you've gone way too far with the seasonings, add a little more mayo. 

Dollop on crab cakes, tacos, crab cake tacos, burgers, roasted vegetables, etc. or use as a dip for french fries or crudités.

Wait - stop the presses! 

I was about to hit "publish" on this post, but I discovered a shortcut to spicy mayo deliciousness (as if it wasn't already easy) and wanted to share it. Around Thanksgiving time, I bought several jars of jams from Blake Hill Preserves. (Though they didn't want to send me the samples I requested during Fancy Food Show time, I'm not bitter. But I never forget.) Anyhoo, their savory jams sounded interesting and I thought they'd be a good addition to the large scale cheese board that was to be our Thanksgiving dinner. I have also found them valuable for use in recipes that need a little zhuzhing up. A few teaspoons or so add a subtle sweetness and a punch of flavor--Blake Hill Roasted Garlic Savory Jam is especially useful in this regard. 

So, back to the sauce. 

Instead of using the smoked pap, chipotle powder, garlic powder, and maple syrup, I found that using a teaspoon-ish of both the chipotle & maple and fresh tomato jams in a quarter cup of mayo/yogurt/sour cream does the trick nicely. You may still need to add a pinch of lime juice and salt. Last time I made this, to have on tacos, Mr Minx requested that we save the last tablespoon of unused sauce so he could put it on his lunch sandwiches. Yeah, it's good.

Give it a try. If you do, please let me know in a comment.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Avocado Oil Mayonnaise #sponsored

Mr Minx and I have been on the Whole30 diet off and on for a couple of years. While it's fairly strict about the carbohydrates allowed, it's much more generous with fats. Mayonnaise is not an enemy--except if it's made with soybean oil. Soy products are verboten on the diet.

It's fairly difficult to find a commercial mayo not made with soybean oil. We've tried a couple of fancy ones procured at Whole Foods, but didn't enjoy them. One was made with avocado oil, and it was pretty awful. So when Better Body Foods asked me if they could send me some of their Avocado Oil Mayo to try, I almost said no. I am glad I didn't! Their mayo, made with 100% avocado oil, tastes like the best commercial mayonnaises on the market, without the funky flavor of other brands we've tried.

When asked to create a recipe for Avocado Oil Mayo, I could think of no better way to use it than as an accompaniment to steamed artichokes. Mayo with a bit of lemon juice makes a perfect dipper for a vegetable that we don't eat nearly often enough. Of course the mayo is also great in things like chicken salad, as a sandwich spread, in deviled eggs, etc.

Better Body Foods Avocado Oil Mayo comes in three flavors, chipotle lime, lime, and original, and can be purchased at Amazon.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Products to Make Eating Right a Bit Easier

Every year, millions of us go on diets, claiming to lose a few pounds, get fit, or transform our lives. But it's difficult to stick with bland diet programs and sheer hell to keep a gym schedule. (Me, I'm more into dancing than treadmills.) There's not a one of us who doesn't get what I call, "snacky," a condition that often leads to a diet downfall. The rest of the time, we might just have a hard time finding the right substitutions for products we can no longer eat on whatever plan we're on at the time.

Personally, I'd love a diet that consisted entirely of coffee, cheese, chocolate, and sugar. Ok, so that is my regular diet. But I can't lose weight that way. Whole30 does work for me, albeit slowly, and it really works for Mr Minx. The following food products are great for fellow Whole30 adherents; they're delicious too, which is the most important thing.

I discovered this product and the next while perusing the many delight-filled aisles at last year's Fancy Food Show in NY. First there's Tio Gazpacho. I must admit I’m a bit of a gazpachoholic and can eat it every day, but I’m not into washing the blender on a daily basis. Enter Tio, a bottled chilled soup that owes its deliciousness to chef and humanitarian José Andrés, who crafted each flavor. Tio Gazpacho is made from real ingredients like carrots, tomatoes, sherry vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil, and is certified organic, non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free, plus four of the five flavors are Whole30 approved. I love that I can tuck a bottle into my lunch bag and enjoy my fave soup every day.

In another aisle, as I was attempting to shovel a sample of chamomile tea-flavored ice cream into my mouth, I was interrupted by a group of French guys hawking mayonnaise made with microalgae. It’s hard to find non-soy (soy being a no-no on Whole30) mayo that tastes good. I’ve tried the ones with avocado oil and nuh-uh, they don’t work for me; let’s say I was skeptical about the algae stuff. But after a few spoonfuls, I was convinced. I swear it tastes like homemade mayo, yet it contains no eggs. No eggs means less fat, but that also makes it vegan. Who knew lowly microalgae could be transformed into something that doesn’t taste like, well, algae? The Good Spoon Mayonnaise comes in classic, curry, garlic & herbs, and smoky spicy flavors, all great in everything from potato salad to a turkey sandwich.

A Whole30-friendly product I found on my own is Nutpods. There are squillions of non-dairy milks out there, but dairy-free creamers that aren’t full of sugar are as rare as hen’s teeth. You might think: why not just use plain unsweetened almond milk? Have you tried doing that? It takes far more “milk” to adequately lighten a cup of coffee or tea to the same degree as a few teaspoons of cow-based half-and-half. All that liquid also makes hot coffee cold. That’s why I was excited to find Nutpods. Made from coconut and almonds, it only takes a tablespoon or so to make my coffee as light as I like. It also comes in flavors, all of which are unsweetened. Vanilla is tasty year ‘round, but the holiday season will bring Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint Mocha, too.

Last but not least are two snack bars that we use as meal replacements, though that's not quite in the "spirit of the diet." But when I am trying to lose a pound or ten and embark on some new eating plan that requires me to give up my three favorite food groups (sugar, grains, and dairy), I find breakfast and lunch a bit hard to deal with. I can’t have oatmeal or cereal, but I can have eggs if I don’t eat toast. Doughnuts or bagels are verboten. What I find myself relying on, especially during the work week, are RX Bars and Larabars. They’re both made with fruit and nuts, with natural sweetness provided by dates. RX Bars have a chewier texture, thanks to the addition of egg whites, while Larabars are softer. Each has 200-ish calories, which is plenty to keep me going for a few hours. I think they taste great, and eat one for either breakfast or lunch most days.

Anything that doesn't break the rules and keeps me sane are good things, right?

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com. 

Veggie Pancakes with Asian Flavors

A while back, I found myself with a bunch of vegetables--a fennel bulb, a bag of broccoli slaw, sugar snap peas, lots of green onions, roasted tomatoes--and not a lot of ideas. Well, there were ideas, but nothing particularly cohesive. Because we had eaten a bunch of meat recently, I wanted to make a primarily vegetarian meal. But what to do with that motley crew of produce? The tomatoes were really throwing me off, so I decided they could wait for another meal. The rest I would use in vegetable fritters.

There was also a bunch of Thai basil in our container garden. The plant was going a bit wild and needed serious trimming, so basil became part of the meal plan. And as I had just opened a new jar of pad kapao sauce, some of that would go in, too. I really love that stuff. It's spicy, aromatic, basil-y, and garlick-y, and it's good on just about everything. Mix it with mayonnaise and put it on a turkey burger. Put it in the turkey burger, too. Mix it with softened cream cheese and spread it on a bagel. Yes, for breakfast. (Hey, "everything" bagels have garlic and onion on them, so why not?) Mix it with softened butter and stuff it under the skin of a chicken before roasting. Put a tablespoon of it in plain tomato soup to eat with that grilled cheese sandwich. Pad kapao sauce is my sriracha. I've gotten my brother hooked on it, too, and the last time we hit an Asian supermarket together, we each bought several jars.

Eventually, I ditched the fritter idea and went with okonomiyaki-style pancakes. Okonomiyaki uses dashi, which isn't vegetarian, but you can certainly substitute some veg stock or just plain water in the batter. Me, I like the vague fishy flavor of the dashi.

Okonomiyaki are commonly served with Kewpie mayonnaise and unsweetened pickled ginger. Instead, I added some of my favorite chilli basil paste to a little Duke's mayo.

Veggie Pancake with Asian Flavors

For pancakes:
1 cup water
2 teaspoons dashi powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon Maesri Thai chilli paste with basil leaves(pad kapao)
1 bunch scallions, chopped
3-4 cups mixed raw vegetables (I used sliced sugar snap peas, fennel, okra (because we had only 3 pods), and broccoli slaw mix)
1/4 cup roughly chopped Thai basil

For sauce:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Maesri Thai basil and chilli sauce

Put the dashi powder and water in a microwave safe bowl. Heat long enough to warm the water and dissolve the dashi, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Let cool.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the cooled dashi to the flour mixture, stirring to make a batter. Add the eggs and chilli sauce. Cover and refrigerate batter for at least an hour and up to three hours.

After the batter has rested, add the scallions, vegetables, and basil to the batter; it will be very thick.

Add a tablespoon of canola oil to an 12" nonstick frying pan and heat until it shimmers. Make 3 approximately 5" pancakes with the vegetable batter. Cook until bottoms are golden brown. Flip with a spatula and cook other side until brown. Remove pancakes to a paper towel-lined plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat until all batter is used.

Make a sauce with the mayo and chilli sauce. Serve with the pancakes.

Makes 9 pancakes.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Green Machine

Here's a delicious vegetarian sandwich for you: fried green tomatoes, basil and dill pesto, lemon chive mayonnaise, and avocado on a ciabatta roll. Better than a burger (seriously)!

The tomatoes, basil, dill, and chives came from our garden. Alas, we do not have an avocado tree!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Breakfast Banh Mi

Most weekend mornings, I try to be the first to ask the all-important question, "what do you want for breakfast," because I usually don't want to think about it. Mr Minx doesn't want to think about it, either; his most common response is "oatmeal." But this time, he asked first and I had an answer for him. And no, it wasn't "oatmeal."

I wanted a breakfast banh mi.

We had a partial loaf of French bread, a big bunch of fresh cilantro, cucumbers and carrots. A little marinating here, a little egg-frying there, and voila - a superbly flavorful brekkie.

Breakfast Banh Mi

4 teaspoons mayonnaise (Kewpie, preferably)
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, or to taste
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon agave syrup or 1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar
pinch salt
1 3" length of carrot, cut into strips
1 3" chunk of cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, cut into strips
4 large eggs
2 6" long pieces of crusty baguette, sliced lengthwise
cilantro

In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, fish sauce, and Sriracha. Set aside.

In another bowl, dissolve the sugar or agave syrup in the vinegar. Stir in the salt and add the carrot and cucumber strips. Stir to coat vegetables and set aside.

Cook the eggs to your liking. Over-medium works well - yolks are mostly but not completely set.

Smear the mayo mixture on the inside of the baguettes. Top with two eggs per sandwich, folding the whites to get them to fit. Add slices of cucumber and carrot and a small handful of cilantro.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Lobster Rolls

Lobster rolls are uber popular in New England, where lobster is cheap and plentiful. They're sortakinda becoming a thing way down here in Baltimore, too, where even food trucks like The Silver Platter have been serving up a traditional version. And then there's GrrChe, where the classic becomes a grilled cheese sandwich in such heretical combinations as lobster and mac & cheese or lobster and Monterey jack.

The way I understand it, there are two basic schools of thought as far as lobster rolls are concerned: the salad is either mayo-based, or butter-sauced. A buttered and toasted top-split hot dog roll is the usual carrier for either version, which may or may not also include lettuce. I say as long as there's freshly steamed Maine lobster inside, it's all good.

Lobster Rolls

2 1.5 lb Maine lobsters, steamed
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons good-quality mayonnaise (Hellman's, Duke's, or Kewpie)
squeeze lemon juice
salt and pepper
4 hot dog buns

Remove the meat from the tails, claws, and knuckles and chop coarsely. Blot the meat with paper towels or drain for a few minutes in a strainer; steamed lobsters are often quite juicy, which will dilute the sauce. Toss with celery and mayo. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Toast the hot dog buns both inside and out and glaze with a thin layer of butter. Pile in the lobster salad. Serve with potato chips.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Esquites

Do you ever get something stuck in your head that you just can't shake? I don't mean crappy pop music or commercial jingles (which, these days, can be one and the same) but stuff that your brain MUST HAVE NOW. The other day I skimmed something about esquites, a Mexican street food made with corn, and got the word stuck in my head. Only I pronounced it "ess-KWEETs" because I had never heard it pronounced. I just looked it up and it's es-KEY-tez. You're welcome.

It's corn season, at least in parts of the country not hit by drought, so after picking up a couple four ears of bi-color corn at the grocery store, I decided it was time to make some es-key-tez. Except, while I had the corn, I didn't have the cotija cheese, epazote, or crema to make an authentic esquites. So I improvised with some non-italicized ingredients. I'd seen recipes that called for mayo, which I did have, and for chile powder and lime juice, which I also had. As for the cheesy bits, what doesn't taste good with Parmesan and Cheddar? (Chocolate cake, that's what.)

Fake it 'til you make it should be my motto.

And what do you know? My bastardization tasted pretty freakin' fantastic. While it was good on its own, it was even better as a filling for veggie tacos with leftover black bean hummus. Wow.

Minxquites

4 ears corn, cooked to your liking, kernels removed
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chile powder
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped scallions

Mix everything together (except the cobs, natch) in a bowl. Serve warm.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

A Foodie Pet Peeve

It really drives me nuts to hear so many professional cooks calling variously flavored mayonnaises "aioli." Aioli is not just a fancy French word for mayonnaise (the fancy French word for mayonnaise is...wait for it...mayonnaise), but rather a sauce unto itself, made with garlic.

I'm not just being bitchy. The "ai" part of the word comes from the French word for garlic, ail. So if your sauce doesn't contain garlic, it's not an aioli. For instance, mayo with chipotle (please note the proper placement of the "l" and the "t" in that word) or blood orange or saffron is not chipotle aioli or blood orange aioli or Saffron aioli - it's a variously flavored mayonnaise.

To make things more confusing...aioli is also a mayonnaise. A garlic mayonnaise. If you start out making a nice garlic mayonnaise (with real, fresh garlic, not garlic powder) and flavor it with chipotle or saffron, then - and only then - is it a chipotle aioli.

Here's a nice simple recipe for aioli. Notice that it has garlic in it. Because it is an aioli.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Tacos with Korean Flavors

The third of three recipe contests that I entered (and did not win) this past September involved creating a family supper that could be prepared in 30 minutes or less, not including marinating time, using one Newman's Own pasta sauce, salsa, or salad dressing product. I chose to make a Korean-style taco with low fat Sesame Ginger Dressing.

Yes, I said "Korean taco." Apparently this SoCal treat is making its way East, according to the NY Times, and honestly, I don't see any problems with putting Asian flavors in a tortilla. Why the hell not? And I'm here to say that they taste terrific, even if one uses bottled salad dressing as a marinade. <g>

I included directions for soft corn tortillas, but you can use flour if you prefer.

Tacos with Korean Flavors

Steak:
1.5 lb flank steak
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 cup Newman's Own Lighten Up Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing
½ cup Newman's Own Lighten Up Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

Cabbage salad:
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Salt to taste

Sesame Drizzle:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Newman's Own Lighten Up Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

12 Taco-sized soft corn tortillas
Shredded cheese – cheddar, taco blend, mozzarella are all good

Place meat, garlic, and 1 cup of dressing into a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag and marinate overnight until ready to use.

Preheat broiler. Place flank steak on a foil covered, rimmed sheet pan. Cook 3" away from heat source for about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove steak to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Place any juices that came out of the steak while cooking into a large bowl.

While meat is cooking, prepare Cabbage Salad and Sesame Drizzle.

Cabbage salad:
Place cabbage in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine rice wine vinegar, sugar, lime juice and pepper flakes. Pour over cabbage. Toss and set aside.

Sesame Drizzle:
Combine mayonnaise, salad dressing, and sesame oil in a small bowl. The consistency should be drizzle-able. If not, thin it with a bit more dressing.

After meat has rested, cut it on the diagonal into thin slices. Place sliced meat into bowl of cooking juices; add remaining 1/2 cup of dressing.

To serve:

Toast tortillas by using tongs to place them directly over a gas flame for about 30 seconds per side until toasty-smelling and flexible. As they are toasted, stack them on a plate and keep warm with a piece of aluminum foil. It’s best to toast only 4 or so at a time so they don’t get hard.

On each tortilla, place a tablespoonful or so of cabbage, 2 or 3 strips of meat, a sprinkling of cheese. Drizzle on a teaspoonful of sesame sauce. Feel free to add any other of your favorite taco accompaniments - guacamole, salsa, sour cream.

Makes 12 tacos.

Gochujang Burgers

In September, I entered three recipe contests...and I didn't win three recipe contests. One was the Breyer's sundae thing, and another was a burger contest sponsored by Annie Chun's Go-Chu-Jang sauce. The grand prize was a trip to Korea, and while I've always wanted to visit Asia, Korea might not be my first choice. So no harm done.

So here's my losing recipe. It was absolutely delicious; the judges don't know what they're missing. And...I couldn't find that damn Annie Chun brand in my supermarket, so I used real Korean gochujang that I purchased from H Mart.

Korean-style Pork Burgers with Sweet and Sour Cabbage Salad

Burgers:
1.5 lb ground pork
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tablespoons gochujang sauce

Salad:
2 cups green cabbage, cut into 1/2" - 1" pieces
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons gochujang sauce
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons chopped scallions

Sesame Mayo:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced scallions
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Hamburger buns

Combine pork, garlic and gochujang. Form into 6 patties. Refrigerate an hour or until ready to serve.

Make salad:
Place cabbage in a colander set over a bowl. Toss with salt and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. Rinse cabbage well and place into a large bowl. Add gochujang, sesame oil, sugar, lime juice, and scallions and toss well. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Make mayo:
Combine mayo, scallions, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook burgers:
Pan fry or grill about 4 minutes per side until cooked through.

To assemble:
On bottom half of hamburger bun, place a tablespoon or so of cabbage salad. Top with burger, then top with a tablespoon of mayo, and top half of bun.

Flashback Friday 7.9.10

This post is from February 23, 2007.
--------------------------------------
Pantry Raid

I believe in a well-stocked pantry, full of both staples and exotic items. And I consider my refrigerator, freezer, and spice rack to be part of the "pantry" as well. With a wide assortment of ingredients on hand, it's easy to put tasty and interesting meals together.

Some people consider Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to be a staple, along with canned corn and boxes of Lean Cuisine. I suppose that's fine for people who neither like to cook or to eat, but I'm not a fan of either. I do not advocate the lazy, "semi-homemade" style of mealmaking, using canned cream soups, canned chicken meat, artifical whipped topping, and instant rice. It's not difficult or time-consuming to make a proper bechamel, or to make a cream soup using actual cream. However, I am not above utilizing the convenience of rotisserie chickens, canned Thai red curry paste, and refrigerated tortillas rather than taking the far more-involved effort to make them at home.

I have a small galley kitchen with little storage space. When we moved in, there was no pantry to speak of. We bought a pine cabinet, about 6' high, 3' wide, and 15" deep, a perfect fit for the wall in our kitchen between the basement door and a cut-in corner, and use that for our dry goods. The shelves are always bulging with ingredients: boxes of tea; bottles of sauces; dried grains, fruits and nuts; boxes of stock; an assortment of curry pastes, coconut milk, and chutneys; bottles of various oils and vinegars. We fill it through trips to the local supermarket, plus visits to Asian markets and gourmet shops. On any given night, we can whip up some home-made soup, a nice pasta dish, or something more exotic, with what we have on hand.

Here are items I consider some of the most indespensible for my pantry.

Oil
This is pretty much a given, no? We always have a big bottle of extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings and to drizzle over pasta, but there's also a bottle of light olive oil for cooking. For instances when we want something less-flavorful with a higher smoke point, we also keep a small bottle of something neutral, like canola, on hand. Once in a while we buy a flavored oil and particularly like Golden Whisk Star of Siam Thai oil, deeply flavored with chiles and lemongrass. Truffle oil is nice to have around as well, but it goes rancid faster than we can use it.

Tomato Paste
My mom always bought Contadina brand, but I've found most brands to be uniformly good. I just make sure to buy plain tomato paste, not one flavored with garlic or basil or other herbs as the added elements tend to be bitter and somewhat overwhelming. Less versatile as well. Tomato paste can be put to work in sauces, marinades, dressings, and soups, and works as both a flavor agent and thickener.

Vinegar
I like to keep several different types of vinegar on hand. Not only are they good for making salad dressing, they are flavor enhancers for a wide variety of foods.

A splash of Balsamic vinegar can be added to a pasta sauce to brighten the taste. For instance, my friend Kate and I made an eggplant sauce from a cookbook by a certain un-favorite tv personality of mine. It was, of course, quite tasteless, but with a generous splash of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar, the sauce became a Sicilian-style sweet and sour delight. "Yum-O" indeed.

In addition to the balsamic, I also like to have a bottle of rice wine vinegar around; it's an essential ingredient in dipping sauces and Asian noodle dishes and gets used more often than balsamic. There are also funky fancy vinegars in my pantry right now, including Golden Whisk Smoky Lapsang Souchang and Earl Grey tea vinegars, tomato vinegar, Chinese black vinegar, sherry vinegar, honey vinegar, strawberry vinegar, plus good old white and apple cider vinegars.

Peanut Butter
Hey, we like Jif, but it's ok if you would prefer to keep some natural style peanut butter in your pantry. Personally, I don't like having to stir in the oil, the gummy texture, or the fact that it gets rancid after a time. Give me chemicals, sugar, and stabilizers! Jif has good peanut flavor and its smooth texture blends well in sauces. Not only do we enjoy a schmear of it on toast in the morning, we also use it for Asian noodle dishes and for peanut soup. (Yes, I said Peanut Soup.)

Chocolate
Essential for baking (and for chocoholics), chocolate and cocoa products have a prized spot in my pantry. The Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa pictured makes some mighty fine brownies, and terrific hot cocoa. We also have regular cocoa, unsweetened baking chocolate, and semisweet chips on hand.

Lest you think chocolate and cocoa is only for sweet stuff, I also like to use it to deepen the flavors of a pot of chili, in mole sauce, and the occasional fresh salsa.

Mayonnaise
You can't make a good curried chicken salad without mayonnaise, nor a proper BLT. It's also important for dips and creamy salad dressings. Most people swear by Hellman's or Best Foods brand (although I've read that they're reformulating), but my favorite is Kewpie mayo from Japan. It's got a slightly thinner texture than jarred mayonnaise, but has a richer flavor closer to homemade than the usual commercial stuff.

Pasta
My husband is a pastaholic, so it's imperative that we have several varieties of this dried starch on hand. His specialty is spaghetti and meatballs, but sometimes he'll whip up something he calls Pasta Verde, a broccoli-based sauce recipe found printed on a pasta box some years back. Of course we make our macaroni-and-cheese from scratch, and once in a while, I like to make an as-yet-unnamed dish of pasta tossed with Mexican chorizo, sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, onions, and chicken.

Of course, there's plenty more in the pantry than the above items. And lets not forget the variety of meats in the freezer (as of today: a leg of lamb; pork tenderloins; boneless and skinless chicken thighs; salmon, sole, and halibut filets; and a bag of raw shrimp) and the selection of condiments in the fridge (Sriracha, Dijon mustard, pickle relish, Chinese bbq sauce, black bean sauce, mango chutney, brinjal pickle).

So what's for dinner tonight? I know we have a big slab of leftover flank steak, so my DH is going to make a homemade red sauce with canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and lots of fresh garlic, toss in the meat, and serve it over pasta. A green salad with a bit of vinaigrette (I put a half teaspoon of Dijon mustard into a custard cup with a squeeze of clover honey, a pinch of salt, a glug or two of Earl Grey tea vinegar, and a splash of olive oil--contrary to popular belief, a dressing doesn't need to have a larger proportion of oil to vinegar to taste good--and some freshly ground pepper, and mix vigorously with a fork) will make a nice accompaniment.

What's in your pantry?

Chicken Bacon Banh Mi

Before I settled on the BLT Banh Mi for the Bacon Cook-off, I toyed with a bacon-wrapped chicken version. While it was very good, I thought that the bacon wasn't shown off to its fullest potential. In case you're curious, here's that recipe.

Chicken Bacon Banh Mi

2 chicken thighs, each cut lengthwise in half
2 strips of bacon, cut in half
Vietnamese-style glaze (recipe follows)
1/2 cup cucumber, seeded and cut into 2" spears, about 14" thick
Pickled vegetables (recipe follows)
Spicy mayo (recipe follows)
2 8" baguettes, sliced horizontally (but not all the way through)
handful of cilantro, tough stems removed

Wrap each chunk of chicken with a half slice of bacon. Place in saute pan over high heat, cover and cook, turning frequently, until bacon is cooked and chicken is browned, about 15 minutes. Lower heat to medium and blot out any excess bacon fat with a paper towel. Pour in Vietnamese-style glaze and allow to come to a boil. Reduce temperature to low and cook for an additional 10 minutes, turning chicken frequently to glaze.

Marinated Vegetables

5 radishes, sliced
5 baby carrots, cut into eighths, lengthwise
pinch salt
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 T agave nectar

Combine all ingredients and allow to sit at room temperature for half an hour.

Vietnamese-style Glaze

2 T brown sugar
1 T fish sauce
1 T soy
1 T water
1 t grated lemongrass
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine all ingredients and put aside until ready to use.

Spicy Mayonnaise

1 t Sriracha
2 T mayonnaise
1 t chopped scallions

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble sandwiches:

Spread half of mayo on baguette. Top with two pieces of glazed bacon-wrapped chicken, half of the pickled veg (drained), half of the cucumber, and a large spring of cilantro. Enjoy.

Make two generous sandwiches.

Sliders

To continue with today's theme of miniaturized food, this post is about wee burgers, aka "sliders." Popularized by White Castle in the 1920s, this pint-sized version of the hamburger is found on menus in many restaurants these days.

Mr Minx had just made a batch of pesto from our rampantly growing spicy globe basil plant and cashews and thought it would be good on a burger.

Indeed it was, particularly with some sautéed mushrooms and onions and a dollop of whole grain honey mustard mayonnaise. C'mon - you don't need a recipe for that, do you?

Honey Mustard Mayo

1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon honey
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

Mix together. Eat.

Product of the Week - Kewpie Mayo

One of my favorite products comes in a soft plastic squeeze bottle adorned with an image of a Kewpie doll. Kewpie Mayonnaise is a Japanese version of the ubiquitous condiment Americans use in everything from salads to sandwiches. Unlike the flabby white American mayo that tastes mostly of fat and not much else, Kewpie is a bit more golden in color, thinner in texture, and full of umami. To my palate, it tastes more like homemade mayonnaise, with an obvious eggy flavor and maybe a bit of olive oil.

Unless I'm cooking for a large group (for example, an office party) at which time I'll use an inexpensive American brand, Kewpie is the only mayonnaise that lives in Casa Minx. It's a perfect sandwich spread on its own, but the addition of a few other simple ingredients can transform it into a delicious sauce, salad dressing, or dip. I like to mix a couple squirts of mayo with some gochujang (Korean bean paste) and a bit of Sriracha for a perfect hamburger spread. Of course it also works well with chicken or tuna salad, and makes very flavorful egg salad and deviled eggs.

The biggest problem with Kewpie mayo seems to be its availability. Giant Food near me carried it for a brief time, as did Asia Foods on York Road. Wegman's has a large International foods section but no Kewpie. We usually have to make a field trip to H Mart and then we buy several bottles at a time. If you don't have an Asian grocery store near you, Kewpie mayo is available at Amazon.com.

Rhubarb

So my friend Dave sends me an e-mail with rhubarb recipes a couple of weeks back. I figure he had a batch of it in his CSA basket, but no, he just wanted to share. One recipe was for a sweet pudding dish, but two were of the savory variety. I thought the Rhubarb salsa verde sounded interesting. And I had capers and cornichons on hand already. Plus, one stand at the farmer's market at UMB had scallions, green garlic, and rhubarb, so it seemed I was fated to make the stuff.

I prepped the salsa one evening after work. I used more rhubarb and less onion/garlic than called for (actually, I reduced the whole recipe significantly); the result was decidedly not green. More barf-colored, actually. And the flavor, after cooking, was sour, sour, and more sour. Oh, and a little salty. I added some honey to cut the sour and set the batch to cool in the fridge, where it remained for a few days.

One evening, Mr Minx whipped up some flank steak, mashed potatoes,and sauteed Brussels sprouts to go with the salsa verde/rosa.

I know...the salsa looks grotesque.

After hanging around in the fridge for a few days, the salsa tasted far less salty and more fruity than it did immediately post-cooking. It actually did nothing for the meat, sad to say.

A few days later, we had the leftover flank steak in sandwiches, for which I made a rhubarb salsa mayo. Now, that worked. The tart/creamy thing went nicely with the garlicky meat. I dare say it would make an interesting addition to chicken salad, as well.

Green Garlic and Rhubarb Salsa Verde

2 bunches green garlic or scallions (white parts only), finely chopped
4 ribs freshly picked rhubarb, greens removed, finely chopped
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons roughly chopped capers (with about 1/4 teaspoon liquid)
1/2 cup roughly chopped cornichons (with about 1 teaspoon juice)
1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, cook garlic and rhubarb in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Raise the heat and add capers and liquid, cornichons and juice, parsley, onion, and lemon juice, scraping the pan to release any browned bits. Add stock and simmer about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Rhubarb Salsa "Verde" Mayo

Add a couple of spoons of salsa to a couple of spoons of mayo. Stir. Slather on something. Eat.