sarrose.food.

on this particular day i was craving onion rings…but wanted to steer away from the deep fried, oily ones. so when looking for recipes, i wanted something that looked like it would give the dish a little flavor and a little crunch.

if you want to make this dish, make sure you give yourself a little time because you have to soak the rings in butter milk for at least an hour.

the directions instruct you to dip the rings in the batter. during this process, i found the buttermilk to moisten the crumbs, which kept the crumbs from sticking to the onion rings. because of this, i made a second bowl of crumbs and found it easier to sprinkle the crumbs onto the onion rings. 

recipe.

this recipe (also found in 1,000 jewish recipes) goes hand in hand with the roasted pepper sauce with tomatoes and garlic. it calls for chicken pieces, but i substituted it for boneless/skinless chicken breast. i loved this recipe so much because there a lot of cook time involved in making the chicken (especially white meat), which contributed to its juicy and flakey texture.

the original recipe calls for onions, but i was also craving onion rings on this night, so i left them out. the chicken takes patience, so don’t make this dinner on a night when you just want to whip something together…not going to happen.  but after a long afternoon in the kitchen, this meal was definitely worth it.

recipe

• roasted red pepper sauce with tomatoes and garlic
• 2-2 1/2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breast
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• sat and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3/4 cup water
• fresh cilantro sprigs

1. prepare pepper sauce. heat oil in a heavy stew pan or dutch oven. add garlic and cilantro and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, 5 minutes. add chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. cover and cook 3 minutes. pour water into side of pan, not over chicken, and bring to a boil. cover and simmer over low heat, turning pieces over occasionally, 20 minutes, or until just tender. transfer chicken pieces with tongs to a plate. boil garlic/cilantro mixture uncovered until thickened and liquid is reduced about 1/2 cup.

2. return chicken to stew pan and add pepper sauce. cover and cook over low heat, turning pieces occasionally, 20-30 minutes, or until chicken is tender. adjust seasoning. serve hot or cold, garnished with cilantro.

both my roommate and i are used to sephardic flavors that our moms’ would cook for us growing up. since there was a large lapse in time since the last time i cooked, i wanted to make something reminiscent of a “mom” cooked meal. in order to do this, i went straight for 1,000 jewish recipes that my mom had given me as a gift for school.

the sauce is as good as it looks. the colors of the vegetables are so nice to look at, which makes it a pleasure to cook. i don’t have a bbq in my apartment, but there are other ways around grilling the peppers. i used a cast iron grill and used the broil function in my oven, which happened to work perfectly.

recipe

• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 (28 oz) can tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 3 large close garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• salt, to taste
• pinch of cayenne pepper

1. preheat broiler. broil green and red bell peppers, turning every 5 minutes, until their skins are blistered and charred, a total of about 20 minutes. broil jalapeño peppers, turning often, about 5 minutes. transfer peppers to bowl and cover; or put in a plastic bag and close bag. let stand for 10 minutes.

2. peel bell peppers and jalapeño peppers using paring knife. halve peppers; discard seeds and ribs. cut bell peppers into 1/2-inch dice. chop jalapeño peppers.

3. heat oil in a large skillet. add tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, garlic cilantro, paprika, cumin and salt. cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring often, about 20 minutes or until sauce is thick. season with cayenne. serve hot or cold.

after a weekend of visiting philly with a friend from school, my mom made sure that she fed us appropriately before the drive back to boston. this recipe was an adaptation of multiple recipes. the inspiration for the arugula, avocado, tomatoes and cucumber came from a salad from “1,000 jewish recipes.”

my mom wanted to add some more protein to satisfy us for the whole ride back, which worked with flying colors. this protein packed meal will absolutely do the trick to fill you up. instead of serving the salad with a heavy bread, i just accompanied the salad with wasa crackers. 

recipe

• 1/2 lb chicken breast, boneless, skinless
• 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined  
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cucumber, cut into small dice
• 1/4 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 hard boiled egg, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 cup coarsely chopped arugula
• 1 cup romaine lettuce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. strained fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• pam cooking spray

season chicken breast and shrimp with salt and pepper (keeping both proteins separate). heat medium saute pan on medium-high heat. add chicken and cook well on both sides. once cooked all the way through, set aside on separate plate. reduce fire to medium heat. making sure the pan is still coated with cooking spray, add shrimp. cook until pink, approximately 5 minutes.

combine all the ingredients (excluding olive oil and lemon juice/salt and pepper) and toss lightly. sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again. add lemon juice and olive oil and give a final toss. 

one of my favorite dinners is making lobster fra diavlo using the lobster tails that my dad dives for in the bahamas. it’s pretty neat to be cooking my dad’s catch. 

unfortunately, the tail isn’t de-shelled so i have to take that job upon myself. it can get a bit tough, but it’s definitely doable. cooking these tails in a tasty, mildly-spicy, red sauce is the  way to go. 

normally i would serve this with salad and whole wheat pasta. however, this dinner was a little bit different. my friend came for dinner and brought along her version of a waldorf salad, baguette, and annipasta della casa from barbra lynch’s “the butcher shop.”

recipe

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 (20 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 lobster tails (subjective - deshelled and vertically halved)
• crushed red pepper to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium sized pot. add garlic and saute for 2 - 3 minutes (careful not to let the garlic burn). if you want your sauce spicier, add crushed red 1 minute before adding crushed red tomatoes. add crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. simmer on low for 30-40 minutes, adjusting to taste. add lobster tails and cook for 8-10 minutes. garnish with basil and grated parmesan, then serve.

plagued with the flu. followed by a painful ear infection. taking the weekend off in vermont. i promise i will be back soon!

so i’ve asked my friends for dinner suggestions - i’d write up a recipe and cook them dinner. well, i guess my first suggestion was a little ambitious for me to write up my own recipe. seafood paella. i tried. the flavors were there, but the consistency was not. for this task, there were too many factors working against me. since i will be going away this week, i will be taking a brief break. see you next week, i’ll make sure to make up for this last “post.”

i’m at that point where i want to start creating my own recipes. this post is my first. in order to build this recipe, i did a little research looking at a bunch of recipes, took ingredients/methods from several that i liked, and constructed my own. 

a lot of diet mac ‘n cheese’s that i have tried tend to be bland and the farthest thing from the mac ‘n cheese that i really want. so i accepted that i’m not going to get that overwhelmingly cheesy mac ‘n cheese that i really want - instead, i used other ingredients to add other flavors. in order to do this i added spinach, dry mustard, and nutmeg.

this is something that you can manipulate to taste. if you decide (which i did) that you want to add more seasoning, go for it. my original intention was to use plain whole wheat bread crumbs. when i came home to find that my bread crumbs were seasoned, i went with it. and i’m happy i did. all diners were pleased and really enjoyed the spinach element. my roommate made a good point - instead of posting pictures of the actual meals, she said i should be taking pictures of the empty dishes.

servings: 8 (1 cup a serving)

• 12 oz. uncooked macaroni
• 12 oz. fat-free evaporated milk
• 8 oz. low-fat sharp cheddar
• 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard seed
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 2 Tbsp smart balance 37% light spread  margarine
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups spinach 

cook pasta according to package directions. drain and transfer into a new bowl. while the pasta it still hot, stir in sour cream, set aside.

in a large heavy skillet, melt butter. add flour and cook over low heat stirring with a whisk. add milk and chicken broth and continue whisking simultaneously raising the heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil.  season with salt and pepper.

once it becomes thick, remove from heat stirring in cheese, ground mustard and nutmeg. adjust salt and pepper to taste. add cooked cheese mixture and baby spinach to the cooked pasta; mix well. pour into baking dish. top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

bake for 20 minutes. 

it has been unbearably cold and everyone’s health seems to be faltering, so i decided tonight was the perfect night for a soup. being i am the worst at making decisions, i spent quite some time switching which recipe to make. i ironically picked a recipe that i later found out to be similar to one that my mom has recently cooked. after discussing the experience she had with her recipe, i was finally settled with mine.

the recipe originally calls for a couple “1/8 tsp” measurements. i wanted to make sure the turkey sausage had good flavor so i upped it to “1/4 tsp.” i do not regret my decision.

served with a toasted slice of bread for dipping, this soup was perfect for tonight. it had all my favorite it elements: it has a substantial amount of broth, decent amount of vegetables (i added more to my recipe as well because i love a good amount of vegetables in my soup), and was also hearty. 

turkey sausage.

• 1.25 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried marjoram leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried fennel

combine turkey, garlic and spices and mix well using your hands.

turkey sausage, kale and white bean soup.

• 1.25 lb turkey sausage meat
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bunch kale - rinsed, leaves removed from the ribs & chopped (i tear with my hands)
• 1 cup cannellini or northern beans - drained and rinsed
• 4 cups fat free chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 small pinch dried red pepper flakes (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium sized pot. add sausage meat breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon into large chunks. when completely cooked, add garlic and saute for 2 - 3 minutes (careful not to let the garlic burn). add the water, stock, beans and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir thoroughly. simmer on low for 10 minutes, covered. throw in kale and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes covered. adjust salt and pepper to taste. divide into four bowls and serve hot. (skinnytaste.)

after all of us scraped the entire dish clean, i decided that this was something perfect to prep ahead of time and throw in the oven for late night. not that i’m always thinking about food or anything…

after looking at the recipe, i found that it was lacking one of my favorite flavors, cilantro. there a bunch of people out there who can’t tolerate the taste, so if your one of those people, just leave it out, it wasn’t there to begin with.

there’s not much prep involved with this recipe so if you’re looking for something a little less time consuming for you, this is ideal. i cooked this for three regulars and one first-timer. all loved it, so if you’re entertaining people, this is the recipe. 

servings: 6

• 3 (8 oz) cans no-salt added tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (season with salt and pepper)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 12 (5 inch) corn tortillas
• 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded monterey jack cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions (optional)

preheat the oven to 350°.

combine tomato sauce, salsa and ground cumin; stir well. spread 3/4 cup tomato sauce mixture in botton of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. set aside.

combine chicken, black beans, green chiles, cilantro and 1/2 cup tomato sauce mixture in a medium bowl. stir well.

place 6 tortillas on top of tomato sauce mixture in baking dish; top with half of chicken mixture and half od remaining tomato sauce mixture. repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and tomato sauce mixture. sprinkle with cheeses. bake at 350° for 15 minutes. top with sour cream and onions, if desired. cut into 6 equal portions. (weightwatchers.)