Appetizers:
Arugula and Fava-Bean Crostini
Dinner:
Orzo with Artichokes and Pine Nuts
Asparagus, Peas, and Basil (Piselli con Asparagi e Basilico)
Rather than a picture of a huge hunk of meat, I think a better descriptive image of this week's dish is Anshul's face. because he was so darn excited about how good it was. But just in case you want to see the meat, I'll include that too. This was so freakin' good! We had a pork shoulder that we needed to use, it's been in our freezer a while. It ended up being two pieces and we cooked it like that and didn't roll it or tie it. Anshul didn't think it mattered, and I had no idea. The rub smelled so good when we were putting it on and it tasted even better. We couldn't have imagined that it could taste any better by putting it into the salsa, but it did! We kind of 
mashed it around in the sauce so that it had the texture of pulled pork and it tasted so amazing in the burrito. We used whole wheat flour tortillas. I made some black beans instead of using refried beans - sauteed them with cumin and garlic and a little jalepeno and then mashed them a bit. I also served it with sour cream, mixed greens, fresh cilantro and tomatoes and skipped the cheese. I doubt you could taste it anyway with the strong flavor of the pork. It looks kind of gross when you refrigerate it, but tastes so good as leftovers. At the end of our meal, Anshul was totally distressed that we haven't slow-cooked anything on the grill up until now. "We've had it for two years and have only used it to grill vegetables!!" he yelled in despair. I guess there will be more pork on our agenda.
I made Thai yellowfin, as opposed to Thai albacore b/c that was what was available. We had it over brown jasmine rice with a Thai influenced carrot salad with some cucumbers mixed in. I agree that the marinades in this book are so simple, yet impart a lot of flavor quickly. Good thing, b/c making this dish was a fiasco. We ran out of gas right in the middle of cooking the fish, so I fired up the cast iron grill pan on the stove, except it got too hot, or the fish had already cooked more than we thought, b/c by the time I sliced it to plate it up it was only slightly pink in the center. I feel so guilty over-cooking such a beautiful piece of fish, but it still tasted great, mostly from the great flavor the marinade gave the fish. I agree that the butter sauce wasn't really necessary, but it did add a little moisture to the slightly dry fish and rice. I did add some extra ginger and soy sauce, along with some lime zest, to the butter sauce, per your suggestion. I imagine that it just tasted like salty melted butter without that extra spice.
Ahh, I've got to stop writing reviews so long after making dishes!! I think I can remember the details on this though b/c it was so tasty. So, I had already been planning on making a grilled Mahi with a mango salsa before I picked this dish. I had just finished shopping and had found good prices on mahi and mangoes (although my "deal" of $1 each is pitiful compared to your excellent find a couple weeks ago. . .). Anyway, I decided to check to see if our new cookbook had any mahi and mango recipes in it, and lo and behold, there was one very similar to what I wanted to make! Since I had already been shopping I had to make a few minor substitutions. In the marinade I used some vermouth and a bit of rice wine vinegar in place of the sake and for the salsa I used some crushed red pepper in place of the jalepeno. I thought the marinade was really nice without overpowering the nice sweet/coconuty flavor of the mahi. I was impressed with the grilling directions for the fish, they resulted in a perfectly cooked, moist fish. The salsa was fabulous. We'll definitely make this again. We've been eating a varaiation of this meal for years already.
The Southwestern Black Bean Salad was tasty and satisfying. It reminded me of a salad I love at our favorite restaurant down on Folly Beach, Taco Boy. The dressing was really good, although I did add a little sugar since it was a bit tart. That could be b/c I used bottled lime juice leftover from making mojitos. I jazzed up the salad a little - I added some roasted red peppers, some chives I needed to use up and a little cumin. I also mixed the avocado into the salad rather than slicing it on top. It was topped with grated sharp cheddar. I did not include the olives, that just sounded weird. It was a nice light supper on a warm evening and an even better lunch today. I think I may make up batches for this just for lunches in the future.
the Moroccan spiced fish was soooo good!! I made the spice mix pretty much as written, although I couldn't understand why I had to choose between ground ginger and cinnamon, so I split the difference and used a bit of each. We use fresh mahi mahi for the fish. It smelled so good when it came out of the oven. On Sunday night we ate it as above - in pita sandwiches with sliced tomatoes, cilantro yogurt sauce and cabbage. That was delicious and a perfect light warm weather meal. We had planned on using the leftovers for fish tacos on Monday, but I really wanted to use the all the yummy juices the fish produced while baking and didn't think fish tacos would really allow me to do that. So I made up a Moroccan veggie saute with onions, garlic, zucchini, carrots and the rest of the cabbage, with some of the spice mix, a bit of white wine and veggie stock and some raisins and dried cranberries. Oh, and chickpeas (I wanted to make enough of the veggie saute to have for lunch the next day). We had that over couscous with the rest of the fish chunks and sauce (warmed over low heat in a saucepan) drizzled over it. I topped it with a bit of mint and the cilantro yogurt sauce. Yum!! We will definitely have this fish again, it is so good and so easy to make and such a departure from my usual fish usual preparations.
That's a bastardized Simpson's quote about television, but I thought it was appropriate in describing the loveliness of this soup on a chilly night. We had it last Tuesday when we were still in the middle of a nasty cold snap (it's in the high 70's now. . .weird weather this year). Anyway, the soup warmed us up thoroughly with it's spice and heat. I wish it was a bit more filling though, I was trying to save enough for lunches the next day, but Dan and I were both hungry after one serving. I'm sure some of it is the missing 4 ounces of squash - there were only 10 oz, instead of 12 oz, containers at the store. I would have though the tofu would fill us up. . .but no. I added a bit more chili paste in the beginning as well and thought the resulting heat was just right. I put a couple splashes of fish sauce in there too b/c I couldn't resist. The flavors were even better the next day at lunch. I'll definitely be making this again b/c it is quick and tasty. I think I'll try it with shrimp next time, I think that would be delicious.
I'm still trying to adjust to life without winter - namely when I do make chili and butternut squash soup? Well, I guess since it dips into the 40s some nights, I can pretend that it's not 60s and sunny during the day! And this Thai Butternut Squash Soup is a good reason to do so! Mmm... I loved it! Anshul didn't think butternut squash fit with Thai flavors, but what does he know about Asian food? :) I loved it - the sweet with the spicy and the sour. I threw in a little extra red curry paste at the end because I thought it needed just a bit more kick, but otherwise made it just as the recipe was listed. I thought the spinach and the tofu gave it a nice texture. We had some leftover homemade pizza dough which we brushed with garlic, olive oil and cilantro and cooked on our pizza stone. It was a perfect match.
We had the interesting Rarebit Risotto on Wednesday of last week. I used Abita Turbo Dog for the beer in the recipe - an excellent beer, by the way. I was worried about how this was going to turn out at first b/c my small tastes to check the "doneness" of the rice were very bitter tasting. However, by the end the flavors had come together and were much sweeter and richer. I used approximately 2 cups of cheddar, probably a bit less. I cannot imagine how you could cram four cups of cheese into this. It would end up as cheesy rice mush, I imagine. As it was, it still felt a bit decadent, but not too heavy. I liked the contrast of the sweet cherry tomatoes with the rich savory rice. All said, I'm still committed to classic risotto. I think that Dan really liked this though, so we may have it again someday. It certainly won't make the regular rotation. I cannot handle the caloric guilt, especially if it isn't earth-shatteringly good.
You're right, the Asian Braised Fish was fish-a-licious! I made it on Saturday night with mahi-mahi over soba noodles. I added a tablespoon of chili-garlic paste to the braising liquid and stir fried in half sesame oil, per your suggestion, and it was really tasty. It countered the sweetness of the brown sugar well. I really liked the soba noodles, it was the first time I'd had them. This did come together so quickly, I think it will be added to our repetoir as well. It'll be great when the CSA starts up again b/c we get a lot of bok choy and other Asian greens. This will be a good, quick alternative to the tofu stir-fries we have at least once a week in summer. I forgot the sesame seeds, but I'm not sure we missed much. This also reheats well, surprisingly. It was just as good the next day after being reheated on half power for 4 mins in the microwave.
We fought the chill of the cold snap (for SC - it was in the 40s. . .) on Tuesday night with the lovely Lentils with Spinach and Soy Sausage. Dan and I really enjoyed this. I made it exactly as written, using Tofurky Italian Sausage with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. This was my first venture into meat replacement products beyond tofu and veggie burgers. I was pleasantly surprised, this sausage was really tasty. I thought it would have been just as good without the sausage though. I love lentils! Plus the cardamon added a lovely flavor. (See, everything is better with cardamon). We had it topped with feta, although I bet ricotta salata would be good. I think cheddar would be weird. I think we'll make this again. It was so quick and easy, yet really flavorful and filling.
We had the polenta stuffed peppers for dinner on Wednesday (and for lunch today) and really enjoyed them. . .I made the recipe pretty much as written, although I added green onions to the polenta. I really liked the polenta, I couldn't stop sneaking little bites while filling the peppers. I thought the corn and chedder added a lot of flavor. We also thought the sauce was really good and added a lot to the dish. I think I'll make this again. Compared to other stuffed pepper recipes I've made I thought this one was nice and quick and flavorful. . .So, why such different opinions on this dish? I imagine that it is hard to make polenta if you've never tasted it before. . .I think it needs A LOT of seasoning to be good. I mean it is essentially just cornmeal and water, not the two most flavorful ingredients. But I would think the extra spices and cheese you added would have helped. Maybe you just don't like polenta? It took me a while to like it. It can be kinda gross if it's underseasoned or too thick. Or maybe it just was the olives. . .they did give the polenta a nice "meaty" flavor. Perhaps they were the key. You could try some actual meat, like sausage, to add some more flavor to the polenta.
We had the Navajo Stew for dinner on Monday night. I was mistaken when I said I had made this previously, actually, Dan had made it the one other time we had this. However, the first thing he said after he tasted this on Monday night was, "Oh, this is so much better than when I made it." (He told me I could put that in here.) I recall liking this meal last time, but not enough to make it again. We also quickly became enamored with the sweet potato and cauliflower curry recipe that is similarly prepared, so if I bought sweet potatoes, that is the recipe that would be made. But, I think we both enjoyed it enough this time to make it again.
I made the Pine Nut Crusted fish for dinner on Monday night along with a Greek Rice Pilaf adapted from my other Moosewood Cookbook - Moosewood Cooks at Home. Both were absolutely delicious. The fish had such a lovely flavor, with a crispy exterior and moist flaky interior. We also used tilapia. I was hoping to use Mahi Mahi, but they only had steaks and those didn't look very good. I didn't have any of the issues you had with the exterior over-cooking before the center cooked through. I followed the recommendation for 4 mins per side on medium and it worked out perfectly. . . so, I'm not sure what happened with yours. Maybe they were just too thick.
ning. I intended to make the recommended cranberry chutney to go on top, but I forgot my grocery list at work and didn't get canned cranberry sauce so I had to wing it. I'm glad I did make a chutney b/c I think the soup would have been a bit bland without it. I doubled the soup recipe so that we would have plenty for lunches this week. I used 4 cups of veggie stock and 2 cups of water, which may have contributed to the blandness, but I think it really just needed more curry powder. Dan and I both thought the soup would be better if it was a bit thicker, too. If I make it again I think I'll add even more chickpeas to give it more body after pureeing. I think maybe stirring in some coconut milk after pureeing would be a nice addition as well. However, if I'm in the mood for cauliflower curry, I'll likely make the roasted sweet potato and cauliflower curry recipe from this book instead. It is really good and a staple in our house.
