Cuban Picadillo

I am starting to get some serious pangs of anxiety when I realize that the lack of a nap is becoming a trend in our house. This lack of "mommy time" explains why my postings have been sporadic at best this past week. I will type fast so I can share this recipe for picadillo with you because it is so easy to prepare, and so yummy… This meal is even better on day two, once flavors have had a chance to really meld. Plus, it freezes well, so if you’re making it once you might as well make extra and enjoy a night off of cooking later this month or next! We like to serve in whole wheat wraps, but traditionally picadillo is served over steamed white rice. Either way, it is delicious.

Cuban Picadillo

Olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (or you may use beef, if you’d like)
2 onions, diced
3+ cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 peppers, diced
1 cup (or more) Amontillado (dry sherry)
Oregano (dried), about 2 teaspoons
Cumin, about 2 teaspoons
6 oz. can tomato paste
Capers with their brine, at least 2 teaspoons
½ cup raisins
½ cup slivered, roasted, unsalted almonds
½ cup Spanish olives
Bay leaf
Pepper (to taste)
Kosher Salt (to taste)

Serve with whole what wraps or steamed rice

In a large skillet, sauté the ground turkey, onions, garlic and peppers in olive oil. When the meat is just about cooked through, add the remaining ingredients: sherry, oregano, cumin, tomato paste, capers, raisins, almonds, olives and bay leaf and stir together. Wait to season with salt and pepper until the dish is cooked through and you have sampled it. The olives and the brine from the capers add quite a bit of salt to the dish!

This was a favorite of my personal chef clients. If you store in a tightly covered container it will freeze well for up to two months.

And on that note, I will go retrieve my little one from the nap-that-did-not-happen.

Simple Spicy Curry (with help from Maya)

Today was non-stop. I team taught a Stroller Strides class…played at the park with my little one…zipped through Whole Foods (which I love, but that reminds how much less expensive Trader Joe’s is) with minutes to spare before picking up my bigger one…took them both for an impromptu picnic (brown rice sushi from Whole Foods and one of the Whole Food’s bakery’s decadent “granola bars”) at the New Canaan Nature Center…home in time to nap the little one and squeeze in half a workout myself…before taking the big one to his music class and then treating the kids to a (dinner busting) gelato at Gelatissimo. Totally worth it. I tried to give them a goat cheese polenta terrine thingy I picked up at Whole Foods (my little one boisterously asked for it and I thought I had a slam-dunk kid’s dinner, but he probably thought it was a cupcake…) anyway, that totally bombed. But in the couple minutes they were sitting still, turning up their noses, I whipped up this curry for our dinner. Most of the time I try to make something I can also give my kids. Maybe it's subconsciously to broaden their palate, but it's also just to keep things more sane around here. But they won’t touch anything spicy, so this is all for us.

Simple Spicy/Sweet Chicken Curry

1 container Maya Kaimal Vindaloo Sauce
3 zucchini, chopped
3 breasts of all natural chicken, chopped into 1” pieces
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Fuji apple, chopped

Combine everything in a saucepan; bring to a boil then lower heat to low. Pop a cover on it, so the chicken cooks through and the zucchini and apple become tender. I had to run an errand, so I actually turned the heat off after it simmered 10 minutes or so, left the lid on, and when I came home dinner was ready (and the house smells amazing).

As Kaimal says on her website, “I make my products with the finest ingredients and traditional techniques to reflect my favorite flavors of India. I take no shortcuts—so you can.” As long as I recognize all the ingredients in a sauce such as this, I am all for shortcuts.

Not your grandma’s meatballs

Not that I have anything against grandmas. In fact, our “Meme and Papa” are visiting now and we’re having a ball. (Hence the reason I haven’t spent much time updating this blog.) But, since the times when our moms taught us to cook, so many interesting ingredients and ethnic cuisines have become mainstream. With that in mind, I am sharing my recipe for Lamb & Pistachio Meatballs. Remember: meatballs are hard to mess up! These ones are amazing, and so easy. As an added bonus, they reheat well and can be frozen. A perfect make ahead meal…and these meatballs are special enough that you could serve them at a dinner party. (We ate them before I remember to take a photo, so I had to poach an image off the Food & Wine site...)

Kofte with Pistachios

1 bag TJ’s (Trader Joe’s) roasted, unsalted pistachios
1 lb ground lamb (which can be difficult to find, so call ahead and order this from your market’s butcher)
1 lb all natural ground beef
2 or 3 yellow onions (depending upon the size of the onion), small dice
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves roughly chopped
hearty dash of cumin
hearty dash on cinnamon
hearty dash of kosher salt
olive oil in which to sauté the meatballs

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and mix with your hands. (Remove your wedding ring, or it will get nasty.) Heat olive oil in a large fry pan. Roll 1” meatballs and sauté until nicely browned then transfer to a roasting pan or cookie sheet. Bake another 15 minutes, or so, until cooked through. Done! How easy was that? Serve with Yogurt Sauce.

Herbed Yogurt Sauce
This sauce pairs wonderfully with the meatballs, but can also be a nice accompaniment to grilled chicken or shrimp, or stirred into orzo for a side dish, used as a dip for pita chips, etc. Lots of options for this simple recipe….

1 tub Fage 0% Greek Yogurt (or you can use 2% or full fat, whichever one you prefer)
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
1 bunch dill, feathery part roughly chopped
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
Freshly ground pepper

Combine all of the above and let flavors meld in the fridge for at least one hour. Dip will keep for several days as long as you started with fresh herbs!

Classy Kid and Cookies

I had pipedreams of going to a Parent’s Association meeting at my son’s school all by myself today…enjoying a (hot) cup of coffee with fellow moms….actually hearing what the speaker had to say…and capping my morning off with an organic latte and a treat at Le Pain Quotodien. Instead, I had our little one in tow. The novelty of my purse full of pens, play-doh and little cars and trucks quickly wore off, as did drinking half & half through a skinny straw. At the ripe age of two, my son decided it was time to go…and right then. So he did his attention grabbing “Dammit!” yell a couple times over and we quickly exited the meeting.

Score? Toddler: 1, Mommy: 0.

With our playgroup cancelled and the weather totally foul, I was in no mood to play trains or Candyland…again. So, I suggested we make some cookies. After all, what is a pity party without cake or cookies? If you’re looking for a rainy weekend activity, I can confirm (10 cookies later) that these are worth whipping up.

2 sticks of organic butter, softened (or done so in the microwave for 20 seconds)
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup Turbinado sugar
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons vanilla
1 ½ cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
hearty dash of cinnamon (2 Tablespoons or so)
sprinkling of ginger (1/2 or 1 teaspoon)
3 cups Quaker oats
Copious amounts of semi-sweet chocolate chips (at least a bag, come on these are cookies…)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional, but the chocolate is not in my book)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (for easier clean-up).
Using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; mix.
Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger; mix.
Add oats, chocolate chips and cranberries (or any other ingredients you’re adding); mix.
Form drop cookies and bake 10-12 minutes, or until a nice golden brown.

Bumpy Slides, Cherry Blossoms, Rockets and Margaritas

I am, achem, recovering from my older son’s 2-week spring vacation. Actually, it was wonderful. We stayed in town for the first week and a half and I took the kids on a daily park adventure. Fine, so there was that one day early in the vacation when I called my husband at work to say “the kids are having a ball…they’re running all over like they’ve never been to a park before…Me? I am FREEZING, and I am fairly certain I am the only mom here,” I complained as I took inventory of the young au pairs and groups of nannies catching up while their charges ate sand. But after I changed my attitude, and was thankful that I have two healthy, really really excited little boys who think there’s nothing better than going to the local parks, things started to look up.

Then, at the tail end of the break, we packed the kids up in the car and went on a D.C. adventure. I had my doubts that going to D.C. with kids so young was going to be fun for any of us, but I was wrong. It was the perfect getaway. We stayed outside of the city, so the Metro alone was an adventure for them. (We made sure we picked a hotel that welcomed children, and that had a Starbucks close by.) We discovered (with the Michelin Guide’s help) a fabulous gourmet pizza place that served unique microbrews. We romped around the National Zoo the first afternoon, meandered through the Air & Space Museum in awe on (rainy) day two, and popped the kids in jogging strollers for a long circuitous walk to all of the Monuments and the Capitol on the morning of day three. Oh, and did I mention that all attractions were clean, very well kept, free…and that the Cherry Blossoms were starting to bloom?

Then, we capped off this exhausting but fun leg of the quick getaway with two nights in Richmond, VA, to visit our dear friends who moved south a little while back. The four little boys ran amuck and giggled for 48 hours straight, and the parents booked some well-deserved babysitting time to catch-up and enjoy each other’s company. On Saturday evening, we ate in with some of their local friends so I whipped up one of my go-to dinner party meals: chicken enchiladas. I have shared the “recipe” below so that you can give it a whirl if you are entertaining a crowd. It is easy to prepare, difficult to botch with cook times, and can be assembled in advance then just popped into the oven. Now that makes for a relaxing evening with friends!

Corn tortillas
Enchilada Sauce (I like Hatch brand, which you can get at Whole Foods)
Shredded Cheese(s)

The filling can really be anything. As I show my cooking lesson clients, once you understand the consistency (it helps to have a visual but the idea is: moist enough that the enchiladas will be solid and creamy, but not so moist that they'll be runny...), you can modify the ingredients depending upon whether you’ve got vegetarian eaters, meat lovers, mild and cheesy guests, those that like beans, those that don't….you get the picture. That night, I made ours with:
2 rotisserie chickens, white meat removed/shredded (I was all about ease that day)
2 envelopes Taco seasoning (Garden of Eatin’ brand is a favorite)
2 bricks low-fat cream cheese
2 cans black beans, drained
4 bell peppers, diced
3 onions, diced
1 can diced mild green chiles
½ jar of pickled jalapenos, diced

I assembled the enchiladas (not worrying if they cracked in the process b/c they're going to be covered in copious amts of sauce), poured the enchilada sauce over the two big baking dishes, sprinkled them with cheese and voila, done. Pop them into a 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is lightly browned, about 45 minutes or so...though I was having such a good time that I forgot and left them in for about an hour and a half, no damage done. We served them with a yellow rice (which we added some frozen peas to for color/texture), black beans spiked with lime and jalapenos and lots and lots of homemade margaritas. Yes, the neighbor's “Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville Machine" made an appearance. Mmm hmm, I just might have to get one of those for our summer entertaining…

Creating Supper: Beef & Bulgur Meatballs

Meatballs are difficult to mess up. As I continue to share recipes with my friends (and their friends…and their friends…) you’ll see that there’s a pattern to the way I like to cook. As I mentioned before, I like recipe as a source of ideas. But when it comes to actually cooking, I do not like to worry about exactly how much of a spice I am supposed to add…or that I don’t have a particular ingredient a recipe calls for. If you’re an experienced cook you know that substitutions are easy, once you have a comfort level with flavors that compliment one another. If your learning curve is straight up when it comes to the kitchen, then practice will make perfect!

Tonight I plan to whip up Beef & Bulgur Meatballs for a new friend who just had a baby. A homemade meal is the perfect gift because it nourishes and comforts. In addition to being a client favorite when I had my personal chef business, this is one of those meals that when I make it for a friend she always asks for the recipe, so she can then share it with her friend. It is simple to prepare, yet complex in flavor. And so, now I share it with you.

BEEF & BULGUR MEATBALLS
1 cup organic beef broth
1 cup bulgur wheat* (dry, comes in a box or bag usually near rice/grains in the supermarket)
1 organic orange, zested and juiced
1 small can organic tomato paste
1 or 2 large cans (the 35 oz. variety) organic diced tomatoes (amt of diced tomatoes depends upon how much sauce you like, I always err on more sauce than less)
Brown sugar (about 4 Tablespoons, you’ll taste the sauce and add until desired level of sweetness)
Cider vinegar (again, about 4 Tablespoons, you’ll taste the sauce and add until desired level of zing…keep in mind that as the sauce cooks the taste will mellow)
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 lbs organic (or all natural) ground beef
1 bunch of scallions, white parts and a little green, sliced thin
2 or 3 eggs
allspice (eyeball about ½ teaspoon, more if you like the taste of allspice...this is going into the raw meatballs so you cannot taste as you go)
ginger, ground (again part of the raw meatballs so start by eyeballing about ¼ teaspoon, and feel free to add a bit more if you particularly like the taste of ginger…)
dash of salt & pepper

1. Combine boiling broth + bulgur. Cover tightly and let stand for 30 minutes or more. (This is how you are re-hydrating the bulgur for the meatballs.)
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. For the sauce: zest and juice the orange into a saucepan and cook over med heat until the juice is reduced by half. Then combine tomato paste, tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar, basil, salt & pepper in the saucepan with the OJ and zest. Bring to a boil and simmer about 15 minutes or until blended nicely. You may want to add more vinegar or brown sugar depending upon your taste….
4. For the meatballs (*This is when it would be easiest if I was in your kitchen showing you an example of ideal consistency, but since most of you reading this blog are probably going to try the recipe on your own here's something to keep in mind: think about the bulgur wheat as breadcrumbs if you were making meatballs. Add as much of the re-hydrated bulgur wheat as you'd like. I always add it all, and find it makes the meatballs moist and fiber rich, but you could add half as much and end up with "meatier" meatballs too if that's your preference): combine bulgur, ground beef, eggs, scallions, parsley, allspice, ginger, dash or salt & pepper. Mix well and form into meatballs.
5. Place meatballs in baking dish and cover with sauce. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (or longer if you’ve made big ‘ol meatballs).

Another benefit of this dish is that it freezes beautifully. So, if you don’t have a friend to share this dinner with, pop the other half into your freezer and enjoy it within the next 2 months!