for cozy winter days...

So, after a little bit of hiatus, I'm back!

Since it's been a while, I figured that I'd post with something warm and cozy for the winter months . . . a hearty turkey meatball soup! I found this recipe off Pinterest while I was looking for something to do with kale. Kale is one of those random ingredients that I occasionally buy but never really know what to do with. That's when looking for recipes come in handy. ^_^;

For the soup, I decided to add my own twist to it by including some dried pasta. Again, I wanted a really hearty soup and this was going to be used for more of a lunch/dinner type of entree. I also changed the taste profile...the cumin and the star anise seemed really weird to me so I omitted them in my soup.

All in all, the ending result was nice...savory and lemony, hearty and filling like I wanted it. Add a couple slices of toasted and buttered sourdough and his was the perfect good eats for a cold day. This does make a big pot of soup, so be prepared to have leftover for a couple of days! Enjoy!

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Lemony-Garlic Turkey Meatball Soup with Pasta and Kale
(adapted from The Holisitc Ingredient)

For the Meatballs:
1 lbs. ground turkey
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped leeks, white part only
handful fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint leaves, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp bottled minced garlic
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
additional oil for cooking

For the Soup:
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
5 peels of lemon
1 tbsp minced bottled garlic
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
12 cups (3 quarts) low sodium chicken broth
2 tsp fish sauce
1 (6.5oz) pkg dry cheese tortellini pasta
10-12 kale leaves, stems removes and torn into smaller pieces
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil for cooking

 
Make the Meatballs:
Combine all ingredients for meatballs and mix well until well incorporated.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Roll mixture into small meatballs, size smaller than a ping-pong ball. Fry meatballs for 7-8 minutes, turning them throughout so they are golden-brown on all sides. Set aside on some paper towels to drain any excess oil.

Make the Soup:
Over medium-high heat, add some oil to a large soup pot. Once hot, add the onion, celery, carrot, and lemon peels. Saute for a few minutes, then add garlic, thyme, chicken broth, and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper then bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add the dried tortellini. Continue cooking until tortellini is al-dente. Reduce heat to medium, add the meatballs, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Prepare the kale and add to the soup, stirring through, then cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat then add the lemon juice. Stir and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Let sit for 5 minutes off heat before serving.

Makes about 8 to 10 servings.

tagine, without the pot.

I love buying kitchen gadgets . . . especially if it's something that I'll particularly find useful. Sometimes, I buy them because they're cute or pretty. My latest splurge was at World Market where I got myself a nice-sized tagine!

I've been itching to use it and finally found a couple of recipes that I wanted to try. So, I got everything that I needed and started to cook. Unfortunately, I never used the tagine. Turns out, before you use a tagine, the bottom portion needs to soak overnight or else it'll crack. Not only that, but apparently I also needed a "heat diffuser" so that it'll protect the clay pot from excess heat. Who knew that clay pots were so finicky??

Luckily for me, I had a heavy-bottomed pot to use as an alternative.

Despite not using the tagine, this dish actually turned out pretty well! I used this and this as guides and went from there. And since I didn't have some of the ingredients listed, I made do with what I did have in my fridge/pantry: Moroccan oil-cured olives, saffron water, giant golden raisins, and plain lemons.

For the side, I decided to make some roasted beets. It's a little weird since I've never come across any Moroccan dishes that uses beets as a side dish, but it was either use them or let them go bad. Thankfully, they paired surprisingly well with the lemony tagine. I also served this with some saffron rice since the hubby isn't too keen on couscous.

So, what's the verdict? Two thumbs up from the hubby! Yay!

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Moroccan Chicken Tagine
(adapted from Simply Recipes and My.Recipes)

For the Chicken:
3 to 4 pcs bone-in chicken thighs
3 tbsp Moroccan spice
2 tbsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the Tagine:
1 large or 2 medium onion, chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 carrots, chopped to 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup large golden raisins
1/4 cup pitted oil-cured olives
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 lemon rind, pulp removed and thinly sliced
1 tbsp saffron water (or a pinch of saffron)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper, to taste
water, as needed
chopped parsley, for garnish

 
Marinate the chicken:
Combine chicken, spice, honey, garlic, and olive oil in a ziplock bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken to make sure it's evenly coated then marinate overnight (or up to 2 days) before making the tagine.

Make the tagine:
On cooking day, heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, along with marinade liquid. Cook the chicken until lightly browned then turn over and repeat with the other side. Once the chicken is lightly browned on both sides, add the remainder of the ingredients except for broth.

Cook mixture for about ten minutes. Add broth, scraping the bottom of the pan, then cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and tender. If the dish is too dry, add water as needed and cook for a further few minutes. Season with salt and pepper, as needed, then serve garnished with parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

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Honey Roasted Beets
(makes 4 servings)

5 small red beets, quartered
5 small golden beets, quartered
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, flavored or plain
2 tbsp chopped parsley

 
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Whisk together olive oil, honey, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss into beets then evenly spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet.

Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until tender. Remove from oven then add vinegar and parsley. Toss to coat, then transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle pan juices over beets then serve.

curry in a hurry.

Whenever I go to the bookstore, I almost always hit up the bargain book section. Call me a cheapskate, but I love me a discount. Especially if it's a cookbook! Now, I know that most of the bargain cookbooks out there are crap, but I love finding one that has a variety of recipes, a nice layout, lots of pictures, and (most importantly) has actual GOOD tasting recipes.

Surprisingly, I found that in Food Lovers: Simply Chicken. The cookbook's divided in three sections with the main course sub-divided even further into types of preparation. The ingredient lists for the recipes were actually surprising; it can call for everyday pantry items to harder to find ethnic ingredients. Instructions are clear and straightforward with approximate cooking and prep times with a picture for every recipe in the the book (which I like, since I'm one of those people that need to see what it's supposed to look like in the end).

Another interesting thing about the book was the variety of recipes it had. It had everything from chicken noodle soup, to chicken korma, to pad thai, to paella. I love the global scope of the recipes and I feel like I can actually successfully make each and every one! For $5.00, this was a great deal!

So, If this was a chicken cookbook, why does it look like I have fish in my curry?? Well, because it is fish. :) A recipe has to be adaptable, in my opinion. Just because it's a chicken cookbook, doesn't mean I have to necessarily use it exclusively for that protein. So when I tested a couple of recipes in the book for different proteins, it passed with flying colors! One such recipe was a "Chicken Curry with Broccoli".

Now, I love me some curry, be it Indian, Thai, what have you. This book has several interesting curries that I'm dying to try out. For "Chicken Curry with Broccoli", I decided to experiment and make it into a fish curry instead (See?! I'm turning pescatarian, I tell you!).

This curry turned out amazing! Going by the ingredient list, I'm guessing this is supposed to be Thai-inspired. The shrimp paste and lime really worked together with the coconut milk to give you that tell-tale Asian flavor. The original recipe actually called for actual chili peppers, but since I didn't have any, crushed red pepper flakes from McCormick made a fine substitute.

And actual kaffir limes? Pfft! Bottled lime juice, my friend, and some regular limes did the trick. Also, since I'm Filipino, I used spicy bagoong for the shrimp paste. From start to finish, this took all of 30 minutes for lick-the-plate-clean goodness! Huzzah for a quick weeknight dinner!

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Fish and Vegetable Curry
(adapted from Food Lovers: Simply Chicken)

For the Curry Paste:
1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp bottled lime juice
1 tsp spicy shrimp paste (spicy bagoong)

For the Curry:
4 to 5 (5.oz) skinless white fish fillets, about ⅓-inch thick (cod, flounder, catfish, etc . . .)
1 large red onion, sliced
2 scallions, chopped
2 bell peppers, sliced (orange, yellow, and/or red)
1 lbs. broccoli, cut to florets
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 to 1 cup coconut milk
3/4 to 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tbsp grated ginger
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 a lime plus more for garnish

 
Make the paste:
Put all curry paste ingredients into a small bowl and mix well. Set aside

Make the curry:
In alarge pan, heat oil and saute the onion, broccoli, and bell peppers. Add the curry paste and the scallions, sauteing briefly. Add the coconut milk and chicken broth then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the grated ginger then top with the fish fillets. Let cook, turning the fish once, for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish is done. To finish, squeeze 1/2 a lime over the curry then season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve with rice and an additional wedge of lime for garnish. Makes about 4 servings.

Note: If the gravy is too thin, add a little cornstarch with water to achieve desired consistency.

easy moroccan.

Just a quick and easy dinner: Morrocan marinaded chicken with lots of garlic and a hint of honey then served with some boxed Parmesan couscous fancified with oil-cured olives, jumbo golden raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and a good amount or peppery arugula. Dinner is served!

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Easy Moroccan Chicken
(makes 2 servings)

1 tbsp Moroccan spice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
4 bone-in chicken legs and/or thighs

 
Combine spice, olive oil, honey, and garlic. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and add marinade. Massage marinade into the chicken then leave in the fridge overnight.

The following day, remove chicken from Ziploc bag and place skin-side down on a foil-lined baking pan. Set oven to broil and cook chicken for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken so that it's skin-side up and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until juices run clear.

mom-inspired tuna pasta.

My favorite breakfast that my mom makes is ginisang sardinas, which is basically sautéed mackerel sardines in tomato sauce that's served with a side of hot, steamy rice. Her version, though, is slightly different in that she adds additional tomatoes, adds one or two bay leaves, and is heavy on the onion. Finished with a few squeezes of calamansi, and you have a great hefty meal to start the day.

I didn't really fully appreciate her cooking until I got married and started living with my husband. To date, I've only made a handful of Filipino dishes that were either a hit or miss with the hubby. I miss her cooking and I guess that nostalgia (and the fact that the husband is iffy on Filipino food in general) makes me shy away from making Filipino dishes on my own.

Today I was feeling a little homesick. Eating at the table with my mom's generous cooking and having a conversation about the day's events were the norm during dinner time. This was family time and I was missing my family. So to ease that, I decided to make her sardines, but in a more "inspired" version and with an Italian twist.

I started with using an almost 2 to 1 ratio of tomatoes to onions. Adding a good amount of garlic and olive oil followed, then finished it with some lemon juice for acidity and lots of parsley for herbacious freshness. Since sardines in tomato sauce isn't something that we regularly keep in the house, I used chunk light tuna that's always a staple in our pantry. Toss that together with some hearty rigatoni, and dinner was served.

While it's a far cry from my mother's sardines, the flavors were there and the bite from the rigatoni added a pleasant counterpart to the fish. Fusion pasta . . . mmmmmm. As an added bonus, this made for a quick and tasty meal that was ready in less than half an hour. Mom, here's to you!
 

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Tangy Tuna Pasta
(makes about 4 servings)

2 cups dry rigatoni pasta
2 cans chunk light tuna, lightly drained
1 clamshell grape tomatoes, halved (or 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped)
1 large onion (about 1 cup), thinly sliced
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 large dried bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

 
Prepare pasta as directed then reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bay leaves to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes have softened then add the tuna and a third of the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautée for 5 minutes, stirring lightly, then add the drained pasta. Cook for another few minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta liquid as needed.

Remove pasta from heat, discard bay leaves, then stir in lemon juice. Toss in the remaining parsley then adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. To serve, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and additional parsley for garnish.

striving for perfection.

So, ever since we got to Georgia, I've been adapting a more Southern-style of cooking. I think it's because I'm surrounded by that kind of food environment and it just seems to make sense to cook that way. Even my eating habits are turning Southern: The polenta that I used to cook all the time turned to grits, hummus makes a rare appearance in my fridge, and I seem to be buying a whole lot more butter. Because of this, I've switched to light butter to make myself feel better.

Speaking of grits . . . I was surprisingly having a hard time trying to make a decent pot of grits. I just assumed that using my favorite polenta recipe would be fine but it's surprisingly NOT. The texture is off, especially for shrimp and grits, and it's much stiffer than I wanted it to be. I've tried several different recipes, and each time I get closer and closer to my ideal pot of grits.

Today yielded success.

My perfect grits? Always savory that that specific mouth texture. These grits are exactly how I want them: soft and fluffy with just a bit of tightness and texture. While they aren't flavored with anything specific, per se, they're still flavorful and taste like grits. The best part? Even if you put it in the fridge, they stay the same consistency even when you reheat it the next day! Yay!!

For the shrimp, I decided to make it more in the Françias-style of cooking. So fancy, I know . . . but not really! Thanks to my recent binge-fest of an old series of Jacques Pépin: Fast Food, My Way, I've been taking some notes and renewing my love of French cooking. It's kind of like Southern cooking but with a more funny accent, lol.

I like how in one episode, Monsieur Pépin added some chopped mushrooms to his shrimp casserole so that it'll soak up the shrimp flavor. He also did a ragù with tomatoes and onions similar to this recipe, but much more reduced. And man, does that man use a lot of olive oil!!

So, taking ideas here and there, voilà ! Shrimp and grits, my way. :D I did forget to add some peas to the shrimp, though. I think that would've made it über-françias, along with some oil-cured olives as a garnish. Eh, c´est la vie ! No? :) Bon appétit!

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Creamy Garlic-Tomato Shrimp
(makes 4 servings)

24 pcs jumbo shrimp (peeled, deveined, and butterflied)
2 tbsp bottled garlic
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch (about 8 sprigs) fresh thyme
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup finely chopped white button mushrooms
1 to 2 pcs thick sliced deli ham, finely chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped grape tomatoes
1/4 cup low fat half and half
1/2 cup chopped parsley
low sodium chicken stock, as needed
salt and pepper, to taste

 
Marinate the shrimp:
Combine shrimp, garlic, Old Bay seasoning, onion powder, and paprika. Add olive oil to moisten the shrimp then season with ground pepper. Chill for a minimum of 2 hours up to overnight.

Make the shrimp:
In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil with the bunch of thyme. When the oil is fragrant and hot, add shrimp (reserve any leftover marinade) and cook until lightly browned on both sides (about 6 minutes). Remove shrimp from pan and set aside; discard the thyme.

In the same pan, add shallots, mushrooms, and ham. Season with salt and pepper. When vegetables start to brown and the ham becomes slightly crisp, add the tomatoes and any leftover marinade from the shrimp. Reduce heat and cook until tomatoes break down to a paste (about 10 minutes).

Return shrimp to the pan and toss to incorporate. Stir in half and half and parsley. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes, then add chicken stock to thin as needed.

To serve, portion out 6 shrimps per person and top over grits or pasta with additional parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for garnish.

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My Perfect Grits
(makes 4 to 6 servings)

1 cup coarse ground grits or polenta (white or yellow)
2 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 to 2 tbsp light butter
1/4 tsp dried parsley
ground pepper, to taste

 
Bring water, half and half, and salt to boil. Slowly stir in grits/polenta, reduce heat to low, then cover. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and parsley, then season with pepper to taste.

For Savory Cheese Grits: Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1/4 tsp onion powder, a dash garlic powder, and a dash smoked paprika to cooked grits.

rollin' for breakfast.

I had some leftover ready-made pizza dough sitting in the fridge so I decided to try and make some breakfast rolls this morning. I was tempted to make something sweet, but the need for a savory breakfast in the morning decidedly won out. Plus, the recipe sounded interesting and I was in the mood for eggs anyway.

Reading through the recipe, this seemed simple enough. I decided to add more spices and onion to the filling to make these rolls more flavorful. I didn't have any breakfast sausage so I swapped it with some thick-sliced deli ham. Then, all I did was roll out the dough, layer on the fillings, and bake that sucker for 30 minutes. Yum!

I do wish my rolls were more big and fluffy, though. But that's more my fault than anything, really. If I had used a similar dough like the kind called in the recipe, I'm sure I would've gotten big, fluffy rolls as well. As for the taste, they were pretty good! Nice and savory especially with all that onion added in. I do wish that I had more cheese in these rolls, though, so next time I'm doing the full one cup. So would I make these again? Definitely!

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Breakfast Rolls
(adapted from The REAL Housewives of Riverton)

1 pkg ready-made pizza dough
4 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 to 3 slices ham, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese
olive oil

 
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

In a bowl or a glass measuring cup, combine egg, milk, parsley, and spices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and beat together until well combined. Set aside.

In a large skillet, drizzle some olive oil and saute garlic, onion, and bell pepper until slightly browned. Pour egg mixture over the contents of the pan. Let the eggs cook for up to a minute or until the bottom starts to set, then flip by sections. Repeat the flipping every few seconds until the eggs are firm but still moist. Remove from heat, transfer to a plate, and set aside.

Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Sprinkle on egg mixture, chopped ham, and shredded cheese. Roll tightly, pinching the ends together, then cut into even 12 sections with a sharp knife. Transfer to a well greased pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 12 rolls.