whole30 inspired

So I can’t exactly say that I am doing the whole30 diet but Michael is, which has inspired this week’s pretty awesome menu of dinners. For the most part, we are eating salads and protein (though I’ve had some dairy, bread and a little sugar) but the constrictions of the diet have forced me to try a few recipes that may have otherwise been off my radar. For example…

This Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho), made with lemongrass, star anise, ginger. It was a lot of work and cooked for three hours but the results were worth it. Rich, buttery beef with bright distinct and unfamiliar flavors of anise and cinnamon. It would be good with rice but we just had it plain—although I have been making cauliflower rice which is really pretty decent. And this week I had some leftover cauliflower rice which I cooked like fried rice (see above), with bacon and a scrambled egg, plus some frozen mini-veggies. Mack loved it.

I also made another Milk Street Magazine recipe, Moqueca, a Brazilian seafood and coconut stew, which was much easier and excellent—creamy and briny, with shrimp and cod. On a side note: Nate has started eating shrimp if I saute it with Old Bay. Mind-blowing. Trying not to get too excited as to scare him off of it but it’s now two in a row and I think it’s here to stay.

Because we are getting sick of Michael’s very good but very much the same every time vinaigrette, I fudged my way through a new recipe with the rest of the coconut milk from the stew and some vinegar, lime, fish sauce and olive oil. It was good, maybe not something I would make again, but a new twist that fit the diet guidelines.

And finally, and most simply, I sous vide some pork chops then finished them on the grill. Next time I would add some kind of sauce but they were good, especially with the fried cauliflower rice and the leftover veggies from this excellent butterflied chicken recipe (which I randomly found online but will definitely make again.)

Tonight we are going with an Eric Ripert recipe: Cod with potatoes in chorizo mussel broth from the New York Times. It looks complicated but delicious and we bought a beautiful piece of cod at today’s very cold outdoor farmer’s market. It’s not a recipe I would normally turn to so I’m grateful for whole30 for the inspiration and parameters, at least for this week. Next week I’d like to get back to bagels and beer.

weekly recap

Sunday: Leftover Jewish-style Brisket with onions and carrots from our Chanukah party: This was a really easy and traditional brisket which turned out delicious. I made it several days ahead of time and warmed it up at 325 for about 45 minutes before we ate it. We also had the remains of our dinner of sous-vide turkey breast with crispy skin, (see above), which I made for Thanksgiving and then remade a few weeks later because it was so good and so easy. The first time around I made a gravy from Mark Bittman, but this time I bought a house-made gravy from Whole Foods and the whole meal was super simple to make. There wasn’t enough crispy skin, however, either time I made it. But still a keeper.

Monday: We made a delicious and healthy veggie miso soup (with cabbage and shiitakes) from the Milk Street Cookbook. I just gave their new book to a friend for Chanukah so I decided to go back and check out the earlier book, which I love. The soup was light, nutritious and a perfect lunch dish, even though we had it for dinner, with some homemade yogurt pizza.

charred sprouts

Tuesday: I returned to the Milk Street cookbook for a Filipino Chicken (marinated and cooked in a vinegar/soy sauce) which was excellent, and I served with (again) the Milk Street Cookbook’s charred brussel sprouts with anchovies and garlic (see above) which were made in a cast iron skillet. White rice on the side to soak up the amazing coconut-milk sauce for the chicken.

Wednesday: I made chicken tacos for the boys and us — which has become quite easy and a good weeknight staple that I can heat up for lunch.

no-sear beef stew

Thursday: The snow day called for stew so we turned to Milk Street—see a theme here? And made their no-sear lamb or beef stew, opting for beef (see above). Skip the lemon juice at the end—otherwise a straightforward recipe for a hearty and warmly spiced stew served with cold yogurt and cilantro. Perfect for a cold night, and doesn’t require much more than some crusty bread and/or a salad.

Friday: I got my first shipment of Fly by Jing chile crisp so I made this excellent recipe from the NYT for Tofu and Green Beans with Chile Crisp. I’ve made it several times before without the green beans and we threw the tofu on a salad or had it with rice for lunch. But the addition of the beans is smart and with some white rice makes a filling meal.

hello again

So yeah it’s been a long time. Sorry about that. It’s not that I haven’t been cooking—quite the contrary. I have just been cooking (and running around) too much to sit down and write down.

Last week we were in Williamsburg for 4 days where I did zero cooking. Why would I when I can get Korean fried chicken and homemade kimchi delivered in 45 minutes; hot pepperoni pizza only three blocks away at Artichoke Pizza; juicy burgers from the Italian place downstairs and really good (if not authentic) Mexican food that even the kids will eat (with portions big enough for lunch the next day.) Ah Brooklyn.

When we got back, I declared a vacation-inspired no cooking zone and then quickly reneged on that when all four of us were home for three meals and innumerable snacks a day. Every night we said: Let’s go out. But where….? Then I wound up cooking.

So here’s a little synopsis of my recent kitchen outputs. I’ve actually taught myself a few new techniques and found or invented a couple keepers. (If anyone is reading this and wants recipes or more info, please ask.)

Wednesday (dinner party)
Wedge salad—I just quartered an iceberg head and made a dressing of blue cheese, buttermilk and sour cream then threw in a few croutons from our giant Costco bag which never seems to go stale...hmmm. 

Sous vide steaks I’m obsessed with my sous vide machine! It's as easy as sticking the machine in a container of water to create a steady low temp cooking environment and then slipping in vacuum sealed meats. After an hour, you remove the steaks from the plastic and sear or grill them for 2 minutes. (See below.) There’s no better way to make tender meat and Serious Eats is the best source of recipes.

sous vide

Sous Vide Steak

Spanish salted potatoes - these were from Milk Street magazine, created by the former editor of Cooks Illustrated, which is my new favorite cooking magazine. After being boiled in way salty water, the potatoes became encrusted with salt but they were creamy and not salty inside. Served them with a fancy take on Russian dressing.

Milk Street Magazine

Friday
Sugar-free ribs: We were headed to Long Island where my father in law is struggling with diabetes so I made up a ribs recipe without sugar:

I rubbed pork spare ribs with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder. Then baked at 325 on a rack/baking sheet for 2 hours; brushed with sauce (salsa, chicory root sugar substitute, the spice rub mix and butter—all boiled down together) and cooked for another 1-1.5 hours.

Served with this homemade sriracha made by Asian Farmer Dumplings that we picked up at Irvington’s fabulous farmers market.

Irvington Farmer's Market

Saturday

Oven-steamed salmon: This is a great way to get soft decadent salmon with no effort: put a pan of water in the oven as you cook the fish. Served with plain yogurt mixed with lemon juice and pepper.

Sous-vide salmon: Brine for 30 minutes, add salt, pepper and herbs and a little oil then seal in a bag. Cook at 125.5 for 40 minutes and then sear skin in hot pan.

NYT recipe for oven-steamed salmon

Steamed broccoli topped with parm cheese, lemon and olive oil
Toast spread with the excellent salmon cream cheese from the Bagel Emporium in Tarrytown.

Sunday (dinner party)

Reverse seared pork loin with couscous greens and roasted spring onion. Served with tomato and mozzarella crostini. The reverse-sear method also belongs to Serious Eats and is similar to sous vide: cook low and slow then sear or broil (in this case) for a crust. It's stupid easy—season meat and cook. Then increase heat and cook more.

reverse-sear pork loin recipe

Of course the kids didn't eat any of this so there was plenty of takeout pizza this week too (but none as good as Brooklyn's.)