beetlebug's Profile
Breakfast in Tampa?
Actually, the second day, we went to the Taco Bus for breakfast. I got non-breakfast tacos though and greatly enjoyed them.
Breakfast in Tampa?
It turned out that I didn't have access to a car. so, I walked to the strip mall next door to the Starbucks for a breakfast sandwich. It was fine but nothing I couldn't have gotten at home.
June 2012 Cookbook of the Month Nominations Are Now Open!
Taste of country cooking was a cotm 5 years ago. I can't believe we've been cooking together for that long.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/406983
My memory is that month was a slow cotm. Not a lot of participation for some reason.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Autumn
Cumin seed roasted cauliflower with salted yogurt, mint and pomegranate seeds (pg. 294)
I had made this in my cookbook report but with no mint or pomegranate seeds. I did love the cumin with the cauliflower but wasn't thrilled with the dollops of yogurt. Well, I re-made it, with the seeds and it made the world of difference. I did forget the mint and I didn't want to go outside to cut any since it was pouring.
Wow, those seeds just brought this dish to a whole different level. Crunchy, and slightly sweet juxtaposed with the cumin flavor. I can't believe how the whole dish was transformed. The yogurt was a cooling factor and next time, I'm definitely going to cut some mint.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Summer
Lamb Merguez Burgers with Harissa Mayonnaise p. 212
Loved this. Nothing more to add other than I cooked this in a cast iron skillet on the stove. About 5 minutes per side. No need to add oil since the butter in the burger becomes the oil for the skillet. Surprisingly, I really liked the harissa mayo (mayo isn't really high on my list of foods).
I served this with the cauliflower, yogurt and pomegranate seeds which was the perfect complement.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Pasta with Turkish-Style Lamb, Eggplant, and Yogurt Sauce, Pg. 201
I really liked this as well. I used mint instead of dill and along with the eggplant, I roasted a head of cauliflower. I added the cauliflower into the pasta with everything else to make this more of a complete meal.
I had leftover egg noodles so probably used about half a lb of that. The whole dish turned into a mediterranean stroganoff. Perfect for a drizzly evening's meal.
Cooking from Mighty Spice Cookbook by John Gregory-Smith
Squid and Chorizo Salad (pg. 45)
Another winner from this book. The most time consuming thing about this recipe was drying the squid off and then cutting them into rings. There are so many different flavors and textures going on and the chorizo worked surprisingly well with the squid (I was skeptical but had to use the chorizo).
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the chorizo and cook until it is crisp. Add the squid and cook until it is cooked though (about 3 minutes). Add lime juice and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine chopped red onions, parsley, black olive and a red chile. Add the squid to the salad and voila. I also added a kind of watercress to the salad to make it more of a complete meal.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
I used rice vermicelli for my leftover broth. I also added more seafood and napa cabbage. It was just as delicious the second and third time around.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Winter
Another option for using the chorizo is the tofu/shiitake/chorizo dish. It's in one of the Clark books and I posted about it recently.
I'm going to look up the mighty spice chorizo one now.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Winter
;-)
Let's face it. It's the beauty and ease of canned beans. And, this is an excellent fast dinner.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Winter
I don't think it would be a huge mistake. I do think the egg added something though. It added enough that I thought next time, maybe I'll do 2 eggs per plate. But, the flavors of the beans and vegetables were really strong so the egg was a change in texture as well.
Lastly, this is a very pretty dish. Lots of reds, greens, whites and the black beans. Very festive.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Winter
Spicy Black Beans with Chorizo and Jalapenos (pg. 81)
This was excellent and delicious. The ingredients even smelled good prior to cooking. I did make some slight changes to the recipe. I doubled the recipe so that we could have leftovers. Instead of using 2 red peppers, I used one red and one poblano. Also, I used to habeneros instead of jalapenos. I also added an extra chorizo link because I wanted to use it up. Lastly, I added kale to the beans because I wanted some greens.
Overall, the prep was fairly straightforward. Chop up sweet onions, garlic, the peppers and chorizo. In a large skillet, fry the chorizo until brown. Add all the chopped vegetables and saute until softened (about 7 minutes). Towards the end of the this, I added the chopped kale and wilted those down. Add the drained black beans (I used 2 small cans), cumin, oregeno and salt. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Serve over rice and add a fried egg on top.
I don't know why this was so satisfying but it just was. There were so many flavors and textures going on. I think this would taste better with dried beans but that takes a lot more planning.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Crispy Tofu with Chorizo and Shiitakes ((pg. 174)
Another winner, although the tofu was messier to cook then I thought it would be. To fry the tofu, I used a cast iron skillet. I added a bit too much oil which led to splatter as the tofu cooked. But, it was worth it.
So, first fry the tofu and remove it to a plate. Then add chopped shiitake mushrooms, chorizo and scallion whites. I also added chopped Shanghai bok choy for some greens. After the vegetables have softened, add chicken broth, soy sauce and mirin (I used shao xing wine). Then, re-add the tofu.
The chorizo was great in this dish. It really worked well with the tofu and mushrooms. this dish would have been better with the recommended chinese sausage, but I didn't have any.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 9, 10. 11. and 12
I also used cayenne pepper. My report is here. This brownie was a huge hit until I brought the coconut brownies to book group.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/837857#7200146
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
I live in New England and I grow lemongrass in the summer. I grow it in a big pot and by September, I have a big plant. I tear it up and then throw the stalks in the freezer. That lasts me through until the following fall, when I tear up the new plant.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Coconut Fish Stew with Basil and Lemongrass (pg. 116)
Another quick and easy dish. I also got a lot of leftovers out of this and kept adding more ingredients. There was a lot more broth to stuff ratio.
Saute chopped shallot and garlic for about 5 minutes. Then add: chicken stock, coconut milk, chopped lemongrass,chopped jalepeno pepper (I used a habenero), rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, salt and lime zest. Simmer this for about 10 minutes. The stir in seafood and chopped basil and cilantro. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add lime juice).
For the seafood, you can use a combination of anything. I used cod and scallops (which I quartered).
The lime juice just brought everything together. I also threw in more garlic then called for because I accidentally added the garlic for my side into the pot. It was still delicious and not overly garlicky. I served this over jasmine rice so it was more of a meal. I also had a side of stir fried napa cabbage (with garlic and white pepper). But, as we ate the meal, we found that the two combined beautifully.
There was a lot of broth leftover. So I ended up adding some more fish and napa cabbage to the broth. For my last meal with this dish, instead of rice, I used rice vermicelli which was quite delicious with this coconut broth.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Quick Grilled Flanken with Chili, Sesame, and Ginger (pg. 210)
Made this last night. Loved it. I used sambal oelek as the spice and it worked well. Nothing to add other that I used flank steak and two minutes per side was enough. Also, I forgot to add the brown sugar so it didn't caramelize as much but it was still delicious.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Spring
Coconut Fudge Brownies (pg. 127)
LOVED this. It was a huge hit with book group and with C. This is more of a fudgy brownie (duh, given the name) and I was always more partial to cakey brownies. Well, this brownie may have changed my mind. It's a layer of brownie, a layer of sweet coconut flakes, a layer of brownie, topped with sweet coconut flakes and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.
The slightly different thing in this recipe was the oil. It's a combo of melted butter and coconut oil. That coconut oil just gave it the extra coconutty goodness.
Note: this brownie recipe is for a 9 x 13 pan. There isn't a lot of batter. I put too much on the bottom layer. After I sprinkled the middle with coconut, I tried to add the top layer. I didn't have enough. So, instead of having a coconut layer sandwiched between the brownie layers, most of my coconut was on the top part. It didn't matter though, it was still delicious.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Winter
Tuscan Kale with Anchovies, Garlic and Pecorino (pg. 12)
I really liked this. Fairly simple but the anchovy fillets really added that extra oomph to a typical kale and garlic stir fry. This would have tasted even better if I had pecorino at home.
Pretty standard prep. Remove the center ribs of the kale and chop into bite size pieces. Warm olive oil over medium heat and stir in the anchovies until they've dissolved. Add 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic and then add the kale. Add salt and pepper (and cheese) and serve.
New Fuchsia Dunlop book
The two recipes that I tried were easy and now that I'm thinking about it, I did really like them. One was the cinnamon beef noodle soup which is a different variation then what I usually make. I did add in some whole sichuan peppercorns to give it a bit more complexity. I don't remember the other dish that I made and then I had to return the book to the library.
New Fuchsia Dunlop book
I have the original Wei Chuan book (I think it's Classic Chinese cooking) but have never really used it. I took it from my mom since she doesn't use it since I cook (and freeze stuff) for them when I visit.
New Fuchsia Dunlop book
I've made a couple of things from her new book, Simple Asian Meals. They were good but there was always something missing in the recipe. Nina Simonds is someone who I always want to explore with, but, there is something off about the recipes to me.
May 2012 Cookbook of the Month Winners: Food of Spain and Moro: The Cookbook!
I also agree with Caitlin. I understand the appeal of having one book/one thread a la Grace young month. But, now, when those threads pop up, I want to cry because they are so long (these also also an issue with the Dunlop threads which were broken up into categories.) These long threads take a long time to load and often times my computer will freeze during the upload.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Roasted shrimp and broccoli, page 105
I made this last week and also loved it. It would have been super easy to put together if I hadn't bought shell on shrimp. The veins were very dirty so cleaning these puppies took much longer then expected.
I also sprinkled hot pepper flakes to the shrimp which added a bit of bite. I served this with bulger. Delicious.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Winter
I think quinoa would work. It would be a different flavor profile but it would go well with the squid. I don't think you need to dress it up since you will be tossing it into the skillet with the squid and juices anyway.
Hmmm. I thought reported this dish. Guess not. But, I really liked it and leftovers were also delicious.
May 2012 Cookbook of the Month Nominations are Open!
NEW SPANISH TABLE by Anya Von Bremzen and Roden's FOOD OF SPAIN.
I'm nominating NST bc I was recently gifted this book by another HC hound (thanks!) and FOS because that books seems to be mentioned most in this thread.
I think a broad spanish month would lead to unfocused discussion as well as low participation. This has happened in the past (Julia Child and Leite's Culinaria months, I'm looking at you).
April 2012 Cookbook of the Month: Melissa Clark Month
Those short ribs and braised pork were two of my favorite dishes from CTN. I'm trying to think of when to repeat them before the freakishly warm weather hits.
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
This looks great. I'm making it for dinner tonight.
For the chili powder, did you use cayenne or chili powder?
April 2012 COTM: Melissa Clark Month, Cook This Now: Autumn
Re: cannelli beans. Was this recipe with the escarole in Stevens' book?
Cooking From "X" Cookbook threads. Is there a list of all these threads on Home Cooking?
I think Flex Table was also pre cotm. Which reminds me, I need to revisit that book.
Great job gio.
