Burgers with Havarti cheese, red cabbage slaw and Russian dressing

Burgers with cheese, red cabbage slaw and pickled okra Russian dressing

Adapted from “Bobby Flay’s Grill It.” This recipe leaves me with the same question I had going in: Why do they only sell pickled okra in large containers when clearly no one could want that much? Even pickling okra doesn’t overcome its sliminess, so I guess it’s testimony to the overall flavors that this works out to be a nice burger.

Ingredients

½ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons catsup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

¼ cup finely diced pickled okra

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

½ small head of red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and finely shredded

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

2 tablespoons canola oil

1½ ground beef

Slices of Havarti or Gruyere cheese

4 hamburger buns

Method

Make the dressing by mixing together the mayonnaise, catsup, mustard, red onion, okra, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Mix shredded carrot and cabbage in a large bowl. Whisk together rice wine vinegar, honey, oil and salt and pepper. Toss with slaw. Let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour before serving.

Form ground beef into four burger patties. Brush with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until done on both sides. Top with cheese and cover up to a minute until melted.

Spread tops and bottoms of buns with some of the Russian dressing. Place burger on bottom half and top with some of the slaw mixture and bun top.

Rating: Like every other recipe I’ve tried from this book, the sides are the star of the show. The slaw is very brightly flavored on its own, and the dressing is highly flavorful despite the okra factor. Combined, they make a very fine burger, but each part almost disappears in the whole. The recipe makes plenty of extra dressing and slaw, which will be great used as a spread and side dish. But again, okra? The seeds alone are a downside, let alone the slime. Now I have God's own supply to disguise in other dishes or else decide it won't upset the balance of my compost.

Pasta with tomatoes and anchovy butter

Pasta with tomatoes and anchovy butter

Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2014

Ingredients

1 package fettucine

4 tablespoons butter

2 anchovy fillets

4 sliced garlic cloves

20 ounces tomatoes, chopped

Chopped herbs for garnish, such as parsley, basil or tarragon

Method

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet. Cook anchovies and garlic until soft. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper and cook until tomatoes are collapsed, about 10 minutes. Toss with drained pasta and herbs.

Rating: Dave really liked this. I was somewhat lukewarm on it. Given how many recipes I have for tomato-based pasta, the threshold is pretty high. And it would have been better if it was really tomato season. But I had a partial jar of anchovies in need of using, so there you go.

Provencal chicken and crispy garlic potatoes

Chicken with Provencal herbs and garlic potatoes

Adapted from “Perfect French Country Cooking,” by Anne Willan. This ambitiously titled book is filled with how-to photos, almost more deconstructed photo essay than anything else. It makes the recipes a bit disjointed and hard to follow, kind of like those really annoying food blogs that are so in love with their photography that they can’t resist showing you pictures of drizzling olive oil into a pan, in case you didn’t know how. But given that all the recipes I’ve made from it have been really tasty French comfort food, I’ll forgive the fact that this recipe included three (!) photos showing how to chop shallots. Seriously. Plus, it’s a recipe with a tasty marinade that doesn’t just get discarded at the end, which always seems criminal.

Ingredients

8 pieces of chicken

1 cup white wine

2 shallots, chopped

5 chopped garlic cloves, divided

2 tablespoons herbs de Provence

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup chicken stock

1½ pounds new potatoes, not peeled

Fresh thyme leaves for garnish

Method

Combine wine, shallots, 3 garlic cloves, herbs and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, nonreactive dish. Add chicken, turning to coat and let marinate for 2 to 3 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade (reserve) and brown in 2 tablespoons olive oil on both sides in a large, oven-safe  pan such as Le Creuset. You’ll need to do this in two batches. When all chicken is browned, add all chicken back to the pan and toss with the flour, turning to coat and let cook a few minutes. Then add reserved marinade and broth. Cover and bake for 50 to 55 minutes at 375.

Meanwhile, slice potatoes lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Toss potatoes with 2 cloves chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper. Spread potatoes flat on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes at 375, turning them half way through. Slices should be crisp and browned, but watch closely toward the end to make sure they don't burn.Serve potatoes alongside chicken and garnish with fresh thyme leaves if desired.

Rating: The chicken is really moist, tender and flavorful, but the potatoes are even better: tasty, crispy on the outside but not dried-out, a really simple way to make awesome potatoes. Next time I think I would remove the chicken to a platter and reduce the sauce a bit before serving. Definitely repeatable.

Tip: If you don’t have herbs de Provence on hand, here’s a link to a good recipe for making your own out of what you have on hand.

Fish taco quest continues

It's now an official warm-weather vacation because it included fish tacos. We hit Sandcastle for lunch while out on our stroll. These are quite possibly the best fish tacos we've had in the Twin Cities outside of our kitchen. Nice pair of sauces, and the red cabbage is a nice touch. These edge out the ones at Republic, and those weren't bad. A gorgeous day by the lake, and we plan to haunt the new terrace of this place once it opens sometime next month. Plus, I didn't have to do dishes, and if we go out tonight to celebrate our anniversary (32!), the kitchen can stay clean. Now if only the rest of the house could say the same thing.

Polenta with bean and roasted red pepper sauce

Polenta with white-bean and roasted-pepper ragout

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, May 2014

Ingredients

2½ cups chicken broth, divided

1 cup polenta

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced, plus leaves for garnish

Crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup chopped roasted red peppers

1 (15-ounce) can white beans

Method

Bring 2 cups of broth and 2 cups of water to a simmer in a saucepan over medium high heat. Season with salt. Whisk in polenta and reduce heat. Cook until thick and creamy, stirring frequently.

In a large skillet, cook garlic, celery and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes until celery softens. Stir in beans and red peppers, seasoning to taste. Add ½ cup broth and heat through, mashing some of the beans to make a creamy, thicker sauce. Serve over polenta. Garnish with celery leaves. Serves 4.

Rating: The sauce is quite nice and could work over gnocchi or other pasta.

Pork chops with balsamic glaze

We added roasted butternut squash and sauteed red cabbage on the side.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops
Adapted from Epicurious. See full recipe here.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pork chops of medium thickness
5 shallots, peeled and sliced in halves or quarters depending on size
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

Method
Salt and pepper chops. Brown chops and shallots in hot oil in large saucepan until chops are browned on both sides and shallots have started to soften. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar and cook until chops are done and sauce has reduced to thick glaze.

Rating: Really, how can you go wrong with balsamic glaze? We had intended to grill the pork chops we picked up this weekend from Hilltop Pastures at the Midtown Farmers Market, but the weather thought otherwise. But this treatment didn't leave me disappointed, and we didn't have to get wet to cook it.

Basque chicken in red wine with bacon

While Dave was out running around the lake today, an older man told him he better watch out or he’d live to be 115. Here’s a dish designed to counteract that. And as Dave says, “You had me at bacon.”

Basque Chicken in Red Wine

Adapted from “Seduced by Bacon” by Joanna Pruess, a book dedicated to recipes in all genres involving bacon-y goodness.

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken thighs

½ pound bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

2 large onions, chopped

1 large red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 large sage leaves, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 ¼ cup dry red wine

¾ cup chopped Kalamata olives

½ cup sour cream, optional

Method:

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper; brown on both sides in olive oil in a large skillet. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add bacon to pan. Cook until beginning to brown. Add onions and peppers. Saute until onions wilt and begin to pick up color. Add herbs and red wine. Raise the heat to high to reduce slightly. Add chicken back to pot along with olives. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until done, removing lid to reduce sauce for final 5 minutes if needed. Stir in sour cream.

Rating: This isn’t the lookiest dish on the planet, but it’s plenty tasty. A side of polenta helps slurp up the sauce. I went ahead and added the optional sour cream, but I think it would have worked just as well either way.