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Archive for January, 2012

Spicy Greek Feta Meatballs

Posted in Healthy Meal, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on January 25, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Lately, I’ve been on this kick of disguising healthy meals and wholesome ingredients inside dinners that appear to be anything but slimming. This was largely brought on by my desire to get back to a healthier lifestyle in 2012, after a full, wonderful, unforgettable year of indulgence via culinary school cuisine, and the fact that I’m often cooking for two, one of whom needs ample carbs, protein, and fat to feel mildly satisfied after a meal.
Trying to find ways to create dinners that provide me with a balanced, low-cal, low-fat meal while making sure my boyfriend finds dinner as satisfying and delicious as he would were he enjoying something he chose himself has definitely been a challenge.  Usually when I make a lighter style meal, he sees right through my facade and clearly identifies said meal as “healthy.” And though he still finds the meals delicious (usually), I can’t help but think he feels sort of jipped by being forced to eat way more vegetables than he’d ever do normally.
After last night’s win, however, I’m starting to feel more confident that not only is this challenge doable, but I am really going to enjoy it!
It all started yesterday morning, when I was making my lunch and looked up to notice a postcard that had been stuck on my fridge for several months. It was a card I’d g0tten while dining at the Meatball Shop in the Lower East Side, and upon it was listed the recipe for the shop’s spicy pork meatballs. Immediately, I filed away the idea for dinner that night.
Later that evening, thought, I was unsuccessfully hunting for the requisite ground pork and jarred hot cherry peppers at our local grocer, and neither could be found. In a game time decision, I grabbed a pack of ground turkey and some raw hot cherry peppers instead. Fearing the blandness that often accompanies ground turkey, some crumbled feta cheese and frozen spinach were added to the mix, and the Spicy Greek Meatballs were born.
Despite the addition of the cheese, hot peppers and plenty of spices, I was still a little wary of how good these meatballs would turn out as I placed them in the oven. I’m a both big proponent of adding lean ground turkey to just about everything – pasta, rice, veggies – to up the protein quotient, but there’s no denying that this lean meat can wind up dry and crumbly more often than not. By opting for the 93% lean turkey instead of the 98% lean, and using an egg to bind the meat, these meatballs turned out moist, savory and delicious – not a trace of dryness here! And the inclusion of tangy feta, spicy cherry peppers, garlic and tons of spices give them a depth of flavor and a slight kick at the end that leaves you dying for the next bite.
Halfway through devouring these meatballs, which I served atop a bed of linguini in a thick tomato-herb sauce, I glanced at Adam, who was plowing through his plate, and casually mentioned, “You know, these are actually quite healthy. Only 100 calories per ball!”
He stared at me, then back at the meatballs, and then at me again. After a moment, he said, “Really? Are you sure? Only 100 per ball? These definitely don’t taste healthy.” And he proceeded to clean his plate.
That, my friends, I consider a win!
Spicy Greek Feta Meatballs – Serves 4
Ingredients
  • 4 hot cherry peppers, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 package of ground turkey (about 21 ounces, 93% lean)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/8 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup feta
  • 1/2 package frozen spinach (about 1 3/4 cups) defrosted and squeezed dry
  • 1 teaspoon ground salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/8 tsp dried dill
  • 1/8 tsp dried basil
  • 1/8 tsp dried parsley
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 450º F. Place a cast iron skillet or roasting pan in the oven to preheat
  2. Coat a small or medium sauté pan with non-stick cooking spray, and heat over a very low flame. Add the minced hot cherry peppers and garlic and sweat, keeping heat very low, for about 5 minutes or until peppers are soft.
  3. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly until the spices, feta and spinach are well distributed throughout the ground turkey. Form into ten to twelve equally sized meatballs, about 2 inches in diameter.
  4. Remove your preheated pan from the oven, coat with non-stick cooking spray, and immediately add meatballs, arranging closely together. This will allow the meatballs to get a golden-brown crust on the bottom. Put meatballs in the oven, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 165º F and meatballs are done.
  5. Serve over pasta with a fresh, light tomato sauce, or on a crispy hero roll for a Greek meatball sub. For a healthier spin, serve alongside a light Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, red wine vinegar and dill.
Nutrition Facts (2 meatballs per serving, when recipe makes 11): approximately 204 calories, 10 grams of fat, .5 grams of fiber, 24 grams of protein.

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Superb Superbowl Sliders

Posted in Just for fun, New York Antics, Recipes, tagged , , , , on January 23, 2012 | 3 Comments »

I’ve never really been one for football. It’s not really what you would expect, because my father is a die-hard Giants fan, and growing up we’d watch Big Blue play every Sunday. My dad and grandpa would drink beer, my mom would whip up delicious football snacks, and me and my brother would play quietly, rarely if ever glancing at the TV. Yet despite years of these football Sundays, the whole concept of the game, the rules, the fandom – it never really clicked for me.

As I’ve gotten older, however, I’ve developed more of an interest in football – mainly because of all the positive associations I have with it. Rockstar tailgates during my undergrad at University of Maryland, the amazing super bowl feast my boyfriend’s mom whipped up last February, and lately, dozing off on Adam’s shoulder nearly every sunday while I attempt to be a “good” girlfriend and learn about football… yeah, that’s really working out…

And not surprisingly, one of my favorite things about football is (gasp!) the food, and I know that I’m not alone in this. Nothing goes better with football than rich, handheld, cheesy, savory, spicy food and an ice-cold beer (or hard cider, for real). And when yesterday arrived, the  intensely anticipated game that pitted my 49ers loving boyfriend against the rest of us Giants-loving New Yorkers, and really the city in general, called for nothing short of fantastic football food.

Click for source

Sadly, all of our snacks were gobbled up before I could take pictures (who am I?) but the recipes turned out so well, I couldn’t not share them. The first was a very low maintenance oniony, cheesy slider that was thick and juicy on a soft mini potato bun. This was the first course of our football feast, and since our party unexpectedly grew in size right before these were served, there were only enough for everyone to get one! But since they’re small, I’d recommend making enough for at least 2 per person, depending on how much other food you’re feeding your football fans with! I can’t take credit for this photo, but they looked a little something like this:

Click for source

Another great thing about sliders is, you can top them with whatever you want. We went with caramelized onions and cheese (a classic in my opinion), but you could do pepper jack and jalapenos for a spicier twist, or keep it simple with lettuce, tomato and perhaps some bacon crumbles. And because they’re so small, there’s no reason not to mix and match. You could even put out a selection of toppings and let your game day guests DIY their sliders. Options are limitless!

Cheesy Sliders with Caramelized Onions – Makes about 12 sliders

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of ground hamburger meat (at least 15% fat; ground chuck works well)
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 1 12-pack of mini potato buns
  • 8-10 ounces of a soft, mild cheddar (we used Queso de Papa, which melts really nicely)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Extra canola oil for cooking burgers

Method

1. About an hour before you want to serve the slider, start your caramelized onions. In a large saute pan, melt the butter with the olive oil over very low heat. Add the onions and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about an hour until soft and caramelized. (Note: in culinary school, we called caramelizing onions a “back burner process” because it can be left to take care of itself while you do other things. No need to babysit the onions, as long as your heat is very low).

2. Prep your buns by splitting them and arranging the bottoms on a serving tray. Slice the cheese into 12 thin slices, or enough to have one slice for each slider.

3. Season the ground meat with salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly.  Form meat into 12 equal sized balls (about 2.5 ounces of meat per burger). Flatten the meat balls slightly, and season top once more with a bit more salt and pepper.

4. Heat a large, non-stick skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. Add canola oil and swirl to coat. When oil is very hot and begins to shimmer, add sliders. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, flip, and cover the pan with tin foil. Lower heat to medium and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked through. (Note: cook slightly less on each side for a rarer burger; this will get you a medium-well slider that is still very juicy).

5. Remove burgers from pan to rest and immediate top with cheese slices and tent with foil. Once cheese has melted, place burgers on the bottom half of buns, top each with a tablespoon of caramelized onions, and the top half of the bun. Serve immediately.

These are definitely one for the game day books! Coming soon, a recipe for baked buffalo chicken wings that will spice up your Superbowl party.

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Intro to Apprenticing

Posted in Culinary School, New York Antics, tagged , , , on January 18, 2012 | 2 Comments »

After a year of devoting Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights to studying culinary technique and practice in the kitchens of the Institute of Culinary Education, my schedule has finally shifted, in some ways for the better, though in others, more challenging. I have my Sundays and weeknights back, which is an amazing change that I’ve been craving for a while now. On the other hand, I’ve surrendered my Friday nights and Saturdays for the next 10 weeks as I embark on the latest, greatest adventure in my culinary escapades: The Restaurant Kitchen Externship.

The particular restaurant team I have joined asked me to sign a non-disclosure agreement before beginning to work there, which included an agreement to not blog, tweet, Facebook, or generally discuss on the Internet anything about said restaurant while I’m working there. Hence, I can’t actually mention the name of my externship site on the blog, and will be fairly cautious and self-limiting in what I discuss – so much so that the photos in this post aren’t even of the restaurant I’m working at. However, I do want to share my point of view on my experiences, what I’m learning, and how I’m growing throughout this process, since it’s a huge part and the final puzzle piece of the culinary school journey.

While last Saturday was the first official day of my externship, I’ve already worked at the restaurant twice – on Black Friday, and the following Wednesday, as a sort of try-out. From those experiences and my other trails, I already knew (as most culinary students quickly realize) that one of the biggest challenges of an externship would simply be the hours. A typical shift in a NYC restaurant can last upwards of 14 hours – and that’s 14 hours on your feet, in a hot kitchen, with little to no break, family meal being the only exception. It’s definitely something that takes a lot of brain power and Advil to get used to, and I swore off watching the clock within my first few hours.

Another thing that will definitely take some getting used to is being the low man on the totem pole, so to speak. As a business professional that has worked in my particular niche industry for three years, I’m used to a certain amount of respect and credibility in the job that I do on a daily basis. But in a restaurant kitchen, I have zero seniority. The general advice chef-instructors give their students on their externships is, “Keep your head down, and don’t speak unless spoken to. Say ‘Yes Chef!’, and that’s it.” And in general, this is the best policy to follow. I’m lucky in that the restaurant I’m working at has a wonderful friendly, upbeat vibe in the kitchen, but there’s no mistaking the fact that the most spoken word out of my mouth should be “yes.”

Finally, in the weeks leading up to the externship, I struggled a bit with the idea of having to perform. In my mind, I was seeing this externship as a job, and when you take a job, they way you are perceived and treated by your coworkers is largely evidence of how well you perform or prove your skills. And having zero restaurant experience and amateur skills, wondering how I well I would perform and how I would be perceived became, quite frankly, stressful.

But then, the monday before my externship began, at my graduation, a speaker said something that made my perspective completely shift. They said, “You’re almost there, with your internship the last part of your culinary education.” And then I realized – remembered – that really, this experience is all about learning. And if I approach each and every one of my 14 hours shifts as a marathon opportunity to learn and grow, it takes a load of expectations off of my own shoulders. Funnily enough, Saturday afternoon, a line cook showed me the fastest way to peel the apples I’d been struggling with; when I commented on how easy he made it look, he said, “Don’t worry – that’s why you’re here. To learn.“

So what have I learned so far?

Well, I’ve learned that it will take me approximately 2 hours to dice ten apples into quarter-inch cubes that are exactly the same size – and that I need to work on that time. I’ve learned that the nearest Gristedes doesn’t always carry Yukon gold potatoes on Saturdays, but the gourmet grocer a few blocks further is a great back up (thanks, iPhone). I’ve learned the value of hearty meal after hours of standing labor, and that for the next ten weeks, family meal will be my saving grace. And I’ve learned that being the low man on the totem pole isn’t always so bad, because it makes life a lot simpler.

After all, what is simpler than knowing your answer will always be yes?

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Quick & Healthy: Thai Red Curry Chicken

Posted in Healthy Meal, Recipes, tagged , , , , on January 13, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I’ve been on a real Thai kick lately. Probably has something to do with the temporary mental lapses I seem to encounter whenever I enter the “specialty” foods section of a supermarket and see all the appropriately-Americanized foreign ingredients staring down at me. I get overwhelmed. I get intrigued. But most importantly, I get hungry. And this is probably why in the past week, I’ve wound up coming home on three separate occasions with light coconut milk, dried pad Thai noodles, and a small jar of red curry paste.

But I’d say the biggest, most substantial reason that I’ve been eating so much Thai food lately is that it just makes sense. Thai food, and curry in particular, is jam-packed with a lot of spice and flavor, that doesn’t necessarily translate into extra fat and calories. Finally, an exception to the “Fat = Flavor” rule (sorry, culinary school).

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all Thai dishes are flavorful and healthy. There are plenty of exceptions, like Pad Thai, or my one true Thai food love, Pad See Ew. BUT. And that’s a big but. With a little curry paste, and a little creativity, you can make a dish that has all the essence of cravable, rich Thai take out, but is low in calories and high in nutrients.

Okay I’ll prove it. So first, get yourself a jar of this.

Thai Kitchen makes a variety of pre-packaged sauces and pastes in all flavors and types. There’s pad thai sauce, peanut sauce, you name it. But I love the Thai red curry paste because there’s just 25 calories in one tablespoon, and you really don’t need more than that to give your whole dish a beautiful, deep, rich foreign flavor.

Now, I took a Thai cooking class a while back with my family at the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC, and here I learned all about the amazing things a cook can do with coconut milk. I was intrigued by the way the fatty solids of the coconut milk (the coconut cream) rises to the top, while the thinner, coconut-water-like liquid sinks to the bottom. Combined, they form the rich, tropical basis for many a sauce, soup, or curry.

Unfortunately, regular coconut milk is rather fattening and caloric. However, most grocery stores carry light coconut milk, which is essentially the “skim milk” version – less of that coconut cream component. This is your second secret weapon.

In the end, all it takes is a little of your curry paste, light coconut milk, and some pantry staples like garlic, onion and chicken broth to create a delicious, light curry sauce that makes dinner feel like a real treat. Customize it to your liking with whatever veggies and protein you have on hand – it works great with delicate white fish as well as chicken.

Did I mention this is done in thirty minutes? Yeah. Pretty unreal.

Thai Red Curry Chicken – Serves 1 

Ingredients
  • 1 3-4 oz chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon canola or vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon of Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
  • 1/4 cup of light coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup of reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 cup assorted chopped or shredded vegetables (I used 1/3 shredded carrots, 1/3 sliced baby bella mushrooms, and 1/3 green peas)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat a medium saute pan over high heat. Coat with cooking spray and season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken for about 1 – 2 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Don’t cook chicken through. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add the canola oil to the pan, reduce heat to medium and add chopped onion. Saute for about 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add red curry paste and using a spoon, mash the curry paste into the oil and onions. Once the onions are coated with curry paste, add the coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce and brown sugar. Simmer gently for a minute or two.

Add the vegetables and continue to simmer until sauce has reduced to desired consistency (note: sauce should coat the back of a spoon) – about three minutes more. Add the chicken and finish cooking in the sauce, about another minute, adding water if the sauce gets too thick.

Serve on a bed of brown rice or barley.

Nutritional Info: 270 calories, 6 grams of fat, 4.3 grams of fiber, 29.5 grams of protein, 20.5 grams of carbs.

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