garlic

October 15, 2010

Flank Steak Stuffed with Spinach, Feta & Artichokes

mel entree, recipe artichokes, capers, feta, garlic, spinach, steak

Flank Steak Stuffed with Spinach, <a href= visit this Feta & Artichokes” />

This is one of those super-simple recipes that takes no time to put together, for sale but ends up looking and tasting absolutely amazing. You basically take a butterflied flank steak and load it up with baby spinach, feta cheese, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted garlic and capers. Roll it up and bake. Slice, sprinkle with a few mint leaves and that’s pretty much it. The stuffing is briny and super flavorful. It’s also quite pretty to serve to guests. Definitely one of my new favorites!

October 5, 2010

Rustic Spinach and Cornmeal Soup

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites arugula, garlic, parmesan, polenta, soup, spinach, vegetarian

Rustic Spinach and Cornmeal Soup

So I hear that it’s cold and rainy up north, there and that can only mean one thing. Soup weather! It may still be in the 80’s down here, but we’re finally waking up to cool breezes. Nothing is more exciting than the end of a brutal Miami summer and the promise of blue skies and outdoor dining for the next 6 months. You may hate me if you wish, but you guys get Fall and snow on Christmas. It’s a trade off.

Not matter what the season, soup is my all time favorite thing to make. I love chopping the onions and garlic and the way they smell in hot olive oil. I love the warm simmering pot and the glossy look of the bubbling broth. And most of all, I love being able to taste and adjust along the way, adding more spice or more acid until it’s just perfect. So when I saw Lidia Bastianich’s recipe for Rustic Spinach and Cornmeal Soup in this month’s Bon Appetit, I knew it would be just the kind of thing I love.

Rustic Spinach and Cornmeal Soup

Of course I changed a few things. Using roasted garlic instead of raw and arugula as well as spinach, for example. But I kept it close to the original because you don’t need to mess with such a simple recipe. The soup was warm and thick, perfumed with roasted garlic and full of tender greens. The last thing I did was add toasted Parmesan rindsfor surprising pockets of toasty salty cheese. All in all, the ideal soup for cold and rainy days.

February 23, 2010

Mom’s Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta

mel entree, recipe casserole, cheese, garlic, pasta, spinach

Mom's Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta

For the past couple of months, somnology Tom and I have been training for the A1A (Beach-front avenue!) Half Marathon and Sunday was the Big Day. For me, training was both exhilarating – you feel so accomplished when you’ve run a 10K before breakfast – and painful – patellar tendinitis isn’t particularly fun. Training made me hungry, made me hobble around like an old lady, made me stop drinking beer and wine on Saturday nights (the worst part by far) and made me actually stop wearing heels.

On the Big Day, we woke up at 3:30AM and had some homemade power bars and bananas and were on our way. The weather was great – 60 degrees – and we started our run heading east toward the most beautiful sunrise over the ocean. I didn’t have my best run, but Tom ran with me (almost) the whole way and my official time was 2:05:15. We crossed the finish line with our families cheering us on and then celebrated with a nice, big breakfast of French Toast, Eggs, Bacon and Bloody Marys. All in all, a wonderful, completely exhausting day.

Mom's Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta

So, what does all that have to do with Baked Chicken & Spinach Pasta? Well, it was all part of our pre-race meal. This dish is one of those things my mom made all the time when I was growing up and my brother and I loved like crazy. It’s a super simple recipe: sauteed chicken with lots of garlic, olive oil, spinach and white wine all tossed with pasta, covered with cheese and baked. Delicious. So, I made a batch and my mother-in-law made Tom’s favorite spaghetti and meat sauce and we all carbo-loaded on Saturday night before the Big Day. Perfect pre-marathon food, but good pretty much all the time.

And now, I’ll happily return to beer and wine on Saturday nights, heels at work and a lot less pasta recipes on the site.

January 12, 2010

Garlic Roasted Sunchokes

mel recipe, sides & bites garlic, roasted, sunchoke, thyme, vegetarian

Garlic Roasted Sunchokes

A what-choke? A sunchoke. What’s that? Wikipedia says that “despite its name, glaucoma the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, sale and it is not a type of artichoke, even though both are members of the Daisy family.” Does that help? No. Ok – Sunchokes are basically root vegetables. Like a cross between a potato and a rutabaga. They look weird (kind of like ginger root) but taste amazing. Better than potatoes.

They’re also simple to prepare. Just give them a good scrubbing, peel them as best you can and toss them into a covered casserole dish with olive oil, garlic cloves, salt and thyme. Into the oven for 30 – 45 minutes and your whole house will smell wonderfully of garlic. And if you make these before you go to work, you too will smell wonderfully of roast garlic. All day. I should know.

If you’ve ever seen these at the grocery store or farmer’s market and thought – what on earth can I do with those? This is your recipe. And if you can’t find sunchokes, or the thought of them creeps you out, just use potatoes or any other tuber. Because there’s nothing better than something roasted in garlic oil.

September 17, 2009

Grilled Honey Garlic Wings

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites chicken, garlic, grilled, honey, wings

Grilled Honey Garlic Wings

As promised, bronchitis it’s football food week here on BitchinCamero and nothing says football like sticky, spicy wings. And nothing is better than grilling during the fall, so I present these Grilled Honey Garlic Wings for your tailgating pleasure.

These wings were marinated for hours in a special marinade of honey, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, smoked paprika and cayenne. When I threw them on the grill, the honey and garlic caramelized to a lovely dark brown. The wings were sweet, spicy and so tender. Our fingers were sticky, our faces messy. You gotta love wings.

September 9, 2009

Zucchini, White Bean & Leek Soup

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites basil, beans, garlic, leeks, soup, vegetarian, zucchini

Zucchini, <a href= pills White Bean & Leek Soup” />

I spent Labor Day weekend on Lake Michigan – eating s’mores by the beach bonfire, prosthesis drinking the first of the season’s Octoberfest and generally lounging around. At night the temperatures dipped into the 50’s and I snuggled into my hoodie. A very welcome taste of Fall for this Floridian. And it got me thinking about soup, even after I returned to the stifling Miami humidity.

So, with Fall on the brain , but summer in the pantry, I made this Zucchini, White Bean and Leek Soup. Instead of using potatoes and cream as a base, I simply sauteed some leeks and simmered those with zucchini and lots of garlic in some chicken stock. I added cannelini beans for creaminess and blended it into a nice, soothing puree. Topped with croutons, a dusting of Parmesan cheese and some basil oil – it was a pretty perfect lunch. A little summer, a little fall and just right.

July 21, 2009

Turkey & Avocado Sandwich with Romesco Sauce

mel breakfast, entree, recipe, sides & bites almonds, garlic, red peppers, vegetarian

Turkey & Avocado Sandwich with Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is like the nerdy girl with glasses who sits quietly in the corner reading. No one pays her any attention. She’s just not one of the popular girls like Pesto and Aioli. Poor Romesco – why do people ignore her? Well anyway, skincare it’s quite a shame that they do, injection because Romesco sauace is quick, easy and goes with just about anything from pork tenderloin to fried eggs to big turkey and avocado sandwiches.

You start by toasting almonds until they’re brown and aromatic, then blending them with roasted red peppers, olive oil, garlic, sweet paprika, sherry vinegar and red pepper flakes. It’s a little nutty, a little acidic and very very bold. So, go ahead – be bold! Use this sauce to dress a simple bowl of pasta, slather it on a sandwich or simply dip some pita into it. I’m sure you’ll find that you love it and, like me, you’ll wonder why it’s not part of the popular clique.

July 17, 2009

Mojito Roasted Potatoes

mel recipe, sides & bites garlic, lime, mint, potatoes

Mojito Roasted Potatoes

Is there anything more refreshing than a cold, therapist crisp Mojito when it it’s 200 degrees outside? I don’t think so. Nothing says summer like lime and ice and mint leaves. Roasted potatoes? Those are more like fall and winter. A summer potato is usually smothered in mayo and plopped on a picnic table. Delicious yes, obesity but sometimes cold potato salad isn’t what I’m craving.

So, here’s my attempt to bring the refreshing summery-ness of a Mojito to the lowly potato. I roasted them with garlic, olive oil, lime zest and salt, then tossed them with lime juice and fresh mint. The caramelized potatoes and garlic added just the right amount of sweetness so that it really reminded me of a Mojito. The lime and mint brightened them up and added a good bite. They were really good and kind of addicting in that way that only roasted potatoes can be.

Although I loved them this way, I think I’ll try a cold, salad version of this recipe next time. Just boil the potatoes instead of roasting them and toss them with the rest of the ingredients once they’re cool. I bet that salad would be a big hit at my next BBQ!

May 18, 2009

Lamb with Mint Gremolata

mel entree, recipe chops, garlic, lamb, lemon, mint

Have you ever had a Lamb Saratoga chop? Neither had I. But they looked so pretty in the butcher’s case at Whole Foods that I splurged for a fancy Saturday night dinner. According to this site, cialis 40mg a Saratoga roll “refers to a boneless center lamb roast obtained from the blade portion of the lamb shoulder and is also known as a chuck eye lamb roast.”

Now that we got the lamb anatomy lesson out of the way, medicine I can tell you what it tasted like. My mom was right on when she said it was like a lamb filet mignon. The chops were small, and very lean and super tender. Almost melt in your mouth tender. And since they were so lean, they didn’t have as strong a game-y flavor as most lamb chops.

I grilled the chops simply with a little salt and pepper, then topped them off with a little mint gremolata. Gremolata is just a fancy word for chopped herbs, garlic and lemon zest. The mint and lemon were an extremely refreshing counterpoint to the lamb, and the raw garlic added just the right amount of bite.

I served the chops with a simple heirloom tomato salad and Pepita Rice Pilaf. It was pretty much the perfect meal for a summer night and a great way to officially kick off the grilling season.

May 12, 2009

Orange & Garlic Roast Pork Loin

mel entree, recipe garlic, lime, orange, pork, roast

I think I’m forgetting how to write a blog post. I’ve been away from my kitchen the past two weekends, approved first to New York for a wedding, seek then to St. Augustine for a relaxing weekend. I hadn’t even been to the grocery store in a month! Sacrilege.

In New York, I ate and ate – things like delicious Cambodian sandwiches from Num Pang and outstanding brussel sprouts and assorted goodies at Momofuku Ssam Bar. (Not to mention the warm cookies and milk at the Milk Bar next door – awesome on a plate!) In St. Augustine, we found the perfect gelato handmade daily by their gelato maker at Cafe del Hidalgo.

But as good as all that food was, I still missed my kitchen. And I’m pretty sure it missed me, too. So, what better way to kick off a week of cooking than with a pork loin roasted with orange and lime juices, garlic and onions? I seared the roast on all sides, then added the other goodies. After about an hour in the dutch oven, the onions and garlic caramelize with the juices and become a citusy, garlicky sauce that’s like pork’s best friend.

If anyone out there has a slow cooker, I think this is the perfect recipe for you. Just make sure to sear the meat before you slow cook to release the meaty goodness.

ps. You should stuff tacos with these. You just should!

April 24, 2009

Potato, Asparagus and Goat Cheese Pizza

mel entree, recipe asparagus, garlic, goat cheese, pizza, potato

page Asparagus and Goat Cheese Pizza” />

Potato pizza? What? Yes. Potato pizza. I had a delicious rosemary and caramelized onion potato pizza at my favorite Car Wash/Pizza Place, Andiamo, a couple of weeks ago and have been craving more ever since. I also saw a potato pizza in this month’s Bon Apetit and knew I’d be making it really soon.

Since I wasn’t really in the mood for rosemary and caramelized onions, I topped my dough with fingerling potatoes, garlic, shallots, asparagus, mozzarella and goat cheese. It was colorful, rich and delicious. I loved the asparagus for this time of year. Next time, I want to try some caramelized onion and hot peppers, and eventually I’d like to make a version with sweet potatoes, pancetta and goat cheese.

I know potato pizza might seem weird. I thought the same thing before I went to Andiamo and realized that potato pizza is just about the tastiest treat I’ve ever eaten. I suggest you give it a try. Your pizza-making will never be the same again.

April 20, 2009

Garlic & Mint Shrimp

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites appetizer, garlic, mint, shrimp

I really love when I find a great recipe that’s 5 ingredients or less. These Garlic & Mint Shrimp are simple, ambulance easy and really delicious. I had actually planned on making and mint gremolata for some grilled lamb chops, but the grocery store let me down. No lamb chops for me. Instead, I found some nice looking shrimp and decided to saute those in garlic and olive oil, then toss them with mint.

The mint lends a refreshing flavor to the whole dish. We ate them alone as an appetizer, then tossed the leftovers with jasmine rice for a really quick and tasty meal that’s perfect for Spring and Summer. They’d also be delicious tossed with some pasta, orzo or even farro. Next time, I think I’ll also add some thinly sliced hot peppers for a little bit of a kick or some bacon. Everything is better with bacon.

Although I had really been hoping for that lamb, I’m glad the grocery store was out. I love everything about these shrimp, and I really love their simple goodness.