I'm Going to Hide the Leftovers from David So I Can Take Them for Lunch: Glazed Swordfish Kebabs

I'm a bit of a recipe junkie. I have at least a hundred cookbooks and a box of hanging file folders that are bursting at the seams, plus I subscribe to several recipe email lists. I usually glance at the titles and delete the emails, since we can't eat most recipes off mainstream sites, but this recipe from cooking.com completely knocked my socks off. The sauce looks fussy but I put it together in under 5 minutes - the time from printing the recipe to sitting down to dinner was about 20 minutes, not counting however long it took to heat up the grill (this was David's contribution so I don't feel obligated to include it in the total time). I served it with steamed snow peas and white rice tossed with a little olive oil and rice wine vinegar, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to wake up before David leaves for work tomorrow morning to hide the leftovers so I can take them for lunch.   I sometimes feel that the number of vinegars (8) and oils (11) we have are a bit... excessive... but this whole dinner pretty much came from ingredients we had in the pantry or fridge, except for the fish. I'm glad we could do this without completely breaking the bank - imagine my happiness to find that Holiday Market sells single-serving bottles of sake that are just the right size for this! Now that we've made this I think I'll go buy a bottle to have on hand; the swordfish makes it a little expensive for a weekly dish or we'd be eating this *all the time.* Glazed Swordfish Kebabs  1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sake

1/2 cup GF tamari soy sauce

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger (I cheat and use the pre-grated stuff for sauces)

3 cloves garlic, crushed (see above re: cheating)

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (the dark Asian kind)

2 teaspoons cornstarch (you can also substitute tapioca or sweet potato flour if you're avoiding corn)

1 1/2 lbs. swordfish steaks  3-4 small zucchini

Combine 1/2 cup sake, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, orange zest, vinegar, and sesame oil in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring.  Stir the remaining sake and cornstarch (or substitute flour) together in a small bowl, then whisk into the soy sauce mixture. Simmer about 30 seconds and remove from heat. The sauce will be more glaze-y if you let it cool to room temperature; the original recipe says you can do this step up to 3 days in advance.   Start the grill.

Trim the skin and any dark-colored flesh from the swordfish, then cut into square or rectangular pieces of roughly equal size (1 1/2 pounds - 2 steaks - gave us nearly 30 cubes). Chop the zucchini into thick chunks. Thread onto metal skewers, alternating between the fish and the zucchini.

Brush the glaze over one side of the skewers and put them sauce side-down on the grill. Cover and grill about 2 minutes. Brush with the glaze, turn the skewers over, and grill another 2 minutes. Continue to grill and turn kebabs until all the sides are cooked, about 8 minutes total.

Dinner for an overambitious day: Chicken with Sumac

I can tell that autumn is approaching because we've started cooking ambitious meals again. During the summer dinner tends to be pretty minimalist and involve the grill, and most of my creativity goes into creating new drinks to sip while I sit on the deck watching my husband cook (don't give me that look - the shoe fits on the other foot plenty of times, I assure you!).

I'm cooking a pretty significant dinner later this fall so I've been spending a lot of time with my cookbooks, including a bargain-bin gem called The Food and Cooking of the Middle East that I picked up on a whim at Barnes & Noble earlier this year. This particular cookbook has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the upcoming dinner, but I love it because it's full of recipes for food that I've never heard of. I really like Middle Eastern food but many of the cookbooks I come across - like many restaurant menus - seem to cover a fairly limited range of recipes. When I picked this up in the store, I'd never heard of the first 3 recipes I saw. Sold! And it has not disappointed; this may be the first cookbook I make cover-to-cover.

The mad genius I married also loves Middle Eastern food and has really missed the bread. He's been working on a recipe that makes a really fine approximation of a thick, chewy pita so it only makes sense go cook dinners that go with it (and give him an excuse to keep making it - this is not going to be for special occasions only). The first time he made pita we wildly underestimated the amount of time/energy/mess this would require; we looked at the flour coating every single surface in our kitchen and decided that the dinner part of dinner needed to be a lot less ambitious. Chicken to the rescue! This recipe calls for wrapping the bread around the chicken and eating it like a sandwich, but the GF pita isn't quite as pliable as the wheat kind so we just piled everything on it and ate it like a pizza.

We went from Hungry Panic Mode to sitting at the table in just about 25 minutes - highly recommended for those times when your ambition has exceeded your limits and everybody just wants to eat.

Chicken with Sumac 

 2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into thin strips
2-3 tsp sumac (bought at our local Middle Eastern grocery' I don't think you're likely to find this in the spice aisle of Kroger. But I could be wrong.)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
pita
plain Greek yogurt for serving (optional but tasty)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions. When they start to soften, add the garlic and continue cooking until the onions are very soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken and sumac to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the cinnamon, allspice, and lemon juice; cook another 5-10 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked (this goes faster if you've cut the chicken into thinner strips).

Serve the chicken on or next to your pita bread; you may want to warm the bread in the oven while the chicken is cooking. Garnish with the parsley and a dollop of yogurt.

Breakfast for the Health-Challenged: Scrapple That Won't Gross You Out

We spent last week at my parents' cottage up north, in a teeny little cabin with a teeny little kitchen. It's right on a lake and there is really nothing quite like sitting in the early-morning quiet, sipping a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise while the kids sleep off the previous day's epic playground session. I love mornings like that. They always make me think that the maid will be around shortly with my breakfast tray. 

Alas, this is my *actual* life, so breakfast was up to me. Breakfast is the hardest meal of the day in our gluten-free, dairy-free, nightshade-free house - no toast, no pancakes, no waffles, no hash brown, no tomatoes, no cheese, no milk.....it's a bummer. I usually end up eating leftovers from dinner sometime mid-morning (though I'll eat any breakfast that's put in front of me. I just don't want to go through the effort of producing it). 

I vaguely recalled reading a recipe for scrapple some time ago and thinking it sounded tasty. In doing a spot of research for this blog, I looked up scrapple and was promptly grossed out (seriously, don't look at the Wikipedia entry. Eeew. I assure you, I would not serve hog offal under even the most post-apocalyptic circumstances). 

There are a few more-complicated versions of this that I'd be happy to try some weekend when I have a full-size kitchen to play around in; for the time being, this is my Cheater's Scrapple, which takes an absolute minimum of time and attention in the morning and makes my kids think I'm a breakfast superhero. I think there are some variations on this particular theme coming up - maybe some chopped sauteed onions, or a bit of cheese, or polenta in place of grits. 

Cheater's Scrapple

1 cup quick-cooking grits

3 cups water

1/2 lb. good-quality bulk breakfast sausage 

Salt and pepper

Olive oil (for frying)

Maple syrup (optional, for serving) 

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and stir in the grits. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn't get lumpy. Brown 1/2 lb. good-quality pork breakfast sausage in a skillet. 

Combine the cooked grits and the sausage, season with salt and pepper, and pour into a loaf pan. Refrigerate overnight. 

In the morning, cut the loaf into 1/2-inch thick slices and fry in olive oil until lightly browned and crispy (this is also good cooked in bacon fat). Fantastic served with a drizzle of maple syrup, and also very tasty with a poached egg on top. 

A Really Outstanding Chocolate Cherry Martini

Lately everyone seems to be pretty worn out by Friday afternoon; the kids have been spending a lot of time together and getting on each other's nerves, which means that they exponentially get on our nerves. There are only so many times you can referee a conversation about whose feet were put on whose body first. We decided that a retreat to the deck was in order - the kids can duke it out indoors and we can lounge in civilized silence on the deck, musing over all the yard work that hasn't gotten accomplished this year (and isn't likely to, because I think these are going to make it into regular rotation).

This was another weekend liquor-cabinet-raiding creation, so I'm going to shamelessly shill a couple of favorite brands. I can't imagine how you'd recreate such amazing awesomeness with inferior ingredients.

OMFG I Can't Listen To You Bickering Anymore Chocolate Martinis 

(makes 2 - scale as needed, depending on how your week went and the number of children arguing) 

2 parts Grand Traverse Distillery True North Cherry Vodka (fragrant and cherrylicious without tasting like cough syrup)
1 part Mindo Chocolate Makers Miel de Cacao (purchased after an excellent chocolate-and-wine tasting event at Michigan By The Bottle Tasting Room)(thank you, Courtney and Shannon!)
1 part Grey Goose vodka (OK, whatever you have on hand is fine - this was left over from New Year's)(thank you, Gwen!)
4 dashes bitters

Fill a shaker with ice, pour the ingredients in, and shake like crazy. Move the couch to get to the cabinet  that holds the martini glasses. Realize you moved them. Move the camping equipment from last weekend to get to the cabinet that holds the martini glasses. Realize you don't have any idea where they are but it's probably not worth the effort to find them since chocolate martinis aren't actually martinis. Pour into the excellent vintage highball glasses you scored at the auction last year and enjoy in absolute silence far, far away from the bickering siblings.

This summer has actually been too busy to blog - chock-full of crazybusyfun and swim meets and not a whole lot of time in front of the computer (no complaints about that!). During the swim season we're at meets 2-3 times per week in the evening, and the dinner choices tend to be pretty limited. And even without all the dietary restrictions I wouldn't let my kids eat nachos and Ring Pops for dinner.

We've done a lot of sandwiches and picnic dinners these last couple of months but yesterday's lunch at finals is absolutely my favorite - I felt very happy and not at all deprived, eating this while everyone else had sub sandwiches and hot dogs.

Flank Steak Kabobs with Peanut Sauce 

(adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011)

1 lb. flank steak
1-2 zucchini
1 bell pepper
1 lime
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (the natural kind that's just peanuts and salt; see the note below for what happens when you use the other kind)
1 cup plain almond milk (you could also use the coconut milk that's called for in the original recipe)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce such as Sriracha (optional)
celery sticks

Rushing-to-get-ready-for-the-swim-meet-version: Cut the flank steak into bite-sized chunks (a biggish bite, so it doesn't get dried out). Slice the zucchini. Place the meat and vegetable pieces on a broiler pan, season with salt and pepper, and broil 3 minutes. Turn the pieces over and broil for another 3 minutes.

Lounging-on-the-deck-at-home-version: Cut the flank steak into bite-sized chunks. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then chop into half-moon chunks.Cut the pepper into chunks, and quarter the lime. Thread the meat, veggies, and lime on skewers, beginning and ending with the meat. Season with salt and pepper and grill until the veggies are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the peanut butter, almond or coconut milk, fish sauce, and (optional) chili sauce in a small saucepan and heat through. NOTE: if you use the natural peanut butter, you get a very thick sauce that's great for dipping and scooping. If you use the non-natural (unnatural?) peanut butter full of oil and sugar, you get a very smooth, runny sauce that pours beautifully. Can't scoop it with celery, though.)

We packed the meat, veggies, and sauce in a bento box and had The Best Picnic Lunch Ever - the sauce is absolutely fantastic, the meat was slightly charred and crispy and juicy, and it beat the heck out of nachos and Ring Pops. We made the sauce without the chili sauce and it's a great dip for celery sticks after you've eaten all the hot food and are still feeling a bit peckish.

Broccoli pasta sauce recipe (from guest blogger Anna)

We're recovering from a weekend camping trip, so tonight's posting is from guest blogger Anna, who's been stirring up quite a fuss in the kitchen lately. She's very proud of her latest creation and says it's "surprisingly good." 

Broccoli pasta sauce 

Small head of broccoli
Salt
Pepper
Dried mint
1 cup of milk
Garlic salt
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Cornstarch
Pat of butter 

Cut up broccoli into small pieces. Cook in simmering water with salt, lemon juice, butter, and olive oil about 5 minutes or until finished cooking.  Drain broccoli and return to pot. Add milk, pinch of mint, garlic salt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cook on low heat until done. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch and stir. Add more cornstarch until you reach desired consistency. Serve over warm pasta.    

Chili Night is like "Dueling Banjos"

Chili night in our house is a lot like "Dueling Banjos," or a really downscaled version of that Miller Lite commercial. We're just never going to agree on whether it's less filling or tastes great or even what, in fact, it is. It sure isn't chili.

David used to be the most amazing chili chef - a great straight-up traditional red chili, white chili with jalapenos, Coney-style chili, vegetarian chili, even one really fantastic sausage-and-steak-based one with chocolate that nabbed him the top prize at the chili cook-off at work. This was fantastic stuff. It lasted longer than most of our other pre-diagnosis favorites, since it has no gluten or dairy to begin with (though he missed the sour cream and shredded cheese toppings). Once he figured out that nightshades were also a culprit, that was the end of an era....and the beginning of another one.

Me: You can't call it chili. There's no chili in it.
Him: Sure I can.
Me: Yeah, but it's not chili. It's something else and it's plenty tasty, but it's not chili.
Him: Yes it is.
Me: No it isn't.
Him: Yes it is.

This is as sophisticated as the argument gets. However, the "Official Rules and Regulations for Cooks at the World's Championship, State, Regional and District Chili Cookoffs" of the International Chili Society clearly state that "True chili is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat, or combination of meats, cooked with chili peppers, various other spices, and other ingredients..." And I'm sure that members of the Chili Appreciation Society International, the International Connoisseurs of Green & Red Chile, and all the other chili-related organizations out there will agree with me.

Since this is my blog, I declare myself the winner. Nonetheless, here's David's recipe:

Nightshade-Free So-Called "Chili" 

1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. beef, ground for chili (some meat counters offer this. Use the regular ground stuff if you can't find it)
1 teaspoon dried mustard
2 teaspoons (or more) cumin
1/2 teaspoon (or more) garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon (or more ) onion powder
dash of dry mustard
dash of cocoa powder
dash of MSG
2 ribs celery
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Brown the meat and onion together in a large pot or Dutch oven; drain if needed. Add water and spices, stirring to combine well. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Dice the celery and add to the pot along with the beans. Cook until the celery is tender and adjust the spices to taste.

At this point you may be saying to yourself, "Jen, that sounds mighty tasty but it sure ain't chili." And you would be totally correct. Here is my version (which, alas, did not win the chili cookoff at work today but was still damn good), courtesy of Cooking Light magazine, November 2007:

Beef, Black Bean, and Chorizo Chili

2 links Spanish chorizo sausage (about 6 1/2 ounces), thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 (14-ounce) cans less-sodium beef broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
2 tablespoons masa harina
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chorizo to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Remove chorizo from pan. Add half of beef to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned. Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes.

Remove 4 chipotle chiles from can, and chop. Reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Add chorizo, beef, chopped chiles, tomato paste, and next 6 ingredients (through ground cumin) to pan, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in red wine, lime juice, beef broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Gradually stir in masa harina. Add pinto beans and black beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.