Seth's Pablano Rice

* 1 dried pablano (ancho, or other variety) pepper (see prep below)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 large yellow onion, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 cups rice (typically long-grain, in this case we used arborio (short-grain, aka, risoto rice.)
* 3 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
* 3/4 teaspoon salt

Prepare a dried pablano. (see Rick Bayless )
In hot skillet, roast the dried pepper, turning until browned and fragrant.
Place in warm water to reconstitute.
Slice, discarding seeds and inner flesh to reduce heat.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepper; sauté until onion is translucent, about 9 minutes. Mix in rice; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender and broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes. (If needed add additional water.) Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Serve with home brewed beer.

Based on Rick Bayless + Epicurious via Bon Appetit.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mexican-Rice-109800

Curry Hummus - Chickpea Curry: The Aftermath

If you've made a large batch of Chickpea Curry like I usually do, there comes a time to re-invent.

The Indian inspired simple Chickpea "Curry" may be insulting or puzzling to a South Asian in and of itself, but simply based upon a common ingredient, transform it to a Middle-Eastern dish? Out of my culinary and cultural obtuseness this Curry Hummus was born - certainly a better alternative to party dip than what you can find on the shelves.

1 - 1 1/2 quarts of Chickpea Curry
1/2 c tahini paste
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c hot water
1 T olive oil
1 t kosher or sea salt
3 T flat parsley (including stems) or Cilantro

Pulse in food processor until smooth. I have made batches that came out too dry, so I recommend adding hot water to the food processor to keep the mixture moist. If you have undercooked the chickpeas, this will also help break down the mixture.

Serve as you would any hummus - we like it with pita, tortilla chips, and/or fresh sliced vegetables.


If you're interested in a primer on Indian cuisine, check out CLASSIC INDIAN COOKERY by Julie Sahini (AKA CLASSIC INDIAN COOKING.)

Kick off the Summer with some potato salad.

I more or less followed The Joy of Cooking recipe and added minced carrots, curry powder, and sour cream (which I think freshens up and lightens the dish a bit.) [Perhaps introduce some yogurt?] It also was good topped with hot Hungarian paprika at the time of serving. (Hot Paprika has a similar flavor to chipotle powder or smoked Spanish paprika.)

American Potato Salad (The Joy of Cooking, variation.)

6 to 8 servings


Boil in salted water until tender:

2 pounds potatoes

Drain. Peel if desired and cut into bite-sized pieces. Rince, cool, and pat dry potatoes then combine in a large bowl with:

2 celery stalks, diced

2 carrots, minced

2 scallions, minced

3 hard-boiled eggs, diced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon curry powder

Salt and black pepper to taste

sprinkle with hot Hungarian paprika at the time of serving

http://www.thejoykitchen.com/

Day 2: Polenta Fries

Perfect for left-over polenta (from the Day 1 recipe) or keep a tube of pre-made polenta in your pantry for a quick meal.

Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Slice chilled polenta into fries - 3" x 1" seems like a good size.
Lightly oil a baking sheet and lightly spray fries with oil.
Bake for 30 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through cooking, remove when crispy and golden brown.

Day 1: Basic Italian Polenta (AKA corn grits)

Polenta is a wonderful staple, also known as corn grits. It's delicious and also makes a very nice leftover meal, polenta fries.

Ingredients
* 6 cups Water
* [Proportionate amount of Chicken Base for 6 cups water (usually 6 tsp.) adds a rich flavor to the Polenta. Optional but recommended!]
* 1 tsp Sea Salt [Omit salt if adding chicken stock.]
* 2 cups Corn Grits-Polenta
* 3 Tb Butter

Directions
Grate or shred 1/2 cup cheese such as Parmesan, Romano, Fontina or Monterey Jack for topping.

[Delicious on it's own, but you can add sauce.]
Sauce: Any meat or tomato sauce that is intended to spoon onto pasta.

In a large, deep pan over high heat bring water and sea salt to a boil; gradually stir in polenta. Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring frequently to prevent sticking until mixture is very thick (about 30 minutes) [I think Polenta is best when cooked longer than 30 minutes. Shoot for 45 minutes at lower heat if necessary.]; use a long-handled spoon because mixture pops and bubbles and can burn.

Stir in butter, if you wish, and more salt if needed.
[When using chicken stock and parmesan, salt should not be necessary.]

Oil a deep medium sized bowl, spoon polenta into bowl and let set for 10 minutes. Invert onto a flat plate. Mixture will unmold and hold its shape. Cut polenta into thick slices and serve hot. Top with your favorite tomato sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 Servings.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Grilled Venison Steak and Vegetables

Grilled venison steak (courtesy of Dan Putnam.) Grilled vegetables, roma tomato & fresh mozzarella, and dollop of fresh homemade pesto.

Prep:
On steaks - salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, vegetable oil.

On sliced sweet peppers & onion cut into 1/8ths - salt, pepper, vegetable oil.

Sliced tomato, topped with sliced fresh mozzarella, olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh basil (or dried basil or oregano.)



Grill veggies and steak to liking.

Serve with pesto on the side.

Ravioli With Roasted Zucchini

This is another go-to meal for us - also a good technique to keep in mind. You just can't beat fresh seasonal vegetables roasted and tossed with pasta. Just keep a bag of ravioli in the freezer, pick up a few zucchini, and you have a delicious, quick meal. As always, the leftover roasted veggies work perfectly tossed with some cooked dried pasta or on a taco.

It's from Real Simple magazine.




Ingredients

* 4 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
* 2/3 cup freshly and finely grated Parmesan
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons kosher salt
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 pound cheese ravioli (preferably fresh)
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Place the zucchini in a large baking dish in a single layer and drizzle with the oil, chili flakes, and 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, then season with the pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Add the garlic and roast for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, until tender and just golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, add the ravioli and the remaining salt to the boiling water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent the ravioli from sticking. Cook the ravioli for 3 minutes after they begin to float. Drain and place in a large bowl. Toss gently with the roasted zucchini, half the parsley, and half the remaining Parmesan. Serve immediately with the remaining parsley and Parmesan.

FRUIT PIZZA

Crust:
1 egg
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar

Then add
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream tartar (spice)
1/2 tsp salt

Pack in pizza pan and bake at 400 for 12 minutes. Cool.

Topping:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp fruit juice (pineapple etc.)
Spread over cooled crust

Fruit:
Arrange fruit - kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, and red grapes [Our last rendition.]
(...or any combination like, bananas, apples, peaches, cherries, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, ...)
[Note that if you do skip the glaze (as we do) avoid fruit that will brown, like bananas & apples, unless you're serving immediately.]

Glaze: [We omit this step.]
1 1/2 cup fruit juice (Any fruite juice that's desired.)
2 tbsp corn starch

Cook until thickened. Cool completely then spoon over fruit that has been arranged on the crust.