Watermelon Burgers & Curry Rubbed Sweet Potato Planks

Call me a liberal, and you'd be right.  I actually have The New York Times delivered to my house every Sunday. Mike takes the entire week to read and savor each section. He always begins with the book review.  I normally read only one section - The New York Times Magazine.  I head for the back of the magazine to a section called "EAT".  The article is always about some type of food, a bit of background is given and a recipe as well.  On July 10, 2011 Mark Bittman did an article called "Throw Another Melon on the Barbie". (Mark describes himself as "... an avid home cook since 1968, a journalist for nearly as long (longer if you count [his] high school yearbook!) and a professional food writer since 1980." He is not a chef but has worked/cooked with a number of chefs from around the world, and has written a few cookbooks.) Mark's article arrived, in our driveway, during our let's try to be vegetarians phase of cooking, eating and blogging. The timing couldn't have been better!


All the pictures of the fruits and vegetables looked great. He made portobello's with a Vietnamese-style marinade, curry-rubbed sweet potato planks, teriyaki cabbage steaks, chilli-rubbed jicama steaks with queso fresco, miso-glazed eggplant slices and last but not least watermelon burgers with cheese. I decided to try the sweet potatoes and the burgers.


The problem was we were only about three weeks into the whole vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. We were both beginning to miss meat.  We fell hook, line and sinker for the words "steaks" and "burgers" that were appended to the grilled vegetables and fruit names. The watermelon may take on the shape of a burger but it definitely is not a burger. 


We were so excited to try these burgers until we took the first bite.  I can't tell you what a disappointment they were. They tasted just how you might imagine -  a grilled hot sweet piece of watermelon that dripped its liquid with each bite. I usually don't blog about my failures in the kitchen, but I wanted to get the word out that a watermelon should never ever be heated or grilled. Enjoy it for what it is and get your "burgers" a more conventional way. 

To be fair I wanted to see if any other home cook/blogger had tried to make this recipe. I found a blog called The Nervous Cook that had a totally different opinion. Perhaps he/she is a much better cook than me or I have the palate of a goat!

At the same time we tried Mark Bittman's Curry-Rubbed Sweet-Potato Planks. There were fantastic, easy to prepare and a side dish that is good for you.


Curry-Rubbed Sweet-Potato Planks
Time 40 to 45 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• salt and black pepper
• 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, like rapeseed or corn
• Lime wedges for serving

1. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to moderately high heat, keeping part of the grill cool for indirect grilling, and put the rack about 4 inches from the flame. Combine the curry powder, cumin, coriander and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Brush the sweet-potato slices with the oil and rub all over with the spice mixture.
2. Put the sweet-potato planks on the cool part of the grill and close the grill cover. Cook, checking and turning occasionally, until the flesh is very tender all the way through, 20 to 25 minutes. Move the planks to the hotter part of the grill and cook, turning once or twice, until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.

You may be tempted to leave off the lime wedges thinking of them more as a garnish instead of an ingredient.  The lime adds a tart flavor to the sweetness of the potato that makes the entire dish quite satisfying. These planks are restaurant worthy but simple enough to do at home.

Life is good - enjoy!

Italian Vegetable Ragout

Today makes my twenty-second day of being a vegetarian and part-time vegan. It has been a wonderful adventure with only one meal being a catastrophe. I tried to stay away from processed vegetarian fare using only fresh or canned ingredients.  To help me in my quest for delicious food I purchased Robin Robertson's Fire & Spice.
 

What a treat! This book has 200 global recipes that are 100% vegan using readily available ingredients. You get to try the spicy cuisines of the U.S., South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India and Asia.  Trying to decide with ones to blog about is difficult because everything we tried was wonderful.

One of our favorites turned out to be the Italian Vegetable Ragout. This is a perfect recipe to make as you bring in your gardens bounty or after a trip to your farmer's market.

Italian Vegetable Ragout

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I used 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Uncover, stir in the wine and cook until it evaporates. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, marjoram, hot pepper flakes, cannellini beans, broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the parsley and basil.

Serves 4

I did not use the olive oil - just sprayed a little vegetable spray in the pan before adding the vegetables. I did not miss it at all or the additional 250 calories it adds to the entree. The recipe easily divides in half. All you need is a crusty loaf of warm Italian bread to make this meal complete.

I'm not sure how long I will be living the vegetarian life, but I do know that for our little planet and for our big bodies it is a great way to eat. The meals I have prepared were delicious and quite inexpensive to make. Summer is a great time to give a vegetarian meal a try. So, on your next meatless Monday give this a try.

Life is good - enjoy!

Summer Cocktails

I've never been much of a cocktail drinker. I'll drink a gin and tonic on occasion as well as a bourbon and coke, but nothing too fancy.  This summer I decided to up my cocktail game and try to make something that was fresh from summers bounty.

The first thing I found was Bobby Flay's Blackberry-Bourbon Iced Tea. This was published in the Food Network Magazine, issue June, 2011.

Blackberry-Bourbon Iced Tea

Bobby Flay's Blackberry-Bourbon Iced Tea

Serves: 4 to 6

• 3 cups fresh blackberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus mint sprigs for garnish
• 6 good-quality black tea bags
• Good quality Bourbon, to taste (Bobby likes Woodford Reserve)

1. Combine the blackberries, sugar and chopped mint in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon; let sit while making the tea.
2. While the blackberries are macerating, bring 1-1/2 quarts cold water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and let steep for about 3 minutes. Remove the tea bags and pour the tea over the blackberry mixture. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld.
3. Pour the mixture through a strainer into a pitcher, pressing on the solids. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. (You can also pour the mixture into a bowl set over an ice bath to cool it faster.)
4. Serve the blackberry tea over ice in tall glasses and float a shot of bourbon on top of each. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs (like a mint julep).

This was pretty good. Although I didn't think you could taste much of the bourbon - perhaps a touch more would be appropriate here.

My next find comes from the series Mad Men. They did a link on Twitter for their favorite cocktails from the 1960's. I chose their Tom Collins.

Tom Collins 

INGREDIENTS
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1½ oz of gin
Lemon slices

INSTRUCTIONS
Mix sugar, gin, and juice over ice in mixing glass. Stir, strain in cocktail glass with ice, and top off with soda water. Garnish with lemon slices.

This is basically a lemonade with gin. So light and refreshing. This is the kind of drink that can  sneak up on you so take your time and enjoy.

My last selection. a watermelon vodka slush came from allrecipes.com that was submitted by Michael Allbright.

Watermelon Vodka Slush

Prep Time: 10 minutes     Ready IN: 4 hours & 20 minutes     Servings: 4


Ingredients:
4 cups watermelon flesh, seeds removed
2 fluid ounces simple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup vodka
2 fluid ounces melon liqueur
4 twists lemon zest, garnish


Directions:
In a food processor, puree the watermelon flesh. Pour the pureed watermelon into empty ice cube trays and freeze for at least 4 hours. Also, freeze martini glasses.
In a blender combine the frozen watermelon cubes, simple syrup, lemon juice, vodka and melon liqueur; blend until smooth. Pour into 4 frozen martini glasses and garnish each with a lemon twist.


This was really fun to eat. Although I thought it was a bit bitter. I remedied this by tripling the simple syrup. I also substituted triple sec for the melon liqueur.


I have an ice cream freezer which attaches to my mixer.  I put the pureed watermelon and the rest of the ingredients into it, stirred it up and placed the whole thing in the freezer overnight. The next day I attached it to the mixer and blended it to a beautiful slush mixture. (The alcohol keeps the mixture from freezing solid.)

I also had no idea how to make a lemon zest for the garnish. YouTube came to my rescue with a video, and it turns out that I had the tool I needed for years in my kitchen tool drawer.


Life is good - enjoy!

The Art of a Poached Egg

In May of this year I talked about my obsession with the simple poached egg. My problem is I can't make them very well.  I've watched videos of famous chefs and not so famous chefs gently dropping the egg into simmering/swirling vinegar laced water. I found myself truly lacking in water swirling and egg dropping skills. (It kind of like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time.) Last month "Bon Appetit Magazine" came up with a clever way of microwaving an egg in a glass container - poof a poach egg requiring no skill. I was a failure at this as well. It was either undercooked or overcooked. While visiting my daughter Katie, in Charleston, SC, I discovered a new tool that is fool proof. Katie took me to a store called Charleston Cooks. (This store sells all kinds of high end kitchen tools, barware, cookware and gourmet food. ) There I found a Poach Pod. This is a flexible silicone cooking tool for poaching eggs, baking and molding. It floats in water during cooking. I paid $12.00 for two - amazon.com has them for a bit less.

To use them you spray each pod with cooking spray and drop the egg into the pod. You then drop them gently into a pan with 1 to 1-1/2 inchs of simmering water.

Cover the pan for about four minutes and you have a perfectly cooked runny poached egg. Now lift the pod out of the water and the egg will slide right out of the pod.

This beautiful egg became part of my breakfast this morning. I made a bowl of creamy grits and topped them with sauteed swiss chard, from my garden and then added the poached egg. This is goodness at its best!

Life is good - enjoy!

Cuban Chimichurri

Cilantro, Basil
Parsley & Rosemary

My summer garden is running wild with copious amounts of fresh herbs. I love this time of year, but I run out of ideas for what I should do with all this goodness. A great idea came out of the June/July 2011 issue of  "Taste of Home". Taste of Home allows home cooks to contribute recipes to their publication. Elaine Sweet from Dallas, Texas contributed this one. She says that "[t]his fresh sauce complements steak wonderfully, but try it on a burger. Your taste buds will thank you!"

Cuban Chimichurri

Prep/Total Time: 20 minutes Yield: 1 cup

• 7 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1-1/4 cups packed fresh cilantro sprigs
• 3/4 cup packed fresh parsley sprigs
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• grilled steak

1. Place garlic in a small food processor; cover and chop. Add the cilantro, parsley, pepper flakes and black pepper; cover and process until finely chopped.
2. Add the vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce and lime peel. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Serve with the grilled steak.

I really liked this sauce.  It is spicy with a taste that is clean and bright. I'm thinking that it would be fantastic on scrambled eggs or added to Mexican dishes.

Life is good - enjoy!

Chicken Stroganoff With Tarragon and Mustard

"It just costs too much to eat well". You hear this almost everyday. I know that this is not true. It takes time to eat well, but not near as much money as most folks believe. One of the cheapest and tastiest meats available is the bone in skin on chicken thigh. My local grocery will put them on sell for less than a dollar a pound. That my friends will feed a family of four for less than $1.50. Take that dollar menus! Add some sides and for less than $5.00 everyone in the family eats well. To get the price you must buy the chicken with the skin and bone in tact and butcher it yourself. If your not sure how to do this here is a link to a YouTube video that Chef Paul Prudhomme produced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrGYaVN_T_0

The chicken stroganoff with tarragon and mustard uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The recipe, courtesy of Iron Chef Cat Cora,  is quick and easy to do for a family supper or can be made ahead of time for a causal company dinner. Just reheat and your good to go.

Chicken Stroganoff with Tarragon and Mustard
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ponds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more if needed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup shallots
• 1/4 cup Marsala
• 3/4 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, plus 6 to 8 sprigs for garnish
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Buttered parsley noodles, plan noodles or rice

Instructions:

Cut the chicken into 1" chunks. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until it is shimmering but not smoking. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until they're a light golden color, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring, until golden on the outside and almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken and the shallots to a plate.

Deglaze the pan by turning the heat to high, pouring in the Marsala, and scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, stir, and boil until the liquid begins to look syrupy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and pour any juices that have accumulated on the plate underneath the chicken back into the pan. Add the mustard and the minced tarragon and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the sour cream, stirring until smooth. Turn the heat to low, taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Add the chicken and shallots to the pan and gently heat over low heat until the stroganoff is warmed through; do not let it boil. Serve over noodles, or rice and garnish each serving with a tarragon sprig.

I made this using Cat Cora's "twist it" suggestion using fresh thyme instead of the tarragon. This is comfort food at it's best - just remember to stock up on chicken thighs when your butcher puts them on sell and you too can eat cheaply and well.

Life is good - enjoy!

Traveling With Yelp

For several years Mike and I have tried to avoid fast food restaurants when traveling around the country.  This is easier said than done. Our best technique was to get off the interstate in a town, at meal time, drive around, spot a restaurant with a lot of cars, go in and enjoy! This worked pretty well as long as the timing was good. Many times we couldn't find anything and would head to the nearest fast food place -  our heads hung in defeat. This is NOT going to happen again thanks to the miracle of new technologies that allow our smart phones to be connected to satellites and an app called Yelp.

A couple of weeks ago we made a weekend trip to Memphis, TN. The mid-way point, lunch time, is Nashville.  We knew we wanted Bar-B-Que but we were crunched for time and didn't want to stray too far from the interstate. Yelp came to our rescue. (If your not familiar with Yelp it is an internet site that lets everyday folks post reviews about local businesses. It is also reachable with an app on your smart phone.) One of the cool parts of the smart phone application is that it has a button called a monocle. You press it and it shows you everything that is in your current location. Restaurants, gas stations, hospitals etc. I'm driving and Mike is searching for lunch.  Just west of Nashville right off the interstate is The Loveless Motel and Cafe. We hit the mother lode for lunch.

The Loveless Motel and Cafe was first stated in 1951. In the beginning it served fried chicken and biscuits in the cafe and had rooms for rent for travelers motoring on Highway 100. Today the Loveless can seat 75 folks for breakfast and supper and the hotel rooms have been converted to shops. The famous biscuits and handmade preserves (which are served with every meal)  are still the biggest draw to the restaurant.

We are quickly shown our table and the miracles begin to happen. Our waitress treated us as if we were old friends - kind, talkative and informative. She was all things southern just the kind of person I love. She immediately brought us the famous biscuits and three small pots of homemade preserves -   blackberry, strawberry and peach. She said "Here you go sweethearts - it's just to take the edge off." I kept tearing off small bites of biscuits trying to decide which preserve I liked the best. The verdict - all!

Mike ordered a half slab of their watermelon ribs. He was a bit leery of ribs with watermelon, but the waitress assured him that she had never had any complaints. The ribs were smoked perfectly, with meat falling from the bones, and the watermelon and bar-b-que sauce was a lovely mixture of sweet and savory. These are not to be missed.

I ordered a bar-b-que sandwich and fries. It was just what I was hoping for. Although after the biscuits and a rib or two of Mikes the french fries went to waste.










While in Memphis my old girlfriends took  me to Huey's. This is the go to place for great burgers and beer.  In 1970 there was only one location now there are four. If you ever visit Memphis the original Huey's is located in mid-town on Madison Avenue.

This is my burger and extra large onion rings. The rings are cut from large red onions, breaded and deep fried. Yummy!  Notice the yellow pic in the center of the burger. One of the traditions at Huey's is to place the pic in a straw and blow/shoot it into their soft ceiling. There are literally thousands of multi colored tooth pics over your head.



On our way home Yelp was again instrumental in our search for all things breakfast. It led us to The Log Cabin Restaurant. (Sorry no link, no website, just good food.) It's right off Interstate I-40 east of Memphis in Buffalo, TN.

Log Cabin Restaurant

Once again the hospitality of the folks in the south really should put the rest of us to shame. I asked where the ladies room was, the waitress rested her hand on my shoulder and said "Why honey, it's right behind the pie case." Pie case need I say more?  Anyway, breakfast was served quickly, piping hot with excellent service.

The home fries were especially good. Usually they are served pan fried but these were deep fried. Crunchy crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The eggs were basted in real butter and the biscuits here once again handmade.






Thanks to Yelp we found two wonderful places to eat while on a weekend trip.
We're headed to North and South Carolina in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see what new places await us.

Life is good - enjoy!