I was gifted with LOTS of parsley. One of things I used the parsley for was this Chipotle Lime Chimichurri sauce. It came out delicious. You are suppose to use chimichurri for grilled meats but it is so good that you can use it on chips too! serving size will differ. I’m guessing that this makes at least 8 servings.
Ingredients for around 8 servings.
2 cups parsley leaves (don’t use stems they are bitter)
I’m always looking for new ways to do beets. I came across Gordon Ramsey’s recipe for Beets Wellington. I didn’t have most of the ingredients that he used so I made up my own way to do it including the pastry…(and my pastry came out extra delicious too!). This recipe make about 6 portions.
Ingredients for around 6 portions
1 cup flour + more for dusting – pastry
1/4 teaspoon sea salt – pastry
1/4 teaspoon baking powder – pastry
8 Tablespoons sweet butter cut into pats – a colder than room temperature – pastry
1/4 cup cream cheese – pastry
1 lb beets – trimmed and peeled (I had three beets)
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 oz. scant star anise
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1 Tablespoon sweet better – duxcelle
10 oz mushrooms – chopped small – duxcelle
1 small leeks – trimmed – sliced extra thin on a mandolin – small chopped – duxcelle (If desired reserve around a Tablespoon of leeks for finishing pastry)
3 rice paper wrappers (you need one wrapper for each beet)
I Tablespoon everything bagel seasoning – for sprinkling on the pastry.
1 beaten egg yolk
non stick spray
Make the pastry.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Use an extra large fork or pastry masher to hand cut up the butter pats in the flour mixture till the butter is around the size of peas. Stir in the cream cheese and give it a few kneads. Dust the dough with flour and roll it out and fold it into thirds. Leave this chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap.
Braise the beets.
Beets go in a sauce pot with vinegar, wine, water, sugar, star anise, and mustard seeds. Give it a stir and bring to boil and then reduce to simmer and continue simmering until beets are fork tender. (You will need to add more water to the pot as the water goes down) Depending on the size and freshness of your beets timing will differ……could be less than 30 minutes and could be more. When beets are done remove them from the braising liquid. Set beets to the side and cover with plastic wrap.
Make Duxcelle
Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and leeks and cook till slightly brown. Lower heat to medium low and add salt and pepper. Cook till all the liquid is evaporated. Add thyme and smoked mushroom powder (if using). Blend and set to the side.
Wrap beets with duxcelle and rice paper.
Rice paper gets pliable when you set it in a bath of warm water for a second. Take the rice paper out and spread it with 1/3 of the duxcelle (or 1/4 if you have four beets). Place beet in the middle and wrap. Repeat for each beet.
Get baking sheet(s) ready for the beets. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spray paper with non stick spray and set to the side.
Set oven to 400 degrees F and have a middle rack ready for your pans.
You pastry gets cut in thirds. One third for each beet. Wrap each beet with pastry the best you can and place on sprayed parchment lined baking sheet.
Paint each pastry with egg yolk
Sprinkle each pastry with everything bagel seasoning
If desired sprinkle each pastry with some leeks
Place sheet pan in pre-heated 400 degree F oven till pastry is golden brown and looks done. Timing will differ. Mine were done in around 30 minutes.
Wine Braised Beets Mushroom Leek Duxelles in Pastry
I was lucky and got a big bag of Brussels sprouts for $1.00 and a bunch of tarragon for $1.00 and that is how I came up with this recipe. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. I think a pound of Brussels sprouts makes around 4 servings.
1 lb brussels sprouts – cut in half
canola oil to fry
sea salt – to taste
ground black pepper – to taste
1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 garlic clove – ground to paste
2 Tablespoons white miso
2 Tablespoons French or Dijon mustard (I used Pommery Moutarde Royal with Cognac because I had it…..)
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup toasted cashews – slightly crushed
2 Tablespoons tarragon leaves
Directions
In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, garlic, miso, mustard and vinegar and set to the side.
Put a large sauce pan on medium high heat with slightly less than a half inch of oil for frying. When the oil is hot add the Brussels sprouts cut side down. Fry them till they are browned. Put them on a cooling rack or a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Fry them up till they are done. Salt and pepper the Brussels sprouts to taste.
Top the Brussels sprouts with the vinaigrette, cashews and tarragon.
Brussels sprouts with cashews, tarragon and lemon miso vinaigrette
This came to extra delicious……I mean FORKING delicious. My husband snacked on it while I was walking a dog….He NEVER snacks on a vegetable. He said that it smelled so good he wanted to try it. Then he asked me what this was…….This was today’s version of a roasted cauliflower. I made a delicious sauce that got roasted onto the cauliflower. The same sauce can be used on other things like chicken. I think one of the reasons why it came out so delicious was because I used some of my home made brine from my pickled jalapeños. Another fine ingredient was my garlic confit……Incase you don’t know…garlic is more delicious when you make it confit style..It’s never harsh or too garlicky. The third reason why it’s delicious because I used an actual Asian Gochujang from an Asian Market. Gochujang from my local grocery store just isn’t comparable. Yours will taste different if you use different ingredients. Serving size may differ.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
1. head cauliflower – cut into florets
4 oz gochujang – preferably purchased from an Asian Market (home made would even be better)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 Tablespoons chilies in adobo (I used around 1 1/2 peppers minced with some of the sauce)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 Tablespoons pickled jalapeño brine (preferably from home made pickled jalapeños)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon garlic confit (a substitute would be a few garlic cloves (maybe 4) ground to paste)
sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup cotija cheese
non stick spray
Instructions
Set oven to 500 degrees F and have a middle rack ready to use.
Spray baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl add the gochujang, corn starch, sugar, cumin, coriander, chipotle in adobo, oil, jalapeño brine, tomato paste and garlic confit. Mix well. Add the cauliflower florets and keep mixing till the sauce is distributed well over the cauliflower. Space florets on baking sheet and leave in oven till cooked threw and slightly charred. Timing will differ. (Mine took 23 minutes)
When done add fresh crushed sea salt and pepper to taste. Top with shredded cotija cheese.
You might want to garnish with normal nacho type toppings like cilantro, scallions, pickled red onions, sour cream, lime wedges.
Enjoy!
Gochujamg Chili Cheese Cauliflower The Forking Truth
Fry’s had ground turkey on sale and I had two acorn squash that I needed to cook and I thought I could turn them into chili so I did. Chili is something that I make completely different all the time and it is something that I don’t normally measure. I did something different that I never done before and guessed at the seasonings and made a spice mix. I thought it would easier instead of a million trips to my spice cabinet. Every time I cooked a part of the chili I seasoned it with the spice mix. In the end I didn’t use all of the spice mix and figured that I made about one ounce too much that I will use on something else….like cauliflower or chicken……so use the spice mix to taste. I would remove one ounce from your completed mix so you don’t over season. My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. I like chili in smaller portions so to me this makes around six servings. If you like a big bowl then it makes around 4 servings.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
2 acorn squash (my 2 squash weighed 2 pounds together) cut in half, seeds and membrane removed, covered and roasted in a pan with edges with a little water till soft. (around 45 – 60 minutes at around 400 degrees F) (scrap squash flesh out when cool enough)
1 lb ground turkey – (mine was 93% lean)
non stick spray (or oil)
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 red pepper – diced
1 small onion – diced
12 oz tomatoes (I used peeled that was slow roasted and then blended but canned crushed would be good too)
14 oz can Italian fine chopped tomatoes (They seem like crushed but are very good tomatoes)
1 Tablespoon garlic confit – you can substitute garlic to taste…guessing 4 or 5 cloves ground to paste
1 cup water (or a little more)
2 Tablespoons smoked mushroom powder (SVHarvest.Worldpress.com I buy from the local mushroom lady who grows all these mushrooms and supplies them to restaurants in Phoenix)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon chipotle powder (or substitute chilies in adobo)
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cocoa (unsweetened)
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
apple cider vinegar – to taste (I did a big splash….maybe 1/4. cup)
Directions
Make the spice mix. In a small mixing bowl combine the smoked mushroom powder, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cocoa, salt and pepper. You will end up with about an extra ounce of seasoning. Remove one ounce to use for something else.
Heat up a large fry pan with non stick spray or oil. Make 4 burgers out of the turkey. Season them on both sides with spice mix. Cook up the turkey burgers. When done put the burgers to the side.
Don’t clean your pan because flavor is there.
Add some oil and fry up the red pepper on medium high heat for about 5 minutes and then add the onion and add more seasoning. Cook till the onion and pepper are soft.
Add the Anaheims, the squash, tomatoes, water, garlic and MORE seasoning but not all the seasoning.
Turn down the heat to simmer.
Chop up the turkey burgers and add them.
Add more seasoning but not all the seasoning. (make sure that you removed one ounce) Add apple cider vinegar to taste. (maybe around 1/4 cup)
Taste.
Add more sea
Serve as is or add sour cream, scallions or maybe cheese.
I had a delicious salad at The Angel’s Trumpet Ale House in Phoenix that inspired this plate. It’s easy as can be to smoke food with a smoker. Most vegetables only take about 15 minutes in a smoker. You might prefer to use a mild wood for vegetables and also fish. I like to use mild woods all the time. That’s just how I roll. I got an inexpensive smoker called The Big Chief. In fact it’s the cheapest one that the Home Depot sells. It’s easy to use, holds more than I need and there is nothing to set. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. I used 3 beets. I thought it should be 4 servings.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
1 lb beets – peeled – roasted in 400 degree oven wrapped in foil with water till fork tender (timing will differ. Mine took 75 minutes)
8 oz heavy whipping cream
4 oz goat cheese – room temperature
1 oranges – one peeled or supreme + zest
2 oz toasted almonds – sliced or whole but slightly crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried mint ( fresh mint would be better about 2 teaspoons)
2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 orange – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon canola oil
optional – some sprouts or greens
sea salt – to taste
black pepper – to taste
Directions
Smoke Beets – Cooked beets go in the smoker for 15 minutes.
Make Goat Cheese Mousse – Heavy cream and goat cheese get whipped together.
Make Orange Champagne Vinaigrette – Orange juice, oil, champagne vinegar, dijon all get mixed together. This only takes a minute. If you have more greens than I had you might want to double.
Toast almonds – if not already toasted.
Put it all together.
Beets and greens on the bottom. Next add oranges, almonds and the goat cheese mousse. Top it with some orange zest, mint and salt and pepper to taste.
Smoked Beets with Goat Cheese Musse, Orange, Almonds, Mint, and Orange Champagne Vinaigrette
I got a smoker and a little while back I made the FORKING BEST smoked pastrami ever. I only make a pastrami once or at the most twice a year. Smoked salmon a few times ….nothing fancy…just basic with a basic brine and leave in the smoker around 4 hours. I thought I should try to smoke other things.
I smoked some acorn squash, some beets and some seafood mushrooms. The beets came out really well and we enjoyed with the smoked salmon. The vegetables are super easy to smoke. You just put them in the smoker for 15 minutes with a mild wood. (alder is great for fish so I was using alder and it went extra well with seafood mushrooms!)
Smoked Beets with Goat Cheese Musse, Orange, Almonds, Mint, and Orange Champagne Vinaigrette
I had a bunch of food in my refrigerator so I had to freeze the acorn squash….I’m not sure what I will do with that yet but will think of something!
I tasted a mushroom. I thought it was a little too smoky for me……..Somehow I got the idea in my head to fry my smoked mushrooms. I used this kind of mushroom (seafood mushroom) I think it’s one of the very best buys at a supermarket. Seafood mushrooms usually only cost around a dollar a package and are amazing in soup and have a slight seafood taste to them.
After the mushrooms were smoked I dredged them in cornstarch and shallow fried them in a mix of unsalted butter and canola oil. (I tried the same thing with an un-smoked seafood mushroom and DO NOT GET THE SAME RESULTS AT ALL)
Smoked Crispy Seafood Mushrooms
OMG! These things are FORKING Amazing with my cheese sauce. My sauce was made with all the ends of white cheese I had in my refrigerator. I only use a small amount of butter (butter is what breaks the sauce), corn starch, milk lots of cheese, paprika, cayenne and Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. This combo is BOMB-DIG-IT-TY!
Smoked Crispy Seafood Mushrooms is a FORKING GREAT IDEA!
Someone named Gillian from a food group that I belong to made Indian Chicken. I asked her what spices that she used and wrote them down. I looked around to see what I had to use up and saw cucumbers so I wanted to make an interesting cucumber salad with Gilian’s spices for Indian Chicken. This is not an authentic Indian cucumber salad. It is Indian Inspired. My idea of serving size may differ from your idea of serving size.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
6 cucumbers – peeled – sliced long ways – (optional remove seeds and membrane) – sliced
1 small red onion – sliced extra thin
8 oz grape tomatoes – each tomato sliced in half
2 1/2 oz radish – sliced extra thin
1 carrot – sliced extra thin (peel if not organic)
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons Indian curry
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (just leaves and tender stems) – chopped
Directions
Cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, radish, and carrot all go in a large mixing bowl. Set it to the side and whip up the dressing.
In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, water, curry, garam masala, turmeric, salt, pepper and honey.
Mix the dressing into the cucumber and vegetable bowl. Toss in the cilantro. Let the flavors mingle for about an hour. Chill. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Then serve.
I was gifted with a shopping bag full of grey squash. I could tell by looking at them that they’d go bad if I didn’t do something with them in a day or two. I read Michael Solomonov’s recipe for Roasted Zucchini with Anchovies, Feta and Hazelnuts. This recipe is loosely based on Michael Solomonov’s recipe.I knew that recipe would be amazing to do to the squash but I felt that I could wing the recipe without measuring. It’s that kind of amazing type of recipe….Honest I think it comes out better if you don’t measure. I also changed up the recipe a little and added a few things. Serving size will differ…It all depends on how many squash you are using and how much you are eating. I had a whole bag of squash…I’m guessing that I had around 12 squash. After cooking up that whole bag the squash shrunk down to only around 5 cups…about 8 servings.
12 squash – trim – cut in any shape you like (I did planks)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons (just the juice)
1/4 cup fresh parsley (just leaves) plus extra parsley to garnish
sea salt to taste (sparingly…it will reduce and be stronger than you think))
crushed black pepper to taste (sparingly it will reduce and be stronger than you think)
6 cloves garlic – ground to paste
2 lemons – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 cup tehini
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 anchovies
1 ******cup of squash that was charred the most – chopped (around a cup…..I added a little at a time and guessed it to be a cup)
1/4 cup scallions chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese (preferably good quality) cut in small cubes or crumbled
urfa pepper – to taste
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts (slightly crushed)
harissa (preferably home made (recipe is on www.TheForkingTruth) to taste
Directions
You need the top rack of your oven to be around three inches lower than the heating element.Set the broiler on to high.
The cut squash get a light spray of olive oil and a squish everywhere with lemon. The squash get broiled on both sides till charred. Timing will differ….(mine took 10-20 minutes a side)
Lightly season the squash with sea salt, pepper and half of the parsley.
Blend the garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, tehini, cumin, anchovies, scallions and parsley till smooth. Put to the side until you can blend some squash into it.
In a small mixing bowl add the feta cubes or crumbs and add urfa pepper and mix around till your cheese is crusted with urfa pepper.
By now you can add your extra charred squash to the tahini sauce and blend till smooth and a nice consistency.
Put everything together.
The tahini sauce goes on the plate and is topped with the squash. The squash gets topped with urfa peppered cheese, toasted hazelnuts, some parsley and harissa to taste.
Roasted Grey Squash with Hazelnuts, Urfa Peppered Feta, Harissa and Charred Squash Anchovy Tahini Sauce
Enjoy!
A special THANKS to Michael Solomonov. I ate at his AMAZING restaurant and everything there was fabulous! Seriously it was one of the very best meals that I have ever had. I also saw him do a similar recipe on the Rachel Ray Show and he Didn’t measure using Brussel sprouts. I followed along and also did that amazing recipe so this was easy for me.
I had around a cup of leftover cooked cabbage and around 20 wonton wrappers in my refrigerator. I also recently made Justin Chapple’s recipe from Food and Wine Magazine (minus the bacon) chili crisp condiment. You can also buy chili crisp from an Asian Market or on-line but it’s easy to make so do what you want.
All I did was chop of the leftover roasted cabbage and flavor it with fresh chives and chili crisp (around a heaping teaspoon I think.
Then I put a small amount into the center of a wonton wrapper. I wet the edges of the wonton wrapper with water.
Started pleating up the wrapper on both sides.
Some I did round shape. I just hand squeezed them.
Boiled the plated ones. Salted the water with Red Boat Salt.
Boiled the round ones and added a little beet powder to the water.
Dressed the dumplings with more chili crisp and more chives.
