Author: Merigold

Pad Thai

Healthy Pad Thai

Most of us know Pad Thai as a delicious, peanut-y warm dish that is comforting and about 1K calories per bite. Not this pad thai. Make way for delicious, healthy, easy, weeknight pad thai. You’ll never order take out again after you acclimate to this super flexible, vegan, vegetarian, chicken, pork, or tofu pad thai, made with peanut sauce.

what you need

2 chicken thighs or 1 large chicken breast, cut into slices or chunks (alternatively, pork, tofu, or tempeh)

1 small zucchini

2 medium carrots

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 package Organic Forbidden Rice black rice noodles (or Pad Thai noodles of your choosing)

1 tablespoon Ghee (butter or sesame oil will work in the absence of Ghee)

1 batch of homemade peanut pad thai sauce

2 tablespoons butter or desired cooking oil

(optional additions) 1/2 small head of cabbage cut into ribbons, 1 Portobello mushroom, 1 head of broccoli, 2 eggs, 1/2 an avocado cut into slices, etc. See notes below.

Get the sauce recipe here.

how to make it

Make the base. If using brown rice, pour two cups of water into a pot with 1 tablespoon of salted butter and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of rice and cook, covered on the lowest simmer for 45 minutes until all water has disappeared. Do not stir at any point during the process. Leave covered and remove from heat.

If using noodles, cook noodles according to instructions on package, strain, and set aside.

Make the sauce.

Make the stir fry. Cut zucchini, carrots, and onion into long, thin strips and set aside. Place ghee in large frying pan and melt over medium heat. Add chicken slices/chunks and sauté until pink has just disappeared from the centers. Starting with the carrots, then the onions, and finally the zucchini, add vegetables to pan in 2 minute increments, then cook for an additional 4 minutes until vegetables (especially carrots) are softened but still retain a bit of crunch.

Pour 3/4 of the sauce over the vegetables and stir for 30-60 seconds, just to warm and thicken the sauce ever so slightly. Remove from heat. If topping with fried egg, heat 1 tablespoon butter in pan and quickly fry 2 eggs to desired consistency.

Serve. Place a helping of rice or noodles in the bottom of a bowl and drizzle lightly with remaining sauce. Spoon a hearty helping of the vegetable mixture over the base. Top with desired garnish (see notes below).

With Egg

With Peanut

Without Egg

This recipe, its sauce, and its sister dish Weeknight Stir Fry are literally the most versatile recipes I have ever tried. They are excellent for having a CSA, when many times I end up at the beginning of a week with several misfit vegetables and no one dish to unite them. This is that dish. Check out the Weeknight Stir Fry and Peanut Sauce posts for customization instructions.

One way to take this one bowl wonder up a notch is to augment it with garnish. Actually, this recipe is the reason I pay attention to garnish at all. Not only does it make the dish more presentable (say, for Instagram posts…), but it also adds considerably to the flavor and substantial-ness (totally a word) of the meal.

The Fundamental Laws of Garnish

1. Always add something fresh. This recipe is filled with cooked vegetables that can benefit from the added freshness and crunch of an uncooked vegetable. Some of my favorites: halved cherry tomatoes, sliced radishes, fresh lime wedge, a couple raw carrot wheels (or, if you’re feeling adventurous, perhaps a carrot flower), cucumber slices.

2. Always add something tiny. This gives the dish a daintily haphazard ‘sprinkled’ air. That may sound ridiculous but it looks great in pictures. Suggestions: halved peanuts or cashews toasted under the broiler, sesame seeds (!), minced chives or green onion, fresh parsley flakes.

3. Consider amplifying the meal with a side. If the one bowl concept isn’t popular with family members (or your significant other simply wants something a bit more “substantial”), consider adding a side dish or two to the bowl. Some of my favorites: long slices of Portobello mushroom pan fried in marsala or sherry and garlic, fried egg, steamed broccoli florets, salted and shelled edamame beans, fresh avocado slices.

On a completely separate topic, I am definitely noting “The Absence of Ghee” as a potential mid-life crisis rock band name.

Tags Asia, Asian, chicken, chopsticks, eggs, garlic, garnish, ginger, health, healthy, main course, peanut, sesame, stir fry, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight

Veggie

Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce

This is the versatile Peanut Sauce. Ironically, only the variation is made with actual peanut butter. The version I typically make is peanut-free! But this is THE sauce for healthy Pad Thai, Weeknight Stir Fry, rice attire, salad dressing, noodle accoutrement, etc. If you’re missing an ingredient, don’t panic. There is a substitution for almost everything. So customize away!

what you need

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons almond butter (or any nut butter)

Juice from half a lime

1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 whole garlic clove, peeled

1 small knob of fresh ginger (no need to chop or peel)

3 tablespoons Tamari (or soy sauce)

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

1/4 cup cashew milk (or other nut milk, or regular milk)

Salt, black pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste

See below for sweet peanut variation.

how to make it

Place all ingredients in chopper or small blender (I use the smallest container in this 3-in-1). Blend until smooth adding milk or water to reach desired consistency, noting that if adding to stir fry over heat, the mixture will thicken slightly.

Notes on texture: The amount of liquid controls how thick or thin this sauce becomes. Add more or less milk depending on desired thickness.

Notes on ingredients: This recipe is SUPER flexible. The substance comes from the nut butters. My favorite blend is tahini + almond, but peanut is a good option as well. If lacking tahini, you could make the entire thing with 4 tablespoons of almond butter.

Lime and vinegar give you the tanginess. I would be hard pressed to make this without lime juice but, technically, you only need one of the two, and could probably get away with lemon in a pinch. Similarly, you could skip the ginger OR the garlic OR the fish sauce and not be hurting for it.

To make this recipe sweeter: add 1 tablespoon fresh honey, 1 tablespoon of Hoisin sauce, or 1 tablespoon of molasses.

Sweet Peanut Variation

what you need

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup lime juice or 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar

2-3 tablespoons Tamari (or soy sauce)

1/2 teaspoon fermented chili paste (or sriracha)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2-6 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon sesame oil

(optional) 1 garlic clove, finely grated

(optional) 1 fresh ginger knob, finely grated

how to make it

Whisk together all ingredients excluding the water. Add the water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Since natural peanut butters vary in consistency from very thick (Whole Foods or Publix brands) to very thin (some in jars), you will need to adjust the amount of water to achieve the consistency that suits your dish.

Tags Asia, Asian, creamy, garlic, ginger, lime, peanut, sauce, sesame, tahini, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight

Veggie

Cornbread

Basic Skillet Cornbread

If you are from the south, you know that the only way to make cornbread is in a skillet. It should be drier than it is wet, breadier than it is cakey, and not overly sweet (but lightly sweetened with fresh honey). It should also be free from whole corn kernels. In my opinion. If you’re looking for that spongy corn cake served in Barbeque restaurants, this is not it. But this is what you need if the black eyed peas are soaking.

what you need

1 1/2 cup fresh ground corn meal

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 eggs

2 tablespoons oil (vegetable, safflower, olive)

1 1/4 cup whole milk

how to make it

Utensils: cast iron skillet

Preheat oven to 425 and oil the cast iron skillet. Put it in the oven to heat up a bit.

Mix dry ingredients together. Separately, beat the wet ingredients together. Then mix all ingredients and pour into the warm cast iron skillet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. If the top does not brown enough for your liking, feel free to broil for a minute or two.

Note on Local Grains, Meal, & Rice

Check out the Grain, Meal, & Rice post.

Wade's Mill, Virginia

Anson Mills, South Carolina

The Story Behind One(andahalf)Slices

One(andahalf)Slices was originally conceived as a non-fiction book, the subject of which was to posit the First Principles of healthy, holistic living.

(Interlude: First Principles and Fermi Questions are cognitive heuristics that allow us to simplify complex concepts and seemingly intractable problems)

There were going to be four sections in the book corresponding to my four first principles for health: Movement, Hydration, Nutrition, and Rest. The sections were to contain chapters on how to pursue these things in daily life, recipes, thoughts, funny stories, and other things. Fundamentally, I wanted the text to underscore the two things that, in my opinion, are hardest for humans: 1) balance and 2) consistency.

To treat oneself with indulgence and discipline in equal measure. And to do so consistently.

Nothing earth shattering, right?

Anyway, I kept a running list of chapter ideas in my little black work notebook for a year or two. Even wrote a couple. The idea for the title OneandahalfSlices came to me one day while eating pie with a friend.

After finishing my first slice of pie, the usual debate began in my head: ‘Man, I want another piece. No, you don’t need one. But you’re literally going to finish this entire pie later anyway so might as well. Seriously, a little self control never killed anyone.’ until I settled on the obvious answer… to have another HALF slice of pie.

“I’m going to have half a slice more,” I announced.

“Who has a HALF a slice of pie?” my friend scoffed from the couch, without looking up from her second piece.

And that got me to thinking… who DOES only have half a slice of pie. Or pizza. Or cake. Or cornbread. Well… I do. All the time. In fact, I frequently eat one and a half slices of many things. Because two slices is just too much but one slice is never quite enough. To treat oneself with indulgence and discipline in equal measure and to do so consistently.

OneandahalfSlices became, in a way, a philosophy. Go to the gym every day and do something without needing to set a personal record, even if that something is just to stretch. Drink plenty of water without denying yourself bourbon, red wine, and coffee. Eat well and cook most of your own food, but every so often, mix corn flakes into Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream because there is just no need to take life all that seriously. Sleep in every so often without becoming chronically lazy.

OneandahalfSlices is more than a title. And this blog is more than a collection of recipes. It’s a continued exploration… with stories unfinished and questions unanswered. Which is why the title is much more suited to something that will evolve as opposed to something that would be forever codified between a cover page and a conclusion.

I’ve tried vegan and vegetarian diets. People have told me repeatedly that the moniker ascribed to my approach to eating is called paleo. But there is a lot I haven’t tried as well. Like hunt my own food and learn how to process meat. Like meet the local farmers and purveyors of Virginia grain and groceries. Those questions will all be asked here and the stories told here as well.

Experiences will be curated, people will be invited, and many different perspectives will be welcomed.

But for those not in need of a philosophy, what you’ll find here are just recipes. Delicious, simple, tried and true, healthy (most of the time) recipes. Because food is much more than what we put in our mouths for energy. It is culture, sustenance, and identity all in one, with history as rich as the flavors that we taste.

#oneandahalfslices

#equalpartsdisciplineandindulgence

Tags baking, bread, comfort food, corn, cornbread, cornmeal, flour, grain, honey, rice, signature, southern

Sweet

Granola

Granola

A good granola is difficult to find and expensive when you do find it. It is also full of preservatives and overly sweet, usually with added sugars. Making your own granola is easier than you might think and a great way to ensure you get granola exactly as you like it… whichever nuts, whatever fruit, and resolution to the endless honey-versus-maple-syrup-debate. Serve over Greek Yogurt with a few slices of fresh fruit or make yourself a OneandahalfSlices signature Plate Parfait. A batch of granola will keep for 1-2 weeks in your pantry and quickly replace bagged granolas and cereal forever. And if you really want to have fun, try my gluten-free Amaranth Granola.

what you need

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups puffed kamut (I find puffed kamut makes the granola overall lighter, but if you don’t have any, just use 4 cups of rolled oats)

2 cups of nuts/seeds of choice, coarsely chopped (pecans, walnuts, almonds, pepitas | pictured here is 1 1/2 cups pecans and 1/2 cup pepitas)

3/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes

3/4 cup lightly melted coconut oil

1/2-3/4 cup maple syrup or honey

Spices: cinnamon (be generous), nutmeg, turmeric, salt, 1 tablespoon vanilla (optional)

(optional) 3/4 cup dried fruit such as cranberries, blueberries, or golden raisins

(optional) 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Note: I use coconut oil because it is slightly sweeter. Your other options are butter/ghee (makes granola buttery), or olive oil (makes granola a bit more savory). Any of the three will work.

how to make it

Preheat oven to 300. Mix rolled oats, puffed kamut (if using), nuts/seeds, and coconut in a large mixing bowl. Stir until combined, then add spices on top.

Be generous with the cinnamon (several tablespoons), sparing with the nutmeg, add a pinch of salt, and use the turmeric only if it suits you. I feel it lends an unexpected exoticism to the spice profile, but to each his own. A dash of dried ginger would likely accomplish the same thing.

Melt the coconut oil in a bowl (note: it will melt in the microwave in about 10 seconds, and then begin to spit, spat, and fizzle noisily. Do not over-microwave).

Add the coconut oil and maple syrup to the dry ingredients and stir gently until all the grains are completely coated.

Spread granola evenly on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven and stir, pressing the granola down lightly afterwards. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Granola should be toasted golden (the coconut and nuts will brown) but still wet.

Remove from the oven and cool completely (about 20 minutes). Mix in dried fruit and chocolate chips (if using). The granola will keep for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container.

Tags breakfast, cashews, cereal, cinnamon, coconut, dried fruit, gift, gift ideas, gifts, granola, honey, maple, maple syrup, nuts, pecans, pepitas, snack, sweet, turmeric, walnuts, yogurt

Sweet

Hot Chocolate

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Valentine’s Day is so controversial. Dinner reservations are made and flowers are purchased. Anti-Valentine’s Day parties are planned among groups of single women. Me, I like the concept of a day to stop and acknowledge the uniqueness of your partner and the things you love about them. But I’ve always thought the day best celebrated with something representative of the couple, whether that’s a meal, an activity, or a favorite movie. My Valentine’s days have been filled with videogames and pizza, homemade dinners, and elaborate chocolate selections (because any excuse to buy gourmet assorted chocolates, even if purchased by yourself, for yourself, amiright?).

If you are making a dinner at home and are worried about dessert, I’ve got a solution for that. Making full dinners is time consuming, so the last thing you want to do is have to worry about making dessert on top of a full spread. Dessert should be something easy or something you can make in advance. The magic of this dessert is its simplicity. And while it makes for a beautifully elegant Valentine’s Day nightcap, it serves just as well on a Tuesday night. This is all-purpose, every day, delicate, creamy, spicy, chocolate deliciousness. And yes, we’re going to follow the chili in chocolate and chocolate in chili rule. However or whenever you choose to test drive this unique conceptualization of cocoa, I promise it will be among the best cups of hot chocolate you’ve ever tasted. Whipped cream or marshmallows… you choose.

Afterthought: Allow me to take a moment to highlight three of my favorite chocolatiers in case you are looking for last-minute gift ideas. SOMA Chocolatemaker is top of that list, headquartered in Toronto. Check out their cherries tumbled in dark chocolate, their truly artful chocolate bars, or some gingerbread ninja cat cookies (because whynot?). For chef-quality chocolatemaking, check out NYC-based Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolates. The pricetag is exorbitant on the Valentine’s Day Chef Selection but the chocolate connoisseur will not be disappointed. They also have macarons (see below). Finally, the Swiss Teuscher Chocolates has several US-based locations (I discovered it in San Francisco). The assorted truffles (emphasis on the champagne truffles) are extremely fresh.

what you need

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or 1 cup mini marshmallows)

2 cups whole milk or dairy-free milk of choice (cashew or macadamia work pretty well)

2 generous tablespoons fresh, local honey

Ground cinnamon

Ground chili pepper or cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chips of choice (I prefer 60% or more cocoa content… 100% makes the hot chocolate a little too thick)

how to make it

Makes two small cups of hot chocolate.

Before you begin, whip the cream into soft peaks adding the maple syrup or sugar to sweeten and a dash of cinnamon at the end.

Place a small pot stovetop over medium-high heat. Make two dollops of honey on the base of the pot. Add the vanilla and healthy dashes of cinnamon and chili pepper. You will use a larger quantity of chili pepper or a smaller quantity if using cayenne; either way, adjust to your desired level of spiciness.

Using a fork, blend the spices into the honey until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir as they begin to melt, being careful not to let them stick to the base of the pot. Add the milk.

Using the fork as a whisk, whisk the chocolate continually making sure to get all the chocolate off the base of the pot blended into the milk. Whisk continually as the milk heats until you see steam rising off the top of the chocolate. At sign of the first bubble, remove from heat. Do not boil. If the hot chocolate boils, the chocolate will separate from the milk and the chocolate will acquire a frothy (in a bad way) texture.

Pour into mugs, top with a dollop of whipped cream, and a dash of chili and/or cinnamon. If using marshmallows, place mallows in cup first and pour hot chocolate over top. Serve with a truffle, a cherry, or a particularly good walnut on the side and you’re golden.

Tags chili, chocolate, chocolatier, cream, creamy, date night, dessert, drink, gift, gift ideas, gifts, pepper, sweet, Valentine, Valentine's day, whipped cream

Omni

White Bean Chorizo Soup

White Bean Chorizo Soup

As we enter into the longest winter months with January barely having come to a close, it seems like it will never be warm again. These are the months for soups, stews, and roasts; hearty and cozy. This is one such soup. It is creamy (without any cream) and I hereby dub it my Winter Soup, topped with spicy chorizo, salty pepitas, and a dash of oregano. Thank you Whiffletree Farm for the chorizo in the January CSA. And thank you Edible DC for putting this recipe in my inbox right when I needed it most.

what you need

2 cans canellini or navy beans in their juices

1 yellow onion, diced

2 Russet potatoes; peeled

1 tablespoon fennel seed

2 tablespoons oregano

1 pound spicy chorizo

4 cups chicken stock

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or cooking sherry

1 tablespoon paprika

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

(optional) For serving: 1/4 cup pepitas tossed in olive oil, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and a dash of cinnamon. Toast under broiler for 1 minute until crispy and allow to cool.

how to make it

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a soup pot and sauté onions until translucent, adding the garlic and cooking slowly over medium heat. Add the fennel and oregano, and cook for another minute.

Add beans with all their juices and chicken broth, and bring the mixture to a slight boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the diced, peeled potatoes, cover, and cook on a medium simmer for 30 minutes.

In separate pan, chip up the chorizo and brown like ground beef or, alternatively, roll the chorizo into tiny meatballs. Once cooked completely through, add the cooking sherry, paprika, and oregano, stir, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. If using, simultaneously toast the pepitas under the broiler.

Once potatoes are tender in the soup, puree all soup contents in blender and return to soup pot. Ladle about two cups of soup into a bowl and top with about half a cup of chorizo, a dash of cayenne pepper or sweet paprika, and a pinch of toasted pepitas. Serve.

I have also had the thought that crispy, spicy kale chips would be an excellent topping for this in lieu of the toasted pepitas, but the cinnamon on the pepitas really rounds out the warmness of the soup.

Tags beans, chorizo, comfort food, latin, main course, pork, sausage, soup, stew, winter

Omni

Chops

Post author By Merigold
Post date January 23, 2021
4 Comments on Chops

Perfectly Juicy Pork Chops

I am always on the hunt for that impressive but foolproof date night meal. You know, the one you can cook with enough confidence that you won’t completely mess it up but that will garner more praise than a jar of Prego + Barilla. My go-to has always been charcuterie. Elaborate charcuterie. Or “picada” as we call it in Argentina. But these chops are date night perfection. This recipe is adapted from Adventures in Cooking (who has much more convincing photos).

🍇

Have you ever wondered how to make pork chops tender? What separates the salty-yet-slightly-sweet chop that you can cut with a butter knife from the dry, stringy chop cooked stovetop? I’ll tell you a secret… it has nothing to do with cooking time or method and everything to do with brining. Yep. Brining. Basically soaking the chops in salty water overnight before you cook them.

Funny story about the foolproof date night meal though… I got very comfortable with these chops a couple of years ago. This method works on just about any chop (pork, wild boar, venison) and I make these chops on the reg when a special date night meal is required, or sometimes just for friends that I like to spoil. Each time, without fail, the chops come out perfectly. Tender, juicy, salty, and slightly sweet. It is a thing of beauty… until the fire alarm goes off.

As it turns out, my beautiful Valley House kitchen has no stove hood. There is a fan, sure, and from the sound it produces, I am pretty sure it generates enough power to launch a Boeing 747. But the steam and smoke the fan intakes… where does it go? Straight into the cabinet just above the stove where I house my extensive tea collection. In other words, it does not exit the house.

So there I am with a nice glass of wine, my guest looking at me expectantly, with some ambiance and chill vibes to spare, when all hell breaks loose and the atmosphere in the room goes from elegant to tornado drill in under 3 seconds. Smoke billowing out of the oven (even though nothing is burning); cats zooming around the house at speeds unknown to light and sound. And a frenzied attempt by me and my befuddled guest to open every window and door in the house. Recently, I have taken to opening the patio door in advance and rushing steaming chops and other smoking cooking endeavors out to the deck to rest for a few moments before sliding them back into the oven… this seems to cut down on the smoke a bit. Either way, I am likely going to need to invest in a kitchen hood in the next several years. These chops are that good.

what you need

2 large bone-in, thick cut pork chops

1/4 cup salt

Black pepper

Several clusters of red grapes still on the stem, the larger the better

(optional) 1 tablespoon olive oil

(optional) 1 table spoon balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, or Tamari

For best results, use cast iron skillet

how to make it

The night before (!): Place chops in deep dish or water-tight bag along with enough room-temperature water to cover them. Add a ton of salt and mix a bit until it dissolves. Let chops brine overnight in the fridge.

The day of: Preheat oven to 400. Once heated, toss the grapes (little clusters; 5-8 grapes per stem) in the olive oil, and vinegar or soy, place them on a piece of tinfoil and roast them in the oven until the skins begin to shrivel and split, ~20 minutes. Remove the grapes and set aside.

Now start heating your cast iron skillet stovetop. High heat. We want to sear these chops well.

Remove the chops from the brine, rinse them, and pat them dry with paper towels. You can sprinkle them with a bit of olive oil and black pepper if you wish but they do not need any more salt at this point. The brine took care of that.

Once the pan is hot (flick some water in it to see if it sizzles and to make an interesting cooking show for your guest), place both chops in the skillet. You want to place them and let them rest where they landed – do not pat them down, do not move them around. The searing occurs on the meat’s first contact with the pan. Put them in the skillet and leave them alone. Sear for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your chops.

Then get ready to transfer the chops to the oven. If you are using locally-sourced chops (I get mine from Longstone Farm), chances are they’ve got a good bit of fat on them which has begun to collect in the skillet (you can pour this out if you want the chops to smoke less in the oven). If you’re using store-bought chops and the skillet is dry, now would be the time to throw in a tablespoon of butter. I will occasionally add a splash of white wine and some sprigs of rosemary as well if I have them on hand and feel a little fancy.

Flip the chops a second time and then transfer all this to the oven. The cooking time here depends on the thickness of your chops and it is best to have a meat thermometer on hand. You want the internal temperature of the chop to reach 145 degrees which usually takes anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Due to the brining, you’ve got a little room to overcook the chops but not much, so watch them carefully. It is normal for the pan to smoke as the butter/fat in the skillet burns off – this does not mean the chops are burning.

You can also cook the chops on the grill, in the cast iron or direct #openflame

Serve with grapes on stems placed on top.

I like to accompany the chops with a green vegetable like crispy roasted brussels sprouts or blanched asparagus. It also does well with a simple arugula salad. The pork meat becomes very salty in the brining process so pairing it with a darker, more bitter green vegetable is a good call.

Also, plums, apples, or peaches may be used in addition to or in lieu of the grapes. The sweetness of these fruits pairs well with the salty pork, but plum skin can become bitter and they are difficult to find when not in season, hence my predilection towards the grapes. I once made a plum and black currant reduction (supa fancy) that accompanied the chops beautifully but it was a little labor intensive.

pork chops

Pork Chops

Wild Boar Chops

Tags boar, date night, fruit, grapes, main course, meat, plums, pork, pork chops, romantic

Local Veggie

Caesar Sauce

caesar salad sauce recipe one and a half slices

Caesar Sauce

What is Caesar “sauce?” You mean Caesar dressing… as in, Caesar salad? Or is this some kind of dipping sauce? And does it have anything to do with dill? Yes, all three! This is an all-purpose, HEALTHY, creamy, herby, Caesar-esque sauce for dressing salad, for dipping vegetables, and, yes, even for chicken wings. And it has become a weeknight meal staple in this house.

How can sauce be the centerpiece of a weeknight dinner?

Keep reading…

///Update: If you are looking for a more traditional Caesar dressing recipe, you can find it here.

There are several core, buy-every-time-I’m-at-the-grocery-store ingredients in my kitchen. 0% (non-fat) plain Greek Yogurt is one of them. I eat a ton of it, mostly in homemade breakfast parfaits. Chobani, Fage, or Whole Foods brand will do. But most importantly, it serves two unique purposes: (1) It doubles as sour cream. That’s right. Anywhere you would put sour cream (chili, baked potato, sweet potato, quesadillas), just lop on a dollop of Greek yogurt instead; (2) It serves as the base for creamy sauces like this one.

Homemade Caesar dressing is delicious, especially when made with a non-fat base like Greek yogurt as opposed to Mayonnaise. With a few alterations, you can easily turn this into a dill sauce for dipping (which pairs phenomenally well with carrots or drizzled on baked potatoes). So take this where you want to take it with customizations following the base outlined below. And if you come up with something that you like, please share it in the comments section!

Steak Caesar Salad 1

Steak Caesar Salad 2

(local flat iron steak from the Whiffletree Farm meat CSA)

This sauce is integral to my mission to re-imagine the American weeknight dinner, a la Michael Pollan and Dan Barber. Simply put, putting meat at the center of every meal is not a good thing – not good for our bodies, not natural, and, most importantly, not good for the greater food system and its sustainability over time… our sustainability over time. Both Pollan and Barber state it more eloquently than I ever could, so for a quick dose of this philosophy, I recommend Season 1, Episode 2 of Chef’s Table on Netflix.

Telling World War II era Americans not to eat steak and potatoes is about as American as communism. But let’s not make it about our politics or our cultural identity. Let’s make it about our relationship with food and how, worldwide, it has gone astray. Food is highly commoditized, commercialized, and over-engineered. And our relationship with it is a product of convenience, indulgence, and excellent marketing (did you know that there is a sugar lobby right here in Washington, DC?!).

So what can we do? How can we fix it? First and foremost, vote with our feet. Explore Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the local area. The Northern Virginia area has several and mine is, proudly, Potomac Vegetable Farms with a Whiffletree Farm meat share (supplemented by periodic trips to the Spring House Farm). And patronize truly local farm-to-table restaurants (The Restaurant at Patowmac Farm and Field & Main, you rock my world… even Fiola DC has allowed COVID to take it in a new farm-centric direction).

Potomac Vegetable Farms works in concert with many smaller farms nearby (it has meat, poultry, and eggs, not just vegetables). Using a CSA not only supports local farms but it forces us to eat more seasonally – more naturally – as opposed to running to the store for an imported ingredient anytime we want to make a dish. You’ll make tomato soup in the summer because that is when tomatoes are abundant. And guess what? Those tomatoes will taste SO much better. While CSAs typically require payment up front, they average out to the equivalent of store-bought groceries… because produce isn’t expensive; packaged food items are. Just be flexible and focus on your store-bought staples (like yogurt, in my case), letting the CSA contents drive the menu for the week. And don’t be afraid to put a baked potato, a sweet potato, or a Portobello mushroom at the center of your weeknight plate.

hmm… I got a TON of carrots this week… how will I use all these carrots?! Hey, I know a food blog for that… 😉🥕

what you need

> > > Base

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (Reggiano is best)

2 table spoons olive oil

1 garlic clove (raw or roasted)

Salt & black pepper to taste

> > For Caesar

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

(optional) dash of Worcestershire sauce

> > For dipping sauce

1 tablespoon dried dill (or 2 tablespoons fresh dill)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sweet Hungarian paprika, to top

how to make it

For either variation, place all ingredients in high-speed blender (this is my favorite 3-in-1) and combine.

The thickness will largely depend on the consistency of your yogurt (for example, Chobani is thinner where Fage makes a much thicker yogurt). Most often, the sauce will be too thick and require thinning. This can be done with water, milk (non-dairy like cashew, macadamia, or oat is fine), or by adding extra lemon juice and olive oil.

Feel free to play with the amounts. Anchovy paste is one of the key ingredients to authentic Caesar dressing (but then, so is egg, if not in the sauce, in the salad itself). So if you like to anchovy it up, by all means. This recipe is tuned to my taste, with extra parmesan. I will also usually be heavy handed with the dill if making the sauce variation.

You can also roast the garlic clove in tinfoil for 10 minutes on 350 to deepen the garlic flavor.

Top either dressing or sauce with a sprinkle of paprika.

Sweet Potato Wedge Dippers

Carrot chips!

Carrot Chip Dippers

hmm… I got a TON of carrots this week… how will I use all these carrots?! Hey, I know a food blog for that… 😉🥕

Tags blender, caesar, condiment, Dan Barber, dill, dip, garlic, kitchen equipment, Mediterranean, Michael Pollan, parmesan, philosophy, salad, salad dressing, sauce, vegetarian, weeknight

Sweet

Biscuits

Basic Flaky Biscuits

My biscuit philosophy (because everyone has a biscuit philosophy, right?) is similar to my chili philosophy. Don’t try to make it fancy; just make it good. Well, these are good. No wait, really good. Flaky, buttery, salty perfection.

I understand there to be about as much controversy over biscuits as there is over chili. Lots of different preferences and lots of this-is-how-my-grandmother-used-to-make-it lore. There is the traditionally Southern “cathead” biscuit; a dense biscuit made with buttermilk. Then there are drop biscuits, flakier styles, and dumplings. The American conceptualization of the biscuit dates back to the late 19th century, though the original biscuit came to being in the UK and first appeared in North America in a variation on the theme of biscuits and gravy.

My personal preference is for super flaky, crispy-topped biscuits. In other words, not the cathead style. This recipe satisfies. Biscuits are not difficult to make, though they require technique that, once mastered, becomes foolproof.

Makes around a half dozen biscuits.

what you need

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold, salted butter

1 cup whole milk, very cold

(You can go through the trouble to purchase or make buttermilk if you wish, but I don’t personally find it necessary. To make buttermilk, simply let a cup of milk come to room temperature, then add a squeeze of lemon juice or a tablespoon of white or rice wine vinegar and let stand for a couple of hours. The acid will start to ferment the milk… buttermilk).

how to make it

Biscuits are not difficult.

They simply require a little technique.

Keep cold ingredients cold. Like really cold.
Do not overwork the dough.
Do not ‘seal’ the biscuit when cutting.

Preheat oven to 425.

Sift or mix together all dry ingredients. Dice butter and add to dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter (I use a fork). Or place it all in a food processor and pulse until pea-sized chunks remain.

The butter must be kept extremely cold! A friend once advised freezing the butter and grating it into the flour using a cheese grater. Works well.

Add the milk and combine until the dough just holds together (and no further). Again, you can do this with a fork, a spatula, or a food processor, but do not overmix this dough.

Turn the dough out onto a surface with some flour and mold into a lumpy, shaggy pat (technical term). To create the flakes, you need to fold the dough over on itself several times, without overworking and without smashing it down too hard. You also want to do this quickly as your hands will begin to warm the butter – this will cause the dough to become easier to work with over time but you are making your biscuits more dense in the process. So, fold the dough on itself 5 or 6 times, pushing down lightly after each fold.

Press into pat and cut biscuits using a round cookie cutter or (my method) a glass cup. Do not twist the cup as you press down to cut the biscuit as this will ‘seal’ the sides and prevent the biscuit from rising. Press straight down and bring straight back up. If you prefer drop biscuits, you can do that as well.

Cook biscuits for ~15 minutes until golden brown. Observe the seraphic rise of the layers upon layers of glorious flakes that you have crafted, and serve with the liquid citrine nectar of the Gods that is local to your area – honey (in my case, orange blossom).

🍯🍊

Tags baking, biscuit, bread, breakfast, pastry, snack, southern, sweet

Sweet

Maple Dutch Baby

This recipe came to me verbally over a campfire and some slow-roasted shrimp and pineapple skewers. Two of the coolest people I know just moved out to Colorado and their parting gift to me was to tell me about the incredibly simple, unique beauty that is the breakfast Dutch Baby pancake. “Just whisk the milk, flour, and eggs, and make sure your pan is really, really hot.” Okay, fair enough. Thank you Mike and Sherry. 🥰

what you need

3 eggs

3 tablespoons butter, preferably salted

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

Cinnamon & nutmeg

Cast iron skillet

Topping options: powdered sugar, maple syrup, fruit (stewed apples or berries), fresh whipped cream

A note on humidity: I make this all the time in Virginia and it comes out beautifully. But I have made it several times in Florida with little success (even during the winter months). Humidity has a huge impact on this dish. Cutting down on the sugar can help since sugar retains moisture.

how to make it

Preheat oven to 425.

Blend all ingredients except the butter in a blender until smooth.

Place butter in cast iron skillet and transfer to oven until the butter has just melted.

Remove skillet from oven and slosh (technical term) the butter around until it coats most of the bottom of the skillet. Then pour in the batter and return to the oven.

Cook for 20 minutes. The pancake should become puffy and golden. Then, lower the temperature to 300 and bake for 5-10 more minutes. During this entire process, try to avoid opening the oven at all.

Remove, decorate, cut into slices, and serve. Drizzle with maple syrup and fruit. Or top with powdered sugar, fresh whipped cream, and a compote. Get creative!

Tags baking, breakfast, dessert, eggs, German, maple, pancake, pastry, popover, sweet