Moo Shu Pork

I found this recipe a while ago on a great blog called For the Love of Cooking and adapted it to my liking. I like the lightness and asian flavors of this dish. I generally eat 2-3 of these lettuce wraps and I'm stuffed, no rice or other carbs needed.

Moo Shu Pork

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips

3 T hoisin sauce

3 T seasoned rice vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T fresh ginger, minced (optional)

salt and pepper, to taste

2 T toasted sesame oil

1 can water chestnuts, diced

8 oz coleslaw mix

1 large carrot, cut into strips

1 bell pepper, cut into strips

3-4 green onions, sliced

handful of cilantro

butter lettuce leaves

Directions

Whisk hoisin, vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper together. Add the pork and marinate for 10-30 mins.

Heat 1 T oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the pork. Stir-fry until the pork is browned, about 5 mins. Remove from pan and place on a plate, cover.

Add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the carrots and bell pepper. After 2-3 minutes add the pork back in along with the coleslaw mix, water chestnuts and half of the green onions and cilantro. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Taste and season, if needed. Serve in lettuce leaves and sprinkle the remaining green onions and cilantro on top just before serving.

Slow-Cooked BBQ Chicken

I was trying to decide what to make and I remembered an awesome pulled pork sandwich I had a few months ago at The Walnut Brewery in Boulder. It was a great BBQ pork topped with an awesome coleslaw. I decided to use chicken instead and boneless, skinless chicken thighs were on sale. It would be perfectly fine to use ones with the bone-in, but remove the skin because it will just end up rubbery due to the cooking method. If you use bone-in, cook for about half an hour longer. The BBQ sauce I got was actually too spicy, so I added a few tablespoons of of brown sugar to mellow it out. I will follow up with the apple coleslaw as soon as I get a good recipe down for it.

Slow-Cooked BBQ Chicken

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1hr 15mins

Ingredients
2 T oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 cup spicy BBQ sauce
1 cup orange juice
2 T brown sugar (optional)
4 hamburger buns

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. Heat enameled cast-iron pot on medium-high heat. Add the oil and when hot, add the onions. Cook onions until nicely browned, about 10 mins and then add garlic. Cook for another 2mins. Remove the garlic and onions.
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs. Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Brown the chicken on each side, this will take two batches. Add all of the chicken back in along with the garlic and onions. Pour the BBQ sauce and orange juice into the pot. Add brown sugar if necessary. Place in the oven and cook for 35-45 mins or until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the pot from the oven and place on the stove over low heat. Remove the thighs and shred them. Place back in the sauce after all the chicken is shredded. Serve on toasted hamburger buns with apple coleslaw.

Braised Beet Salad

I have relatively recently fallen in love with beets. These very earthy vegetables are great on salads or as their own stand alone salad. At The Kitchen in downtown Boulder they pair these braised beets with a very creamy, local goat cheese and it is a great appetizer with some of their wine. I did both red and golden, but cooked them in separate pans. I like the way the golden ones turned out a little better because they have a milder, sweeter flavor to begin with so they really absorbed the wine and apple cider vinegar. The link to The Kitchen is for a beet risotto they have which I am planning on trying soon because it sounds wonderful.

Braised Beet Salad

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
2-3 medium-sized beets, red or golden
2 T unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
2 cups stock or water
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 apple cider vinegar
3 oz goat cheese

Directions
Peel beets and cut into slices, wedges or cubes about 1/3-inch thick. Place all ingredients in a large sauté pan. Make sure the beets are completely covered by the liquid. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cook until the beets are al dente, 30-45 mins. Let beets cool to room temperature and sprinkle with goat cheese before serving.

Molten Chocolate Cake

This is a favorite dessert of my sister, my stepmom and myself. On a cruise in the Caribbean we ate this every night. It is amazingly simple and my friend said that it was the best dessert he had had in a long time and I agree. I served it with espresso chocolate chip ice cream which was great, but whipped cream would have been good too. I refrigerated them for about 4 hours and they came out great, so that is something I would recommend doing before your guests arrive if you are having a dinner party. I got the recipe from the New York Times.

Molten Chocolate Cake

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus some for molds

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, not chips

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 tsp flour, plus more for molds

Directions

In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and chocolate together until the chocolate is almost completely melted. While that's heating, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until light and thick. 

Beat together the melted chocolate and butter; it should be quite warm. Pour in the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.

Butter and lightly flour four 4-ounce molds, custard cups, or ramekins. Tap out the excess flour, then butter and flour them again. Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until you are ready to eat, for up to several hours; bring them back to room temperature before baking.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the molds on a tray for 6 to 7 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Milk-Braised Goat

You know the show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the Food Network? Well if I am ever on that show this will be the dish I talk about. Until I made this I had never had goat, but now I am a believer. Goat is like lamb, but the flavor is a little more subtle and it is leaner. I found it for $8/lb from Leistikow Farms at the farmer's market in Boulder, but I am sure any speciality butcher would be able to get some goat shanks.
The goat comes out so incredibly tender that you can use a butter knife, which is good since I don't currently have any steak knives. It leaves the bone completely clean as well. I served it with a red wine and cranberry sauce, which my friend, thankfully, helped me with after a few previous attempts. The sauce added a nice fruitiness to a dish that could have been a bit rich otherwise. After throughly cleaning our plates, my friends and I discovered that the cooking liquid left behind in the pot was one of the best things we had ever had. We started "accidentally" dropping whole pieces of bread in it just to soak up all that deliciousness. Next time I make this I will probably strain the cooking liquid and use it in a sauce or use it instead of butter and cream in some mashed potatoes. I almost don't want to share this recipe since it is so incredibly easy while still being totally impressive, but I will. I should say that I got the idea from this recipe for goat ragu, which I am sure is awesome as well.

Milk-Braised Goat

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5 mins
Active Cook Time: 15 mins
Inactive Cook Time: 2 hrs
Total Time: 2hrs 20 mins

Ingredients
2.5-3 lbs goat shank, bone in
5 T olive oil
5 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups whole milk
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 300F. Heat enameled cast iron pot on medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Generously sprinkle goat shanks with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the goat shanks and brown on each side, should take about 10 mins total. Add the garlic when the last side is searing, so that it browns, but does not burn.
Heat the milk in the microwave until warm. Once the goat and garlic are browned, add the milk and spices. Bring to a boil then cover with lid (if the lid does not seal the pot very well, cover with aluminum foil too). Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours. Every 20 mins, turn the pieces of goat so that all the sides get to cook in the liquid.

Baked Eggs

I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, my sister's all-time favorite celebrity chef. She uses herbs in her's, but I didn't have any fresh ones in the house. I think this recipe has the potential to be great, but to master it is harder than it looks. This would be an awesome thing for a brunch, but make sure you try it before serving it to anyone. She, I assume, uses the broiler in her oven or stand alone broiler. I use the broiler in my toaster oven because it was able to heat up faster and my oven is electric too, so I figured I wouldn't gain much by using the full-sized oven. I found that it did not cook evenly and that could be the cooking appliance, or something else. Also, I couldn't figure out how you were supposed to know if the eggs were done other than breaking into that beautiful crust that formed. Next time I think I will try putting it in a hot water bath and then put it under the broiler since it was too liquidly on the bottom.
Now that I have throughly convinced you not to make it, let me tell you what I like about this recipe. I love the salty crust that forms on the eggs from the parmesan cheese and salt sprinkled on top. It would have been great with herbs, as Ina suggests. I think this could be a great way to serve well-cooked eggs to the masses at a large family brunch, for example. It is also very fun and cute for everyone to have their own ramekins.

Baked Eggs

Servings: 1

Prep Time: 3 mins
Cook Time: 13 mins
Total Time: 16 mins

Ingredients
2 whole eggs
small sliver of butter
1 tsp milk
1/2 T grated parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste
Optional:
1/8 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp fresh minced thyme
1/8 tsp fresh minced rosemary
1/2 T fresh minced parsley

Directions
Preheat broiler on high. Place a rack 6 inches below the broiler.
Place milk and butter in the bottom of a 4 oz ramekin. Place under the broiler until it begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Carefully remove the ramekin and crack 2 eggs into it. Top with salt, pepper, parmesan and herbs (if desired). Place back under the broiler for 5-10 minutes.
You may need to rotate the dish if the eggs are not cooking evenly. Once removed from the oven they will continue to cook a little. The whites should be throughly cooked while the yolks should be moderately runny. Serve with an english muffin or toast and fresh fruit.

Argula Pesto

This is not what I think of when I think of pesto. Both my mom and dad grow basil and make huge batches of pesto every summer. There is always a debate over whose pesto is the best, but they are both awesome. Since I don't grow basil, due to weather and space, I thought I would make an argula pesto. The flavor is not as pungent as basil, but it is garlicky and peppery. I have served this over a white fish and eggs with toast, but it would also be great on a sandwich, crostini, pasta or mixed into hummus. I made a pizza and used it instead of tomato sauce and it was pretty good.

Argula Pesto

Time: 10 mins

Ingredients
2.5 oz argula
2 oz parmesan
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
about 4 T olive oil
salt, to taste

Directions
Using a food processor, blend parmesan, walnuts and garlic until they are very finely chopped. Add 1/3 of the argula and start blending, add oil as need. Add the rest of the argula in batches and scrape down the sides so that it is gets throughly combined.