Warm Leek & Bean Salad

Several months have gone by and I still miss my local Borders bookstore.  I can't even drive by without whining "I miss Borders....".  John was tired of hearing it, so he took me up to the Barnes & Noble on the other side of town.

Barnes & Noble is nice.  Parking is a stinker, everything fun is upstairs, I can't find anything without scanning EVERY dang title, there are no 40% off coupons, but it's ok.  What'cha gonna do?

On my last visit, I picked up River Cottage Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall (seriously, I had to copy and paste his name :)) which I am loving!  Simple, interesting recipes with a seasonal/local flair that are easy to get on the table with a minimal amount time.  Love it!   I adjusted it a bit to suit my tastes.

Last night John and I grilled a bit of pork and shared this salad after a day of cleaning out the garage and basement...omg.  We wrangled, hauled, burned and swept the winter right out of the place.  It was satisfying and horrible, filthy and muscle burning.  Its finished.

This salad was amazing.  Fresh and green, yet warm, hearty elements created a comfort food feeling!  It would also be fantastic with grilled romaine lettuce!

LEEK & WHITE BEAN SALAD

2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

2 large leeks, cleaned and sliced in ¼ inch slices

1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

Lettuce

1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard

3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Salt & pepper to taste

Pinch of sugar

Heat a skillet to medium, add olive oil and sauté leeks until tender, about 7 minutes.  You don’t want them to brown, so you may need to adjust heat. 

While leeks cook, combine mustard, vinegar and seasons in a small bowl.  Slowly whisk in olive oil until emulsified.

When leeks are tender, stir in beans until heated through.  Remove from heat and toss with parsley, salt & pepper.  Pour dressing into skillet and stir to coat evenly.  Pile a bit of lettuce onto plate and top with leek mixture.  Serve immediately.

  

Christmas Delights

Christmas 2011 has been a season of family, food, dogs/cats, grown children and special gifts. 

Our Christmas Eve is always a Czech meal that my grandmother hosted on the farm and has been the same for as long as any of us remember.  Years ago she taught me to make her prune dumplings and I think they were just like hers this year!  I have never had the Czech spelling but phonetically it's call pee-yet-ee. 

A sweet bread stuffed with plump prunes, cut into hunks and doused with a combination of milk, sugar and poppy seed.  The dish is then baked and dumplings are turned quite often so each is moist and soft with milk mixture.  Most everyone eats a piece, but my dad and I LOVE it!  We share the leftovers and eat them for the rest of the week! (feel free to comment if you'd like the recipe)

Christmas Day was a bit of a challenge this year as John had to take our daughter, Julia, to the ER at 8am.  A scratched cornea and eye infection was the diagnosis.  Painful and swollen, she made it through gifts & breakfast and still went to work in the afternoon!  (Double pay is motivating for sure!)  Our Jamie was North Face-d, Ugg-ed and Victoria Secret-d within an hour of gift opening and planning her evening of movie going by 10:30am.

Little Pierre had so much fun with his gifts from Santa and the cat's gifts from Santa....and the cats after their gifts from Santa! 

John and I never do too much with gifts for each other.  This year we both had gotten a few great things the other had been wanting or needing! 

I received a few special gifts this year too.  Our daughter, Gina, sent a few of her homemade chutneys and lemon curd.  My friend Sandy, gave me a sweet, rooster-topped bottle of homemade amaretto and my artist friend, Pat Cooper, sent a card with a watercolor of Pierre on the front!  Homemade is always a great gift!

My folks hosted dinner on Christmas Day and as usual per my Mom, it was fantastic!  She really puts out the spread!  Per tradition...women in the kitchen, men.....well, you know men. 

I wish you a season filled with all of these wonderful things too and a healthy, happy New Year!

Quick Mexican Comfort Food

It's a blizzard tonight in southeast Michigan.  The perfect night for pure Mexican comfort food!  John could eat Mexican every night of the week, it's not necessarily my first choice, but I do enjoy it occasionally.  This dish is an exception however, I could eat it round the clock and never get tired of it!  All of the ingredients were in my fridge or freezer (BONUS, as the grocery stores wee a nightmare today!) and it took only a few minutes to whip up!  I apologize, as I don't always take the most lovely photos of food, possibly there is an SLR camera in my future?!

CHORIZO AND EGGS
1 pound Mexican fresh chorizo
4 eggs
8 flour tortillas, 8 inches round
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (yes, I actually purchased this!!)
mild green sauce

In a skillet, saute chorizo until browned, breaking up meat as it cooks. Lightly beat eggs in a separate bowl and add to cooked chorizo.  Stir to combine roughly.  Cook until eggs are just done and remove from heat.  Over a gas burner, slightly toast tortilla until edges are just blackened.  Pile in chorizo mixture and garnish with green sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.  Wrap up and eat warm!

If you cannot source fresh Mexican Chorizo where you live, you can easily make it at home.  I've never measured any of the ingredients, yet it always turns out great, go figure?!

1 lb. fresh pork sausage
apple cider vinegar
ground chili powder

I place pork in a bowl, dump in about 1/2 cup of vinegar and sprinkle in about 1/4 cup of chili powder.  Mix it all up, meat should be a bright pumpkin red color.  The mixture should have a nice pungent, chili smell to it.  Let rest in refrigerator for 24 hours at least in a covered bowl or ziploc bag.  Use in place of ground beef in mexican dishes or try the recipe above!

We also love it sprinkled on refried beans or added to mexican rice!

New Potaotes

New Potatoes
Late summer is my favorite time of year for local produce and easy meals! These small yukon gold potatoes make a great side dish and are creamy and comforting! I love how they can look elegant or casual, be suited to your taste depending upon the herbs and go well with anything! You could also use red skin potatoes. I love the fact I don't have to peel potatoes and it's said to add more vitamins, which may or may not be true...I'm sticking to it! You can adjust the recipe amounts to fit your serving needs and they taste just as fabulous cool or fried the next day!

Clean potatoes and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks and boil for 12 minutes. Drain and toss with:
3 tablespoons REAL butter
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs (rosemary, summer savory, basil)

Toss, serve and Enjoy!