day 2, something new (and mint pesto)
day 2 of the vegetarian experiment, salad course. the julliened beets, jicama and carrots on top of the salad with limed avocado and gouda cheese went about as could be expected: the girls didn't like it as much as the adults.

dinner salads have, traditionally around the casa, been large affairs that i nromally call "intermezzo salads" in honor of the cafe intermezzo in berkeley where i first encountered the beast. lettuces, carrots, croutons and celery are tossed with a choice of dressing and then topped with about seven pounds of meats, cheese, hard boiled egg, mixed beans and sprouts.

yeah, i didn't make that tonight.

i used a crisper green leaf lettuce than the usual romaine, went with the usual amount of cheese, topped with the veggies and whatnot, and tossed some pine nuts on top. it was good, light, a bit tart (the dressing was a lime-orange juice vinegrette without the vinegar) and not to intimidating. except the girls had to sort of be put through their paces to finish a reasonable amount.

i'm guessing they wake up starving.

the mint pesto was something that was used last week to top some scallops and i used a little leftover today on top of a bagel. yeah, i'll eat things just to see what they taste like. didn't you read about the cheddar beer chips below?

mint pesto!

• one bunch of fresh mint leaves
• three tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted
• three cloves of garlic
• one tablespoon of lime
• four tablespoons of olive oil

really, all you do is run these through a food processor until smooh and creamy, adding a little water if it's too thick. it's take more time to clean and trim the mint leaves.

a dollop on a scallop is a wonderous thing. it would probably work wonders on a pasta primavera salad, with the addition of a little cheese on top. and it wasn't so bad a spread on a bagel, but i think it would have been better as the dressing for a sandwich with maybe provolone and marinated roasted peppers. i'm sure roast lamb would also work, if you're into that.

tomorrow: tofu stir fry.

Labels: diet, mint, pesto, salad, vegetarian

  ¶ Monday, April 23, 2007 1 comments

  venison burgers, moroccan style (kefta) last weekend when the father-in-law visted (official first in-law visit) he brought some venison with the intention of making meatballs to go with a pasta and sause. but he didn't want to cook and i made a meat sauce without the venison and it was all good.

honestly, venison kinda scares me.

but as i was considering menu ideas this week i ran up against a couple recipes for an arabesque ground meatball-burger thing that i tend to like when i can find it in mediterranean restaurants -- kefta. the original recipe calls for fatty ground beef and ground lamb but it seemed like i could swap out the lamb for venison and it would be fine.

it was. mighty fine.

these are going to be smallish mini burgers, each person getting a few. i'm pan frying them here, but you could skewer them like in the picture and grill them up.

venison-beef kefta

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb ground venison
• 1 medium onion grated or chopped super fine
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 good sized handful of cilantro, chopped up real good
• 1 good sized handful of flat leaf parsley, also chopped to heck
• 1 small handful fresh mint leave, chopped beyond recognition
• a pinch of salt
• a tablespoon of olive oil

just like with meatloaf, you gotta mix this stuff up with your hands until it's all blended
divide and form into patties about 1.5 inches across; you should get about 20 mini burgers
heat the oil medium-high in a large frying pan
cook as many as will fit at once (probably two batches if pan frying) about 4 to 6 minutes a side

now, about serving these...
you can't just serve these up like regular burgers. the collection of flavors in the meat begs for your attention, the kind of attention that gets squelched with ketchup and mustard. no, for this what you need is a side tabbouleh salad and...

cucumber salad with mint yogurt
you could also have this on the side, but we spread it on top of the burgers and it was fantastic.
also, make this while the burgers cook or risk the over-runny salad monster from leaking cukes

• 1 large or 4 small cucumbers, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, then into little half moon slices (3 -4 cups)
  
• 2 cups greek yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed like mad
• 2 sprigs worth of mint leaves, chopped, chopped and chopped

you mix the mint and garlic with the yogurt in your serving bowl
you toss in the cukes, mix to coat, that's that

i promise you, it's like a little hint of spring in winter to eat these, like the promise of summer. and a great alternative to a regular old burger night. no reason why you can't make them bun-sized, though i'd still recommend the cuke yogurt salad along side in a mini pita.

kid tested and approved.
mini burgers give dieters portion control (unless they dip for seconds).
who knew venison could be a good lamb replacement?

Labels: beef, burger, cucumber, ground, kefta, morocco, salad, venison, yogurt

  ¶ Saturday, February 10, 2007 0 comments

  potatoes would go great with that!
that's what it says on our refrigerator.

back in the late 1990's there was a campaign by some potato advisory board trying to boost their image. their attempt was to place this slogan on those advertising placards on grocery shopping carts so that no matter where your cart was parked this slogan -- with an arrow pointing to the right -- would force you to pair up potatoes with whatever you were standing next to. so there you are with a sign pointing to cake mixes, toilet paper, pet food, fruit juice... basically any number of things that potatoes would most definitely not no great with.

there may be a reason this slogan never took off the same way as, say, "got milk" did.

so a couple nights ago i made that stuffed chicken thang and served these potatoes along with. it's a martha recipe, tweaked a bit because i can't really just follow a recipe straight.

potatoes-would-go-great-with-that vinaigrette

• 1.5 to 2 pounds white new potatoes or small yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed clean
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon german mustard (or similar, something with the bite of horseradish)
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• coarse salt and pepper

unless you have really tiny potatoes cut the potatoes into 1 inch pieces, quartered will usually do it. you know, potato salad size.
cover potatoes with cold, salted water and cook until just tender, say 12 to 15 minutes
drain the potatoes and set aside to cool slightly.
in a medium bowl combine parsley, vinegar and mustards; season with salt and pepper to taste.
toss potatoes into the mixture.
now...
if you'd prefer a cold potato salad, send the spuds into the fridge for at least 2 hours; then just before serving add celery and oil, toss and serve.
if you prefer a warm or room temperature salad (and i like it best this way) add oil and celery, toss and serve it that way.

serves 4 to 6
kid tested and approved
leftovers (ha!) will keep for a couple of days

c'mon, there's gotta be something asking to be served with potatoes this week!

Labels: potato, recipe, salad

  ¶ Monday, January 15, 2007 0 comments