Banana Goodness

What do you do with bananas that are too over-ripe to eat? Why, turn them into banana bread, obviously.

I packed this loaf with bananas, toasted walnuts, and an unusual ingredient that helps keep the loaf oh-so tender: plain yogurt.

I got this wonderful recipe through a subscription from Cook's Illustrated, which, for legal reasons, I can't reprint here. I highly recommend browsing the recipes on their site though. They have a great collection that includes recipes, cooking and baking tips, equipment reviews and taste tests.

Spring Forward with Spring Chicken & Barley Soup

I guess I'm in a soup mood lately. And why not? It's simple, economical, filling, and all cooked in one pot.

This time, with spring just around the corner, I made my Spring Chicken & Barley Soup. It's loaded with the aforementioned chicken and barley. It's also loaded with a ton of fresh veggies: asparagus, zucchini and carrots to name a few.

It's a great dish to prepare for the changing seasons. The barley is still hearty and comforting on a cool evening, but the loads of asparagus and zucchini is a great reminder of the warmer weather ahead.

Here's the recipe.

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Spring Chicken & Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small carrot, diced small

1 small onion, diced small

2 stalks celery, diced small

6 cloves garlic, minced (you should know by now that I love garlic)

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 large bone-in chicken breast, skin removed, trimmed

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1/3 cup pearl barley

1 can (15-ounce) diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 small bunch trimmed and diagonally sliced asparagus, 1/4 inch thick

2 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add carrot, onion, and celery and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, chicken, barley and thyme. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon. Return the broth to a simmer and cook until the barley is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, shred the chicken or cut into bite-size pieces; discard the bone.

When the barley is done, add the chicken, tomatoes and juice, asparagus, zucchini, salt, and a grinding of pepper (or more to taste); return to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the asparagus and zucchini are tender, about 5 minutes more. Enjoy!

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Cheers to longer days ahead!

A Labor of Love: Oxtail Stew

Stew is typically regarded as comfort food. For me, it's definitely comforting. But it can't be just any stew, with any cut of meat. It has to be oxtail stew.

Some people might find it to be a little exotic, but it's food I grew up with. This wasn't food from the restaurant. This was food from home. Mother hovered over a gigantic stockpot cooking this stew all day. It's a labor of love. Not that it's difficult to make; it's pretty easy actually. It just takes patience to get it done right.

Here's my spin on the recipe. I do this in two stages (over two days, because I find it easier, but it can be done in one) to assure maximum flavor.

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Oxtail Stew, serves 6-8

Stage One:

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds oxtails total (about 8-10 cut pieces total)

2 carrots, peeled, cut in big 3-4" chunks

4 stalks celery, cut in big 3-4" chunks

1 large onion, peeled, cut into 4 quadrants

12 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed but left whole (I LOVE garlic; you can use less if you want)

3-4 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 cup red wine

2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1 tsp whole allspice

1 star anise

3 bay leaves

vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Heat a big dutch oven with a tbsp of veg oil over med-high heat. Sear the oxtails in batches, on all sides. They don't need to be cooked through at this point; you're just looking for a good sear all around. Remove oxtails to a large bowl and set aside. Poor off all but 1 tbsp fat in the pot, then toss in the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute until the veg begins to soften. Pour in 3 cups of the beef broth and the red wine. Add all the spices and bay leaves (just throw it in there -- it will get strained out later). Nestle the oxtails back into the pot. There should be just enough liquid in there to barely cover the oxtails. Add in the 4th cup of broth if it looks like it needs more liquid. Cover, bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for at least 2 hours. Test the meat with a fork; it should come away from the bone easily. If it doesn't, simmer for up to an hour longer. When meat is tender, use tongs to remove the oxtails into a clean bowl (scrape off any spices that may get stuck to the meat). Carefully strain the liquid left in the pot into another big bowl and discard the veggies and spices. This is the point where I let the ox stock and ox meat cool. I wrap it up, put it in the fridge, and start cooking again the following day.

Stage two:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour

the ox stock

the ox meat

1 carrot, peeled and chopped (or more, if you'd like)

8 ounces cleaned, quartered crimini mushrooms

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

12 big cloves garlic, minced (or less. did I mention that I love garlic?)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, minced

3 small yukon gold potatoes, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

Directions:

You can choose at this point to leave the ox meat on the bones, or pull it off. I prefer to pull all the meat off and discard the bones since it makes for a more pleasant eating experience. Check out the cold ox stock -- there should be a layer of solidified fat that floated to the top during the cooling process. Scrape it off into a small bowl, but don't throw it away. Yup, because the world is a crazy place, we're going to use that fat. Take about a tbsp of that fat and melt it in the big dutch oven. Saute the carrots, mushrooms and onions just until it softens. Add in the garlic and tomato paste and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add in HALF of the ox stock, the thyme and rosemary, all of the potatoes, and all of the ox meat. Bring to a simmer. While that's happening, warm a smaller pot to make a roux. Melt the rest of that ox fat (about half a cup -- if that freaks you out you can use butter, a neutral oil, or a combo of both), and add the flour. Stir mixture until it turns golden and nutty, just a couple minutes. Then gradually add the rest of the reserved ox stock to make a really thick gravy. Let it come to a boil to really thicken. Add this super-thick gravy back to the oxtail stew to create a nice smooth saucy consistency. This is when I add in the celery. I don't add the celery at the beginning because I like the celery to hold its crunch.

About 20 minutes later, when the potatoes are cooked through, the stew is done and delicious.

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You can serve this with crusty bread, over grits or polenta, or over plain white rice, which is how I like it.

Mom's always tastes better, but I think I get close. It's comfort in a bowl.

Seasoning Emergencies at the Office

That's right, folks. I keep a peppermill on my desk at work.

After all, you never know when you'll need a touch of freshly cracked pepper on your weekday lunch (that's leftover cauliflower potato soup in the photo).

Don't you have one on your desk, too?

Potato Cauliflower Soup

When I'm at the grocery store or street market, I buy the produce that looks good and is on sale. This time, I picked cauliflower.

Once I brought it home, I didn't know what to do with it. I looked around my kitchen, noticed a few leftover yukon gold potatoes that were looking lonely, and decided to make a soup.

It's another simple recipe.

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Potato Cauliflower Soup, serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, pressed (me! using only 1 clove!)

2 stalks celery heart, diced

4-6 cups chicken broth

3 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" chunks

1 head cauliflower, core cut out, chopped into small pieces

1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream, if desired

snipped chives for garnish

truffle oil for garnish (optional, but oh-so-good with it)

Directions:

Heat large pot over med-high heat with a splash of olive oil. Saute onion, garlic and celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with a bit of salt. Add 4 cups of chicken broth, all of the potatoes and cauliflower. If everything isn't covered completely with broth, add the other 2 cups of broth. Crank heat to high to boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes, until potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through and very soft. Purée soup in batches in blender, or use a hand-immersion blender to blend until smooth. You can leave it chunky if you like a little texture. At this point you can add in the half-and-half or heavy cream to add some more creaminess to the soup. Season to taste. Garnish with some chive and truffle oil if you have it.

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A cup of this and perhaps a tasty sandwich or salad makes for an elegant lunch or light dinner. And it's tasty!

Dining Out #2: Café Presse

The BF and I have decided to rediscover the neighborhood we live in. After 5+ years in the First Hill/Capitol Hill area of Seattle, we've yet to discover some of the fabulous local eateries that are just a few blocks from home.

Last weekend, on a beautifully sunny Saturday, we walked to Café Presse for a late lunch. This casual French café is a place definitely worth visiting. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with exposed brick wall and wood-paneled ceilings. The menu is simple, and is a great introduction to French cuisine for those that might be a bit intimated.

Even though I've never been to Paris, it's the kind of place I imagine the French would linger, read a magazine and sip some coffee.

The coffee alone is worth a visit. In fact, I savored my cappucino so much, I offended the BF because I inadvertently didn't hear what he was saying to me at the time I was sipping my extremely delicious beverage. Fortunately he's as much of a caffeine addict as I am (actually more so), so he understood my experience with the coffee and forgave me.

We ordered two courses. The first: I had the roasted beet salad tossed with fresh greens, pear, and bleu cheese in a pear vinaigrette. The BF had the croqué monsieur, which is a baked ham, gruyere, and béchamel sandwich.

The second: we both had the French onion soup, which was broiled with the classic crouton and gruyere on top.

Everything was so delicious. Leave it to the French to prepare simple ingredients and escalate it to a whole other level of deliciousness.

After six cups or so of coffee between us and paying the bill (which was very reasonably priced), we left completely happy, knowing full well that we'll definitely be back to Café Presse.

Paris has a reputation for romance. Café Presse is making us fall in love with our neighborhood all over again.

For the Love of All Things Garlic!

Some might accuse me of using too much garlic in my cooking. In my humble opinion, there can never be too much.

Pressed, sliced, chopped, blended, roasted, fried, pickled...you name it, I'll do it to garlic, and then eat it. When a recipe calls for a mere one clove of garlic, I automatically think, "One clove? Okay, I'll put in one head."

Granted, there are dishes where garlic shouldn't overpower or compete with other flavors, in which case I stick to the number of cloves called for in the recipe (a potato leek soup, for instance, should use garlic sparingly so as not to overwhelm the delicate flavor of the leek). If the dish calls for raw garlic, I also tend to use it sparingly (though I do make some mean garlicky hummus where I sometimes use both raw and roasted together).

For a heartier dish, however, when garlic can really shine, I'll put in a whole head. Take, for instance, my super-easy meaty garlicky marinara. I use at least this much garlic for one recipe:

Is that a lot? Naaahh. When peeled and pressed, I turn it into this:

And here's how I make my simple weeknight version of meat marinara:

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Weeknight Meaty Garlicky Marinara

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic, peeled and pressed (or less, if you're scared)

1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine

3/4 pound of lean ground beef (I use 85-90% lean)

1 - 15oz can of tomato puree

1 - 15oz can of diced tomatoes

a pinch of crushed red pepper, more or less

a small handful of fresh basil, chopped, or a teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon sugar

olive oil

salt

your favorite pasta, cooked per package directions

Directions:

In a cold, medium saucepan, add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add all of the garlic and sprinkle the teaspoon of sugar on top of the garlic. Set the pan over medium-low heat and let the garlic slowly cook with the sugar, stirring it frequently. This is a technique I learned from America's Test Kitchen. It's a cheater's way to roast garlic quickly for one-pot stovetop meals. The sugar caramelizes and brings out the garlic's sweetness. The sugar also helps cut some of the acidity that canned tomatoes can have.

After about 10 minutes, the garlic will be sticky and straw-colored. Add the onions and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Now crank the heat to med-high and add the meat. Break it up with the cooking utensil you're using. Make sure the garlic and onion are thoroughly mixed into the meat. Season with a bit of salt. When the meat is cooked through, add all the tomatoes and crushed red pepper. At this point, if you're using dried basil, add that now too. If you're using fresh, save it for the end. Simmer the sauce for about 10-15 minutes, taste for seasoning, and it's done!

Oh, somewhere in there you'll have cooked up some of your favorite pasta to go with it, too.

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It's an easy, satisfying weeknight dinner that shouldn't take more than an hour to prepare from start to finish. I also have a version where I roast fresh tomatoes from the garden and turn it into a great marinara. But that's another post.

Salute!