Dell

It's amazing how satisfying eating a plate of this delicious Thai-style Grilled Beef Salad. Prep all the salad and dressing ingredients ahead of time. When ready to serve, grill the beef to your liking, sliced, and then toss them with the salad and dressing.




Grilled Beef Salad (Thai-Style)

Ingredients

2 (About 500 to 600 grams) Pieces Sirloin Steaks
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

3 Stalks Lemongrass, thinly sliced
4 Shallots, thinly sliced
A Handful of Mint Leaves
3 to 4 Kaffir Lime Leaves, finely sliced
3 Scallions, sliced
Fresh Coriander Leaves
1 Cup Chinese Celery
1 Head Red Leaves Lettuce, torn
1 Cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and sliced
1 Cup Small Tomatoes, quartered
¼ Cup Roasted Peanuts

Dressing
8 to 10 Bird’s Eye Chilies, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
4 Tbsp Fish Sauce
4 Tbsp Lime Juice
2 to 3 tsp Sugar

Method

Mix all the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Season the sirloin steaks with salt and pepper.

Heat a large grill pan/skillet over high heat until hot.

Cook the sirloin steaks to your liking. Turn each steak once using a tong. Remove the steaks from the skillet, and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

To make the beef salad: Slice the steak into thin strips. In a medium or large mixing bowl, add some lemongrass, shallots, mint leaves, scallions, coriander, cucumber, tomatoes, and the grilled beef. Mix in a couple tablespoon of the dressing, toss and mix well. Add some lettuce leaves on a serving plate, the beef mixture, peanuts, and garnish with mint leaves and kaffir lime leaves. Spoon some of the dressing, if desired. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

When we were kids, my mother used to make this Parmesan chicken dish that was so good we would fight for drippings, every last crumb. She would start with a whole chicken, remove the skin and bones (and use them for making chicken stock), and then cut the meat into small pieces. (She made “nuggets” before anyone called them that!)

Then she she would dip the pieces into melted butter, dredge them in breadcrumbs and Parmesan, and bake them.

My god were they good.

Continue reading "Baked Parmesan Chicken Nuggets" »

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Say hello to your new favorite cheesecake recipe! This is a classic New York cheesecake, baked in the oven. A water bath, plus lots of tips and guidance, help you make the best, silkiest, creamiest cheesecake EVER.

Continue reading "Perfect Cheesecake" »

“I’ll make cioppino,” my brother John announced as the family discussed what to make one Christmas eve a few years back. “Great!” said my father and I, relieved that someone else would do the cooking that night. “Have you ever made cioppino before?” Dad wisely asked. “Uh, no, but it can’t be that hard, just make a tomato base and throw in some fish, clams and crab.” Okay. Relief short lived.

Continue reading "Cioppino" »

One of the most requested dishes at our holiday table, for either the Christmas holidays or Easter, is this scalloped potatoes gratin with caramelized onions and Gruyere.

For this recipe I wanted a somewhat “lighter” version of the classic, so we skip the cream and bacon that you would normally find in a more traditional scalloped potatoes dish, and instead flavor the potatoes with darkly caramelized onions, nutty Gruyere cheese, some Parmesan, and sprinkling of rosemary.

Continue reading "Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere" »

This easy homemade cream of mushroom soup is creamy without a lot of cream! It's made with loads of mushrooms and that's about it. So quick and easy, you'll never buy the canned version again.

Continue reading "Cream of Mushroom Soup" »

Prime rib recipe, how to cook to perfection a standing rib beef roast, step-by-step instructions and photos. Perfect for Christmas and the holiday season.

Continue reading "Prime Rib" »

The BEST Swedish meatballs recipe! Made from a mixture of beef and pork, flavored with nutmeg and cardamom and served with a tasty Swedish Meatball sauce.

Continue reading "Swedish Meatballs" »

(Tipped by JMG reader Ken)

There are kitchen discoveries that lead to nothing but trouble. The first time I caramelized sugar, I knew I was ruined. Why would anyone want to eat drab white sugar if they could eat it cooked to a 100x as delicious toasty amber syrup? The first time I tried browned butter, I went on a butter-browning bender (cookies! breadcrumbs! crispy treats!) which, frankly, shows little sign of abating today. So, it should be no surprise that when I finally cracked the authentic pretzel-making code six months ago, I didn’t know where to stop. Everything comes up pretzel now! I’ve made pretzel scones and pretzel challahs. I’m dreaming of pretzel shortbread and popovers, pretzel bagels and grissini. I might need an intervention.

But before you all gather round my canister of food-grade lye, my latex gloves and the onion goggles I really should have more shame about owning, and sit me down for a talk about where things are going, I think we need one more pretzel thing this year, and I’d like to believe I saved the best for last.

... Read the rest of pretzel parker house rolls on smittenkitchen.com

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© smitten kitchen 2006-2012. | permalink to pretzel parker house rolls | 196 comments to date | see more: Appetizer, Bread, Photo, Side Dish, Thanksgiving

Orejas, also known as palmiers, are a puff pastry cookie and kind of pan dulce commonly found in panaderías all over Mexico.

Pan dulce was made popular during the French occupation in the mid 1800s, and as Mexican President Porfirio Díaz was considered to be a Francophile, French influence on Mexico’s gastronomy was allowed to grow from the time Díaz first took control as president in 1880 and flourish into the early 1900s.

In 1911, Díaz left Mexico to live in exile in Paris when Madero became president; he would live there for four years before he died in 1915. And although Díaz died in exile, the French pastries and sweet breads adopted by Mexico morphed into uniquely Mexican creations, with a variety of shapes, textures and creative names that still exist today.

RELATED RECIPE: Cafe de olla

Pan dulce can encompass pastries, sweet breads and even cookies. Other popular kinds of pan dulce include conchas (circular sweet rolls with a sugary, crunchy, crumbly topping made of flour, confectioners’ sugar and butter or vegetable shortening, and shaped to resemble a seashell), sweet empanadas, mantecadas (similar to pound cake, and shaped like muffins or mini loaves), cuernitos (croissants), and puerquitos or marranitos (pig-shaped cookies). Of course, these are only a few of the most popular and common kinds of pan dulce. Some types have a directly translated name from the original French name, but others have more creative names in Spanish.  

Orejas are a staple at my house and I often make a batch to enjoy with a cup of coffee throughout the week, to take to work for a breakfast meeting, or when I need to drop off something easy for a bake sale or party. Some of my other favorite variations include churros, garibaldi, and rieles (mini strudels with a fruit or cheese filling and coarse-grain sanding sugar).

 RELATED RECIPE: Atole de vainilla

Orejas are made by spreading cinnamon sugar on both sides of a sheet of puff pastry, then rolling the puff pastry with a rolling pin to press the cinnamon sugar into the pastry. Then, the pastry is folded and sliced, and baked at a high temperature so the sugar caramelizes and creates a sort of glassy sugar glaze on the pastry dough.

Although every Mexican panadería is a little different, it’s guaranteed you’ll always find orejas. But you’ll feel like a fancy pastry chef and a little bit like a rock star when you make them on your own—and you’re likely to impress people who have no idea how easy they are to make!

RELATED RECIPE: Tequila-infused raspberries with cinnamon sugar crema and orejas

The post How to make orejas appeared first on The Other Side of the Tortilla.

Summer has finally decided to vacate the premises and the cool weather has set in here in Northern California. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the cooler days, especially when they bring rain (which we desperately need right about now). Things slow down, not as much needs tending to, and I can curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket and read a book without any guilt over taking it easy.

Continue reading "Santa Fe Pork and Black Bean Stew" »

This scrumptious fried rice is flavored with Spicy and Crispy Chili Paste and fresh crab meat.




Spicy Fried Rice With Crab

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Peanut Oil
120 grams Crab Meat
1/2 Yellow Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
3 Bird’s Eye Chilies, chopped
2 Large Eggs
3 1/2 Cups Cooked Rice, cold or room temperature
4 Tbsp Spicy & Crispy Chili Paste
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Sea Salt, to taste
White Pepper
3 Scallions, chopped

Method

Heat the wok over high heat. Add some peanut oil and swirl to coat the wok. Remove excess oil, you’ll need about 2 Tbsp of oil.

Add yellow onion, chill, and garlic. Fry until fragrant. Mix in the eggs, let it set, and gently move it around. Toss in the rice and stir frequently make sure the rice is coated with the eggs. Add the spicy and crispy chili paste, crab meat, and soy sauce. Then season the fried rice with salt and pepper. Serve warm with some chopped scallions. 


Recipe from Epicurious

Read the recipe »

Recipe from Bon Appétit

This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Hunt’s and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions and the recipe are my own.

Tinga de pollo, also known as tinga poblana or chicken tinga, is a flavorful, authentic Mexican dish that you can get on the dinner table in less than an hour.

 There are a few key ingredients to this recipe that help you get it on the table quickly: Store-bought rotisserie chicken, tomato sauce and canned diced tomatoes. Like many traditional Mexican dishes, tomatoes are an important flavor as the base of this recipe. And if you shred the chicken in advance or have some help shredding it, you’ll really have dinner ready in no time!

This tangy, slightly spicy, stewed dish originally comes from the state of Puebla and is sometimes also made with shredded beef or pork instead of chicken. Ingredients in this dish can sometimes vary slightly from family to family, but most recipes have a tomato base, call for chorizo and fresh tomatillos—all of which, when combined, lend a little umami flavor and texture to this popular dish.

RELATED RECIPE: Fideo seco

Cooking with fresh, natural and quality ingredients to feed my family is very important to me and I know it’s important to you, too. I’ve used Hunt’s tomato sauce and canned tomatoes in my kitchen for several years because they’re grown in California, canned within hours of being picked, have no artificial preservatives and are 100 percent natural, so I feel good about feeding my family with healthy, natural ingredients in my recipes that call for tomatoes when they’re out of season or I don’t have time to make tomato sauce from scratch.

Paired with chipotles in adobo sauce and fresh onion, garlic, and spices you surely already keep in your pantry, this dish is sure to become a family favorite if it isn’t already a dish you eat regularly.

And the bonus? You really only need to dirty one pan to make it! 

Tinga is commonly served on top of tostadas with garnishes such as crema mexicana, avocado, shredded lettuce and queso fresco. Tinga can also be served on its own with a side of rice, as tacos or inside of a quesadilla (sometimes known as tingadillas).

RELATED RECIPE: Paella with Spanish chorizo, chicken and Brussels sprouts

Get more recipes—in Spanish and English—from the Colección de recetas de Hunt’s y Kraft.

The post Tinga de pollo appeared first on The Other Side of the Tortilla.

One of my secret food shames is that I don’t love spicy foods as much as would probably make me cool these days. I’ve got no Thai chile-eating bravado, no Sichuan peppercorn count to throw around, and I never even once in college went to one of those Buffalo wings places where they make you sign a waiver (such as the delightfully named, late Cluck U Chicken near Rutgers University) and lived to brag about it, the way others might boast about how much they bench press or how fast they run a mile (nope, nothing to swagger about there either). My ideal hot sauce can’t be found among my husband’s collection of Tapatio, Cholula and Sriracha, but in this Mild Sauce for Hot People, one of the few little orange bottles that I feel really understands my appreciation of heat in food, but not so much that it overwhelms everything. I accept that this makes me culinarily a wuss.

Yet I adore harissa, a Northwest African chile pepper paste with red peppers and spices and herbs such as garlic, coriander, caraway. Of course, when a condiment is used everywhere from Tunisia and Libya to Algeria and Morocco, you’re bound to find as many versions of it as there likely are people who make it, so there are recipes with cumin, lemon juice or even smoked chiles. There’s no one correct way to make it.

... Read the rest of homemade harissa on smittenkitchen.com

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© smitten kitchen 2006-2012. | permalink to homemade harissa | 117 comments to date | see more: North African, Peppers, Photo, Savory Sauces and Condiments, Vegan, Vegetarian

My kids just love this Garlic Butter Knots. They are a great after school snacks or as a side dish for pasta. Made from scratch and flavored with the Crispy Garlic Butter Oil that I have posted earlier. I have a short video on how to make them. Make sure to check it out.





Garlic Butter Knots

Ingredients

1/3 Cup Crispy Garlic Butter Oil
1 tsp Dried Italian Herbs
1 tsp Sea Salt, or to taste

Dough
370 grams All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Warm Water
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Active Yeast
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Crispy Garlic Butter Oil

Method

Make the dough: Put the warm water into a bowl of a mixer. Add sugar, stir to dissolve and add the yeast. Stir to mix. Set aside for 10-15 minutes or until the yeast mixture is frothy.

Place the flour, baking powder, sea salt , and oil into the yeast mixture. Turn the mixture on low speed to moisten the flour and continue to mix the dough on medium speed for about 8 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap or kitchen towel and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

Press the dough down and divide the dough into 12 to 14 pieces,. Lightly roll each piece of dough into a rope about 8 to 9 inches long; tie each rope into a knot, take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over to the top and tuck it into the center and take the other end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center.

Place the knots on baking sheet lined with parchment paper an oiled baking dish. Brush the nots with some crispy garlic butter oil, sprinkle some italian herbs, if using and some sea salt. Let the knots rest for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Bake the knots for about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the knots from the oven, and brush with some crispy garlic butter oil and serve warm.

Read the recipe »

Inadvertently, this has become Festivus week on Smitten Kitchen, wherein I air my grievances at past recipes and exhibit what I hope can be passed off as “feats of strength” in reformulating them for modern times. Still, nobody could more surprised than I am that of all the recipes in the archives, it’s Martha Stewart’s decadent chocolate babkas from seven years ago that have ended up in this queue, because at the time we found them beyond reproach: rich, buttery, crumbly and intensely chocolaty. They were precisely what we’d remembered getting from the store growing up, but better, I mean, I’d hope they’d be. Clocking in at 3/4 pound of semisweet chocolate and almost a cup of butter per loaf, the recipe in fact uses triple this (2.25 pounds of chocolate! 1.25 pounds of butter!) for three loaves. And not unlike the chicken pot pies, this, along with the messy, complicated prep, became the problem. Despite repeated requests from our families every holiday, I’ve probably only made it once since, if that. It’s all too much.

This high holiday season, however, I decided to audition a different chocolate babka — the stunning, twisty, glossy chocolate krantz cakes that I imagine have tempted anyone that’s opened Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook. Although I was curious, I knew there was no way they could be as good. How could they be, what with only 2 1/4 ounces of dark chocolate and just over 1/2 cup of butter per loaf? It was going to taste abstemious, and wrong. Abstemious chocolate babka is wrong, wrong on a moral-ethical level, as far as I’m concerned.

... Read the rest of better chocolate babka on smittenkitchen.com

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© smitten kitchen 2006-2012. | permalink to better chocolate babka | 238 comments to date | see more: Cake, Chocolate, Jewish, Photo

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Maseca, but all opinions and the recipe here are my own.

Atole de vainilla is a traditional masa-based beverage, often made with milk, and served hot. This hot beverage goes great with tamales, pastries or pan dulce and is also most popular around Day of the Dead and the holidays. 

Atoles date back to pre-Columbian times in Mexico and are well-documented as a form of sustenance amongst the Aztec and Mayan cultures. Historical texts tell us the drink was often flavored with fruits, spices or chiles. 

Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate are the most common flavors of atole nowadays, but you can sometimes also find mora (blackberry; one of my favorites), nuez (pecan), pineapple, elote (sweet corn), piñon (pine nut), and many other flavors. In some areas of Mexico, you can even find savory atoles—one made with with green chile is called chileatole.

RELATED RECIPE: Champurrado

This recipe also calls for Mexican vanilla beans, which have a smooth, creamy flavor and a unique, woody spice profile that you won’t find in other varieties of vanilla beans. Did you know Mexico is considered the birthplace of vanilla? The vanilla orchid flower was first cultivated by the Totonac Indians, who were then conquered by the Aztecs. For at least several centuries after the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs, and had already brought vanilla beans back to Spain for the rest of the world to try, vanilla was still exclusively cultivated in Mexico. If you don’t have access to Mexican vanilla beans or don’t want to buy them online, you can also substitute Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans or bottled pure Mexican vanilla extract, which is available in my store.

Atoles can be made with different kinds of corn, as well: white, yellow and even blue corn can be used. And in some recipes, water or nut milk can be substituted for dairy milk.

Many Mexican markets sell store-bought atole packets that are thickened with cornstarch and take just a few minutes to make, but making your own atole from scratch with Maseca instant corn flour is so easy you’ll never want to buy one of those store-bought envelopes again. This version gives you all of the taste of atole made from scratch without having to grind your own nixtamal and turn it into masa, and then dissolve it in cheesecloth.

RELATED RECIPE: Atole de fresa

A note: Real vanilla bean makes a world of difference in this atole de vainilla recipe, but if you can’t find one, you can also substitute one tablespoon of vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract. If substituting pure vanilla extract, add that to the saucepan in the last five minutes of cooking and whisk to incorporate.

Depending on how sweet you like the atole, you can add three to four ounces of piloncillo. If you find that four ounces is too sweet, you can dilute the atole with another half-cup of milk.

This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly.

RELATED RECIPE: Spicy Mexican hot chocolate

Get more ideas for recipes made with Maseca at mimaseca.com.

The post Atole de vainilla appeared first on The Other Side of the Tortilla.

This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Barilla and Latina Bloggers Connect, but the recipe and all opinions here are my own.

Fideo seco is a Mexican pasta dish traditionally made with either chipotle chile alone, or a mix of three chiles: chipotle, guajillo and pasilla. When made with three chiles, the dish is known as fideo seco a los tres chiles. This simple version uses only chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, and requires minimal effort and easy cleanup.

What makes this dish different than any typical pasta dish is that the pasta is first fried, which brings out a somewhat nutty flavor in the pasta, and then is soaked in a tomato-chipotle puree to absorb the flavor. It’s cooked by baking in the oven, and when finished, the consistency is moist but not soupy.

RELATED RECIPE: Sopa de fideo

Fideo seco can sometimes be a spicy dish, but this recipe is not too spicy; if you prefer yours on the spicy side, you can add one additional chipotle and another tablespoon of adobo sauce. You should still remove seeds and veins from the chile if you decide to add one more, as the seeds and veins are where most of the chile’s heat comes from.

I’ve used Barilla’s fideo cut in this recipe, which is a cut familiar to any Mexican or Mexican-American family—it’s the same cut used in sopa de fideo, a tomato broth soup with noodles. Barilla’s superior quality pasta means your fideo won’t stick or clump, and has a flavor that complements this traditional Mexican dish.

The best garnishes for this dish include avocado and crumbled cotija or queso añejo. You can also add cilantro for a touch of color. Some people also like to garnish with crema mexicana or julienned chipotle chiles.

RELATED RECIPE: Tomato chipotle soup with star pasta

For more recipes and tips, visit barilla.com or in Spanish at pastaatuestilo.com.

The post Fideo seco appeared first on The Other Side of the Tortilla.

We all know Halloween is about one thing: candy. Whether you’re 13 or 30, it’s not Halloween without those delicious bite-sized morsels of sugar. In recent years, it seems that a lot of these treats (cookies included) have fallen into the same trend of offering a “candy corn” variant. From Starburst to M&M’S, even Oreo’s has ridden the yellow, orange and white-stripe wave, it either tastes like candy corn or looks like it.

This year, I’m assuming this is new since I don’t recall seeing it last year, Hershey’s joins the bandwagon with their own “candy corn” chocolate bar. Well, technically the bag calls it “candy corn creme with candy bits,” but… come on, it’s white chocolate. Or is it? Apparently, the ingredients include stuff like “wax” and “resinous glaze.” Either way, it looks like white chocolate to me with tiny particles of candy corn-colored “stuff” sprinkled in—though the bits are so small you’ll barely notice them. The bigger question is: do these bars taste like candy corn?

No, not really. That’s not a terrible thing, though. Much like Candy Corn Oreo’s these have a pungently sweet taste to them similar to a “birthday cake/icing” flavor. They’ve definitely got a creamer taste than regular chocolate and the occasional clustering of the “bits” do provide a good crunch, but really it’s like eating icing in bar form. I definitely couldn’t eat more than 2-3 at a time (trust me, I tried) without getting a little nauseous. That’s probably isn’t the best pull quote for Hershey’s marketing folks, BUT I kept eating them so they’re not terrible… or I was just really hungry. Would I buy them again? Eh, probably not until next year.

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This article is part of the Countdown to Halloween blogathon, a month-long blogging marathon dedicated to honoring the Halloween season. For more information and a full list of participating sites, please visit www.countdowntohalloween.com.

Wonton Noodles or Kon Lo Mee is a popular Chinese Malaysian noodle dish. This dry version noodle is flavored with pork lard oil, light and dark soy sauce. It’s served with pork and shrimp wonton, barbecued pork, mustard green, anchovy broth and some pickled green chilies. In addition to this dry version noodle, you can also serve the noodle with some anchovy soup with the same accompaniments.





Wonton Noodles {Kon Lo Mee/Wantan Mee}

Ingredients

480 to 500 grams Chinese Egg Noodles
4 Cups Anchovy Broth
1 Bunch of Choy Sum/Mustard Green, blanched
1 recipe of Pork & Shrimp Wonton
Chinese Barbecued Pork/Char Siu, sliced
1/4 Cup of Pickled Green Chilies

Seasoning (For one portion of noodles (about 120 grams))
2 to 3 tsp Pork Lard Oil or Shallot Oil
2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce
1 to 2 Tbsp Anchovy Broth
A few dashes of White Pepper

Barbecued Pork/Char Siu
600 grams Pork Belly, skinless
5 Tbsp Sugar
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
A big Pinch of White Pepper

Marinate the pork with sugar, garlic, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, & a big pinch of pepper for about 5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Method

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Let the pork come to a room temperature. Place the pork on the rack of a roasting pan. Roast the pork for about 20 minutes. Turn over the pork, add about 4 to 5 Tbsp of water in the pan. Roast for another 20 minutes.

Remove the meat from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

For the Wonton Noodles: Bring water to a boil. Blanch some mustard greens for about 25 to 30 seconds. Remove and set aside. Then add the wonton into the boiling water, and a portion of egg noodles. Cook the noodles for about 40 to 50 seconds. Remove the noodles with a wire strainer, and plunge it into a bowl of cold water for a few seconds. Shake off any excess water, and return the noodles into the boiling water. Cook the noodles for another 20 but still al dente. Remove the noodles and shake off any excess water. Then remove the cooked wontons.

To serve the noodles: Place pork lard oil or shallot oil, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, and some anchovy broth in a bowl. Toss in the noodles and mix well. Transfer the noodles into a bowl or plate and top with barbecued pork, wonton, mustard green, and sprinkle some scallions. Serve the noodles immediately with some anchovy broth and pickled green chilies.

Serves 4