Curry Shrimp and Noodle Soup

I've almost burned myself out on Italian and Mexican. Almost. I'm not sure if it's possible for me to overdo pizza and tacos. Yesterday, when agonizing over what to make for dinner, I decided I needed to spice up my life, literally, and go for Asian. More specifically Thai.

I've tried Asian-esque before (to sound fancy I'll call it Asian fusion), but it's not typically authentic. For example, Korean tacos. They were delicious, but I'm not sure the addition of soy sauce and sesame seeds really counts. You should definitely still make them though. 

Trader Joe's really brought it with the quality of the frozen shrimp.

This soup combines Thai flavors of curry and chilies cooled down by creamy coconut milk. We're starting to get warmer. Add some zesty lime and cilantro, and I'm picturing myself on a tropical island in southeast Asia. Another bonus: this soup takes much less time than my typical soup takes.

I suggest you get out of your weeknight pizza and pasta rut, and make this ASAP.

Artsy Filter

Curry Shrimp and Noodle Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (uncooked and thawed if frozen)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 yellow onion (chopped finely)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup diced green onions and 1 jalapeno (garnish)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 can light coconut milk 
1 tbsp red curry paste (I used the Thai Kitchen brand found in the Asian section of my Safeway.)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 tbsp fresh lime juice 
6 ounces rice noodles
1 tsp Sriracha

Directions:

In large stock pot, saute minced garlic and onion in 1 tablespoon of oil (your choice) for 3-4 minutes. Add minced carrots and continue cooking until carrots are soft.

Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Most only need to be soaked in hot water, but mine were fresh and required boiling for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add broth, curry paste, and ginger to vegetables. Once boiling, lower heat to medium. Add shrimp and cook 4 minutes. Add lime juice, coconut milk, curry powder, cilantro, and Sriracha. Add noddles and continue cooking on medium for an additional 5-7 minutes until soup is hot. (Do not over cook or the shrimp will be chewy.)

Serve soup hot and garnish with green onions, jalapenos, a lime wedge and extra cilantro. 

[Recipe adapted from The Lovely Cupboard]

Crispy Avocado BLT Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette and Spicy Ranch Drizzle

I officially love salads.

So what if this salad has crispy fried avocado, ranch, bacon and cheese? Don't care. It's all served in moderation so I still consider this a healthy meal option. Avocados are good fats, remember?

I've seen recipes for fried avocados before, and I'm not exactly sure why it's taken me so long to hop on the bandwagon. These were delicious as a salad topping but could also be great as an appetizer served with mayo a dipping sauce of some kind. The trick here is that your avocado can't be too ripe otherwise it will fall apart. Another secret of the pros is to use paper plates/bowls for your frying goods to make for much easier clean up.

If frying scares you, don't let it! It just requires a few simple steps:

Flour, egg, Parmesan and panko

Salt-N-Pepa

Dredge in flour, egg and then Parmesan panko mixture

Fry in hot olive oil

Let drain on a paper towel

Your food should be a vehicle for condiments, and this salad has two. Since the honey-lime vinaigrette is the main star here, I don't feel too bad that this salad has a little ranch drizzle on it. Moderation, people. I'm refusing to eat a salad with only one dressing from here on out.

Crispy Avocado BLT Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette and Spicy Ranch Drizzle 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the crispy avocado:

1 whole avocado, semi-firm, not mushy

Pinch of salt and pepper

⅓ cup flour

1 whole egg beaten

½ cup panko

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

olive oil, for frying

For the honey-lime dressing:

2-½ tbsp honey

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsps fresh squeezed lime juice

Pinch of salt and pepper

For the spicy ranch drizzle:

⅓ cup ranch dressing

½ tsp or more of chili with garlic sauce (or you can use Sriracha)

For the salad:

Arugula or your fave lettuce

Tomato

2 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese

2 slices cooked bacon, Crumbled

Directions: 

For the crispy avocado:

Halve your avocado and run a sharp knife gently around the perimeter of each half to loosen the meat from the skin. Gently remove the skin and the seed. Slice each half into wedges. You should be able to get 8-10 wedges from the avocado, depending on its size. Don’t slice them too thin; you want them to hold up to the breading and frying. Sprinkle the wedges with a bit of kosher salt and pepper.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Place the egg (beaten) in another bowl and the panko and Parmesan cheese in another bowl. Dredge each piece in the flour, gently shake off any excess flour. Dip into the egg mixture, then finally into the panko mixture, coating all sides well. Set aside.

Heat your oil in a frying pan. Place just enough olive oil in your pan to just cover the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium high heat until oil becomes hot enough to fry. You can test with a little piece of excess batter. Gently set your avocado pieces in the oil. Fry on all sides until browned, a total of about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Gently remove from the pan, set on a paper towel-lined plate.

For the honey-lime dressing:

Combine honey, vinegar, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl; whisk until fully combined. Drizzle over salad.

For the drizzle:

Combine the ranch dressing and chili with garlic sauce in a small bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Adjust to your taste. Drizzle over salad.

For the salad:

Assemble your salad(s) with the greens, tomatoes, shaved Parmesan cheese, and crumbled bacon. Top with crispy avocado and dressings.

[Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen] 

French Onion Soup Pizza

French onion soup is one of my long term favorite foods. Even when I was picky, this was one of my go to restaurant orders. It's a little trickier to make in my kitchen due to an old and scary broiler so when I saw this recipe for french onion soup pizza, I was game. This was great as dinner but would be just as good/better cut into smaller slices as an appetizer.

I had originally intended to buy pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's or even Safeway. Now that we have a hand mixer with a dough attachment though, I decided to tackle my first yeast experiment. I associate yeast with baking, and baking scares me. 

It's alive!

It rose! All that stress for nothing. I think with a little more practice I could actually make a pretty tasty dough. I had all the ingredients for it in my kitchen already (minus the yeast, but that's cheap), and all I needed to do was follow the instructions on the package. I did this first to give my dough the maximum amount of time to rise.

Next up were the onions. While caramelizing this amount of onions takes a while, it's extremely low maintenance and requires little actual work.

Chop

Throw in a pot

Stir every once in a while

The onions took a little over an hour to really caramelize. Just leave them on medium low heat for an hour or so, stirring occasionally. This also gives the dough plenty of time to rise and you time to do productive things like watch The Bachelor and/or paint your nails.

Once the dough has doubled in size and the onions are nice and brown, assemble on an oiled baking sheet and bake. Don't forget to chop some fresh chives over the whole thing at the end.

Boom

French Onion Soup Pizza
Serves 5-6 as dinner


Ingredients:

For the Crust:
1½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 packet instant dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds onions, sliced
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but sherry would be best.)
1 pound gruyere, shredded
freshly snipped chives (for garnish)

Directions:

For the Crust:
Combine the warm water and maple syrup. Sprinkle the yeast onto the sweet water and swirl to combine. Allow it to proof. Add the flours and incorporate on low speed with the dough hook. Add the salt and olive oil. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl. Coat the surface with additional olive oil, and cover with a damp towel. Set in a warm place to rise, 45 minutes to several hours.

For the Topping:
Heat the first six ingredients in a heavy pot, on medium low heat, for one hour, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 550 degrees.

Once the dough has doubled in size, flatten it onto an oiled half-sheet pan. Working quickly to avoid the dough rising again, spread the caramelized onions evenly on the dough, and top with shredded gruyere. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Top with freshly snipped chives and truffle oil if you have it.


[Recipe adapted from Yin Mom, Yang Mom]

Brussel Sprout and Gouda Grilled Cheese with Balsamic Syrup

I don't normally feel like recipes for salads or sandwiches are necessary. That is unless they have some creative element I hadn't considered before - a special condiment, bread choice, or anything else to hook me. I love brussel sprouts, and when I saw one of my favorite food blogs put up this recipe for a grilled cheese with brussels, I knew it was next up on my to-do list.

Why didn't I think of this before?

This sandwich combines some of my favorite elements: butter, gouda, shaved brussel sprouts and balsamic vinegar. It's also a classic example of me justifying grilled cheese as a healthy food choice with the addition of some veggies.

I may or may not have made this twice this week already. Just don't forget my new favorite chip (and that's saying something), Cape Cod Waffle Cut Chips.

Brussel Sprout and Gouda Grilled Cheese with Balsamic Syrup

Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

1/2 pound brussels sprouts, stems removed and chopped or shredded

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

12 ounces of gouda cheese, sliced or shredded

8 slices whole grain bread

softened butter for spreading

Directions:

Heat a large skillet oven medium heat and add olive oil. Toss in shredded brussel sprouts and garlic with salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Cook until wilted and golden, stirring occasionally, about 5-6 minutes. Remove sprouts from the skillet and place them in a bowl.

Add vinegar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a very low simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until liquid reduces by about half and is slightly syrupy. Remove from heat.

Heat the same skillet over medium-low heat. Butter the outsides of every bread slice, then layer the sandwiches with cheese, the brussel sprouts, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and more cheese. Top off with a slice of bread, buttered-side up. Cook until each side is golden and crisp and cheese is melted, then gently flip and do the same.

[Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is]

Kale and Artichoke Cream Cheese

Monday (President's Day) was a big day in the kitchen for me. I had two reasonable options for my extra weekend day: nap or cook. I chose the latter and spent most of my day in and out of three groceries stores and my tiny kitchen. I wanted to do something to jazz up my work day turkey sandwiches, and I couldn't think of a better accomplice than flavored cream cheese.

Since I don't love healthy foods, I'll take any opportunity I can to fit some nutritious elements like veggies into some of my fatty regulars. Using light cream cheese, kale and artichokes makes this cream cheese seem less like empty calories and more like part of a balanced diet. Yay!

I'll be eating this all week on sandwiches for lunch, bagels and toast for breakfast, and even pita chips for a snack. It's healthy, remember? This was so easy that I can't wait to play with other flavor combos. The possibilities are endless.

Kale is so in right now.

Kale and Artichoke Cream Cheese

Ingredients:

1/4 cup frozen kale, thawed and squeezed of water

8 oz. light cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped

pinch of garlic salt

squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:

Thaw kale in the microwave according to package directions. Let cool, and squeeze the kale out as much as possible. Chop the kale. Mix the kale, cream cheese, artichoke hearts, pinch of garlic salt, and lemon juice (to taste) until blended. Makes a pint.

[Recipe adapted from Use Real Butter]

Korean Short Rib Lettuce Tacos with Asian Slaw

I had the day off from work yesterday and decided many treats were in order. Since I had more free time on my hands than usual, it felt like a slow cooker kind of day. I love the slow cooker but rarely have the time for it after work.

No words...

I go nuts over short ribs whenever I see them on a menu but have never had the courage or time to try them myself. Stupid. These were one of the best things I've ever made and surprisingly easy. The key to cooking short ribs is low and slow so a crock pot is ideal.

Literally dump your ribs and sauce in the pot and forget about it for 6 hours. You'll need to flip them a few times during the cooking process to make sure all sides get coated in sauce. I can handle that.

While the ribs are cooking, make the slaw. It's better if you let it sit for several hours, but just make sure to add the toasted sesame seeds right at the end.

Once the ribs are falling off the bone (mine took 5 1/2 - 6 hours), discard the bones, and remove the meat to the refrigerator to cool. Skim the fat off the top of your sauce, and continue to cook until thickened. Shred the cooled ribs with two forks or by hand, removing the excess fat, and add back to the sauce to cook for 20 minutes.

**A very important note about fat: While the best flavor of the short ribs comes from the fat, I found that even skimming the fat off the sauce wasn't quite enough. Next time, I'll remove some of the fat from the ribs before cooking. 

Korean Short Rib Lettuce Tacos with Asian Slaw

Serves 5-6  

Ingredients:

Ribs:

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated

3/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup + 3 tbsp brown sugar

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar 

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

3 lbs beef short ribs

Slaw:

1 tsp. rice vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

Pinch of salt

1/4 of a large onion - very thinly sliced

2 large carrots, peeled then "sliced" into long thin strips with your peeler

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1 tsp or drizzle sesame oil

1 sqeeze lime juice (about 1 tsp)

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, FINELY minced or grated

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Rice Pilaf:

1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1/3 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup rice

1 cup water

2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

lime juice

Directions:

For the Ribs:

Mix garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.

Place ribs in a greased crock pot, and pour sauce over ribs. Turn crock pot on low heat. Cover with a lid, and cook for 6 hours, moving the ribs around 2 or 3 times so that they all get a turn being immersed in the sauce.

When the time is up and meat is fork tender, remove meat from pot and discard bones. Place meat in the fridge to chill to touch.

Meanwhile, skim fat off the top of the sauce. Simmer in the crock pot until thickened (about 25 mins).

Once meat is cool to touch, pull apart with your fingers or with 2 forks. Pour shredded meat back into crock pot with sauce to reheat for about 20 mins. 

For the Slaw:

(To toast the sesame seeds, heat a small pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir for about 4 mins. until golden brown and aromatic. Remove immediately and set aside.)

In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Add the sliced onions to the mixture and let sit for about 15 mins. to pickle & sweeten the onions.

Pour onions & mixture into a medium bowl. Add carrot pieces. Gently stir in your red pepper flakes, cilantro, sesame oil, lime juice, and ginger.

Reserve toasted sesame seeds until JUST before serving so they retain their crunch. Can be made a few hours ahead of time and kept in the fridge, sans sesame seeds.

Rice Pilaf:

In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute garlic, ginger, and onions for 3-5 minutes or until starting to soften. Add rice, stir to toast the rice for about 2 more minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Stir in soy sauce and lime juice to taste.

[Recipe adapted from Carpe Season]

Simple Brussel Sprout Salad

I'm not huge on salads. I'll make them every once in a while at home when I'm in need of some greens but would rarely order them out. Why would I when there are so many treatier options on every menu? 

Wednesday was a salad kind of night. Post-Mardi Gras feast and pre-Valentine's, I knew I needed to get familiar with some veggies. In order for me to eat and actually enjoy a salad, I need to incorporate some treats so I don't feel hungry in two hours. I love brussel sprouts so this is where it all started. 

BIG brussels

Cheese is also crucial, but don't overdo it! That will ruin the whole point of the salad. I made this as a side salad for some veggie and tortellini soup that Annie made, but add a protein like some bacon, and this salad could become a meal. Bacon and bussels are the new PB&J.

Simple Brussel Sprout Salad

Serves 1 

Ingredients:

1/4 lb brussel sprouts (about 4 large), shredded

Handful of pine nuts

1 tbsp pecorino romano

3 tsbp good EVOO (I used a Tuscan herb blend.)

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tsp dijon mustard

crumbled bacon (optional)

Directions:

Remove outer leaves from the brussel sprouts and rinse. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, shred the brussel sprouts and set aside. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a pan over low heat for a couple minutes. These will burn very quickly so keep an eye on them!

Mix together your dressing ingredients until fully incorporated. I like to make dressing in a small jar or tupperware. Just put the lid on and shake.

Toss brussels with dressing, and top with pine nuts and cheese. Add some bacon if you're feeling crazy, and dig in!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

My second real attempt at baking went much better than the first.

Fancy

Quin has always been the baker in the family. I, on the other hand, butcher every cake or confection I touch. There was the high school Spanish project of the sunken orange pound cake (Note to self: don't shake a cake to determine if it's done). Oops. More recently there was the caramel icing turned powder. I felt a little better about myself when I heard this was a difficult recipe. 

How?

We're really amping up our kitchen supplies these days so I thought Valentine's Day would be the perfect excuse to test out the new hand mixer. Personally I don't have a problem with V-Day, coupled up or single. I appreciate any holiday that let's you celebrate especially one with sweet treats and champagne. For instance, my breakfast this morning was chocolate covered strawberries. Money.

These brownies are sure to impress and easy enough for a baking newb like me to handle. Bring these to work, give to your roomies, eat them all yourself. Whatever. No judgment here.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Ingredients:

For the red velvet brownies:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

2 eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the cheesecake filling:

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg yolk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter.

In a large bowl, comine the melted 8 tablespoons butter with the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, food coloring and salt, stirring to combine. Then stir in the white vinegar.Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl, and then stir them into the brownie batter. Fold in the flour, just until combined, then pour the batter into the prepared pan, reserving 1/4 cup of the batter for the topping.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a handheld electric mixer), blend together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk until well combined. Spread the cream cheese mixture in an even layer over the brownie batter then top the cream cheese with dollops of the remaining brownie batter. Using a sharp knife or toothpick, swirl the cream cheese together with the dollops of brownie batter.

Bake the brownies for 35 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before slicing and serving.

[Recipe adapted slightly from Just a Taste.]

You know you love me.

Fat Tuesday Jambalaya

What a great week for holidays. I love celebrating for any reason so Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day in one week is good news for me. Added bonus: both holidays center around food (at least in my book). I have never tried to make jambalaya before, and to be honest, it kind of intimidated me. I thought it was like chili where everyone has their fave recipe, which requires hours of cook time. False. With a little help from my girl Martha, I whipped up a quick and authentic tasting jambalaya. I'm not claiming to be John Besh, but it was delicious.

Healthy?

Start by seasoning your chicken breasts with salt and pepper and heating the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Don't be scared by the amount of oil. You're basically poaching the chicken breasts and using the leftover oil for your veggies. Yum. While the chicken is cooking, cut the veggies.

Magic

Remove the chicken breasts from the pot, and cut into bite-sized chunks. Add the veggies, sausage and garlic to the pot (specific cooking times below). If you have never used a garlic mincer it will save your life. The pre-minced stuff in the jar just doesn't do it for me and getting such a fine texture chopping by hand is exhausting. Problem solved.

Starting to smell gooood

Stir in the stock, Old Bay, tomatoes and water, and bring to a boil. Add the rice and chicken, simmer for a little bit, and remove from the heat. Martha said you 

should have jambalaya in 30-35 minutes, but I found my rice took closer to an hour to cook all the way. Just keep an eye on it.

Voila!

Fat Tuesday Jambalaya
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

• 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

• 3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

• 1 can (14 ounces) crushed tomatoes with juice

• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 
  

Directions:

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Cut into 3/4-inch pieces; set aside.

Add vegetables to pot. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add sausage; cook 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in stock, Old Bay, tomatoes and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Add rice and chicken. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, 45 to 60 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce of your choice.

[Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart]

Don't forget the dessert!