Spanish (?) Fried Chickpeas & Roasted Beets

There are a few ingredients that even I have been afraid to use. Well, not afraid, exactly, but...there are just some things that don't stay at the top of my overcrowded mind. I pretty much used all of those ingredients in this dish.


One of those ingredients is sherry. Now, there is cooking sherry, and there is drinking sherry. I used Spanish sherry wine, which I'd never even tasted until popping the cork on the bottle I used tonight. Frankly, it's not something I'd ever drink. I find that amber-colored alcohols are not to my liking. But for cooking, it's divine. Cooking sherry, however, is something else entirely - nothing you'd ever want to drink, to be sure. I had also been hesitant - for no logical reason at all - to cook with beet greens. Having never met a green I didn't like (I used to gnaw on grass as a child), I have no idea why I was so dubious. Turns out, beet greens are delicious! And the best part? They come attached to beets (also delicious!).


Everyone has a moment when they, well, get over the hump with a certain food. Most often, getting over the hump just happens over time, and goes largely unnoticed until one day, you find yourself "mmm"-ing over something you used to shun (cilantro, sushi, and rye bread are all things I used to dislike, and now regularly enjoy). Occasionally, the transition happens in one unforgettable moment - like it did when I realized I liked beets. Not the cloyingly sweet jarred beets of my childhood, but real, actual, beets.


This moment happened at Deleece, a great restaurant on the north side of the city. I ordered a beet and goat cheese salad (cheese is the ship that has delivered many a hesitant food pilgrim to the New World of ingredient love). The beets were roasted, the moment was perfect - and that was it for me. Beets and I have been inseparable ever since - at restaurants, that is. At home, nary a beet crossed my doorstep. Till tonight. Simply roasting them with olive oil and salt and pepper (the most basic root-vegetable-roasting method) made them absolute perfection.


Truth be told, I can't take credit for this recipe. It's a Mark Bittman recipe, from the New York Times. His was a bit different - he used Spanish chorizo, which I find nearly impossible to obtain in Chicago (the fattier, uncased, raw Mexican version of chorizo is all the rage here, but I don't like it, so whenever a recipe calls for chorizo I sub in andouille sausage). After watching an episode of No Reservations about Spain, a friend telling me I'd love Barcelona, and stumbling upon this recipe, I decided it was fate that I create this Spanish-inspired dish. Bittman also used only chickpeas, and did not include garlic, red pepper, flakes, or paprika. He also used spinach rather than beet greens. Despite my capricious swaps, the dish turned out nicely. I like that it's cheap, easy, and balanced. The perfect mealtime storm!

INGREDIENTS

3-4 medium fresh beets, cubed
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
olive oil
salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted very dry
1 can white beans, drained, rinsed, and patted very dry
2 links turkey andouille sausage (or Spanish chorizo, or pork andouille, or kielbasa...you get the idea)
a few slices salami*
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
dash of paprika
1 bunch fresh beet greens, washed, tough stems trimmed off, and cut into smallish pieces
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. sherry (I used a Spanish sherry found at Whole Foods for a reasonable $11; I also used the remainder of the bottle in a recipe you'll see here very soon - waste not, want not!)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup freshly made (or store-bought) bread crumbs**
more olive oil

*This is not necessary, but I had some salami I wanted to use up. It was good in there, though. You could use any deli sausage.

**Not having a food processor, I have never been able to make my own breadcrumbs. Until my epiphany: I can simply use my spice/coffee grinder as a mini-food processor! I toasted some stale-ish Italian bread, tore it into pieces, and placed it in the spice grinder, with incredible success. Voila! Fresh breadcrumbs. If you have neither processing equipment nor the inclination to make your own breadcrumbs, use store-bought Panko breadcrumbs. The world will continue turning.

STEP 1:

Preheat the oven to 375. Toss the beet cubes, carrots, and onion in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for about an hour, turning a few times, until tender but not mushy.

STEP 2:

Meanwhile, in a large oven-safe pan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the chickpeas, beans and sausage, stirring until it's all in more or less a single layer in the pan. Add some salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring infrequently, until the sausage has released some fat and the chickpeas are lightly browned and crisp. Remove sausage and bean mixture from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving any remaining oil in the pan, still over medium-high heat.

STEP 3:

Add the beet greens and sherry to the pan, and cook until wilted, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until cooked to your liking (cook longer for softer greens, less for crisper greens). Add the chickpeas/beans/sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Top with the bread crumbs, a little salt and pepper, and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Heat under the broiler until lightly browned. Serve alongside the roasted veggies. Enjoy!

Battle Chili, Part 1 - Three-Bean Turkey Chili

It won't come as a surprise to most of you that I'm really competitive.


So you'll understand my excitement at the announcement of my company's annual Chili Cook-off. The proceeds go to a great cause - the Greater Chicago Food Depository - and everyone at Digitas gets to enjoy homemade chili cooked by their colleagues. Apparently, I'm up against some stiff competition. Luckily, the Cook-off isn't for another month, so I have a lot of time to test recipes.


My plan is to cook one chili recipe per week up until the competition, and enter the best recipe I come up with. I am, of course, entering mine into the "non-traditional" category, because I just can't go up against people who have been cooking regular beef-and-red-bean chili for years. My strength lies in creativity - I hope.


This first recipe came out pretty well. The turkey flavor, despite my aggressive seasoning, really comes through to complement the mix of beans. Overall, I'd say this recipe is solid, but not yet a winner. Fortunately, the thrill of head-to-head battle has my head positively overflowing with chili ideas, each one more creative than the last.


I am going to need honest, willing chili judges over the next few weeks, so if you consider yourself a connoisseur, please let me know and I'll reserve you a spot at the judges' table (AKA my coffee table). I'm going to be faced with more chili leftovers than you can shake a wooden spoon at in the month of February - thank goodness it keeps getting better the longer it sits.

THREE-BEAN TURKEY CHILI

INGREDIENTS

2 T. olive oil
1.5 lbs. ground turkey
1 medium white onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3-4 T. chili powder, more if needed
a couple dashes cayenne pepper
a couple dashes paprika
salt and black pepper to taste
1 large can diced plum tomatoes
1 regular sized can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 small can tomato paste
~1/2 c. water
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
sour cream and grated cheddar for serving
salad and bread for serving (optional)


STEP ONE:

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cook turkey, seasoning with a bit of all the spices, until browned. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and green pepper. Add more seasonings and cook until the vegetables are softening and most of the moisture has steamed away.

STEP TWO:

Add the tomatoes (with all juices), tomato paste, water, and still more seasonings - especially chili powder. Stir to combine. Add in beans and stir again. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat.

STEP THREE:

Taste the chili and add more seasonings if you need to. Cover and cook until you're ready to serve it - longer is better. Serve and enjoy!

The Old College Try: a Pasta Party

Glory, glory to old Georgia!


Yes, friends, I'm thrilled to share one of my most exciting blogs to date - guest-wise if not menu-wise. My old college friend Raj was in town for the Men's Health Urbanathlon, with two friends in tow. I was hugely flattered when Raj wrote to tell me that he's a huge fan of my blog, and wanted to spend one of his few nights in Chicago having dinner with me. And even better, I had guests on my hands that needed to carbo-load, and I think we all know at this point how I feel about pasta (Pasta, will you marry me?).


To mix things up, I decided to invite my also-new-to-Chicago friend Ryan, and of course, Ross was on hand to eat up and weigh in. It was a funny, interesting, smart, eclectic group of people gathered in my little shoebox, and I for one had a fantastic time.

For backstory: Raj and I met [WARNING: shameless plug in 3...2...1...] on an Alternative Spring Break program my junior year at Georgia. My friend Amy and I led a trip to Alabama to work at a home for people living with HIV and AIDS. Like the other ASB trips I went on or led, it was life-affirming and outlook-changing. Raj followed in my footsteps, not only leading trips, but also helping to lead the entire program - eventually doubling the number of trips (there is even a trip that comes to Chicago!).


As far as conversation goes, you couldn't ask for a more accomplished, more interesting group of people - as far as dinner goes...well, I know I'm my harshest critic, but I think it may have left something to be desired. Everything tasted good, but as Ross ended up admitting, it wasn't my most creative meals to date. Additionally, I mistimed quite a bit of the action, and we didn't get as much time to eat as I would've liked. Despite these criticisms, my guests seemed to like everything, and hopefully they were well-fueled and well-rested for the race.


The turkey bolognese, I thought, was pretty tasty - I actually really like the flavor that the turkey, as opposed to a traditional sausage and beef blend, lent to the sauce. And the veggie sauce actually turned out to be quite a hit, even among the omnivores! I was sure I'd ruined it when I let the carrot-onion-celery mixture burn, but it actually really deepened the flavor of the sauce, giving regular old canned tomatoes a more fire-roasted flavor.


It was great to catch up with a fellow Bulldog (he's still in school - Law - by the way), and meet new friends with the same zest for life and good-natured Southern charm that Raj is known for.

TURKEY BOLOGNESE

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/2 lb. ground lean turkey meat
2 T. olive oil
1 and 1/2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 small sweet onion
2 ribs celery, chopped into small pieces
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 and 1/2 large cans whole plum tomatoes with basil
1/2 can tomato paste
1/2-1 c. red wine (more as needed)
fresh chopped basil
sprinkling of dried Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, parsley, red pepper flakes) to taste
1/3 c. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 pack spaghetti


VEGGIELISCIOUS SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

2 T. olive oil
1 and 1/2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 small sweet onion
2 ribs celery, chopped into small pieces
salt and pepper
1 and 1/2 large cans whole plum tomatoes with basil
1/2 can tomato paste
1/2-1 c. red wine (more as needed)
fresh chopped basil
2 cloves garlic
sprinkling of dried Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, parsley, red pepper flakes) to taste
1 small head broccoli, chopped into small florets
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 pack spaghetti


STEP 1:

In a nonstick skillet, brown the turkey meat with some salt and pepper. Set aside.

STEP 2:

In both pots, heat the olive oil. Cook the onion, carrot, and celery over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until they start to get some color. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasonings, wine and garlic and some more salt and pepper. Add the turkey to the pot that will be the meat sauce.

STEP 3:

Cook all this for awhile, covered, stirring occasionally and breaking up the big tomato pieces with a wooden spoon. As the sauces cook, keep an eye on how liquid-y they are, and add some more wine as needed if they're getting too thick/dry.

STEP 4:

Add the broccoli and zucchini to the veggie sauce. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Add the fresh basil to the sauces. Turn the heat down on the turkey sauce and add the cream. Stir and cook a little more. Taste the sauces and adjust seasonings. When the spaghetti is al dente, drain it and set aside. Serve and enjoy!

JUDGES' VERDICTS:

Raj: I liked the spicy tang to the veggie sauce - it wasn't too sweet or too creamy. And the salad dressing was excellent.

Patrick: Very good. I actually liked the vegetarian sauce more than the meat sauce.

Ryan (male): I'd want to try the sauce over angel hair, since I like thin pasta. I was worried about the sauce's spice, but it was fine. And the music was good.*

Ryan (female): I liked the spicy kick to the veggie sauce. It was good, although I did have to pick out the visible tomato chunks. By the way, your cat is psycho.

Ross: This was ok, but not very creative. I expect more from you at this point.

*Ross put on our perennial favorite dinner mix of classic Sinatra tunes. Always a hit.

So it appears that the Veggie Sauce was the winner. Who knew? And all that time, I thought I'd burnt it.

Catching up with an old friend and making news ones was the real highlight of the meal, though. Thanks so much to my guests for spending a night in Chicago with little ol' me! And....GOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC 'EM! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF....

A New Year's Two-For-One Special

I love when I turn on my camera (in today's case, to document the first wave of the impending blizzard, which is without a doubt a sign of the apocalypse) and find photos of a meal that I captured, then forgot about. It's exciting - except of course, when I made it so many days or weeks ago that I have no idea what went into it in the first place. So, enjoy my haphazard recreation of roast beef (the cut is anyone's guess, but you can bet it was a cheap one) with a mustardy brown sauce, broccoli, and sweet potato mash.

On the other hand, there's nothing like a January blizzard in Chicago to make you crave - and defiantly cook - summer grill food. In tonight's case, BBQ and caramelized onion turkey burgers. Or, as I affectionately call them, Turkey Burgers That Don't Totally Suck. I mean, am I the only one who sees a turkey burger on a restaurant menu and has to fight the urge to rip the menu to shreds with my steak knife? Most are dry, flavorless, and uninspired. Hopefully, my BBQ burger, featuring SmokeDaddy BBQ sauce, will give you a hankering for a patty of something other than ground chuck (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I'll just get the forgotten roast beef out of the way first, since I can't accurately list the ingredients, their approximate measurements, or how long I cooked things.

ROAST BEEF WITH BROWN SAUCE, BROCCOLI, AND SWEET POTATO MASH
GUESSTIMATE AT INGREDIENTS

1 large piece of beef, an economical (tough) cut
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, steak rub or other dry herb mixture
olive oil and butter

Dijon mustard
brown sugar
red wine
balsamic vinegar
beef stock?
fruit preserves or chutney?

1 head broccoli, cut into pieces

1 very large sweet potato
milk, butter, salt, nutmeg

Heat butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet until foam subsides.



Season the beef on all sides with salt, pepper, and any other dry seasonings you want. (Steak rubs work well for this sort of thing.)



Sear the roast on high heat on all sides until a brown crust forms.




Make a sauce using red wine, vinegar, stock, fruit preserves,brown sugar, and mustard. I'm not kidding when I say you can just put a couple spoonfuls of each of these in a pot, heat them up and whisk them, and you will have a sauce that's pretty tasty. I don't blame you if you don't trust me, though.

Pour the sauce over the beef. Cook at 325 for about 3-4 hours. (This, by the way, is not what I did. I remember eating this beef, if not cooking it, and it was really tough. That's why, if you buy cheap, tougher cuts of meat, you should have the time on hand to roast or braise them for a long time. Trust me on this. This is why poor Italian grandmas never left the kitchen - they were braising the gristly parts of the skinny cow until it tasted just as delicious as the fatty, expensive parts.)



Boil broccoli in a pot of salted water until just tender, about 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook.



Add milk, butter, and nutmeg to the hot sweet potato and mix until semi-smooth and creamy.






Here's what Ross had to say about the meal (I made the wise decision to save this in my Stickies application):

"It's a 'meat and potatoes' meal for a meat and potatoes football team: broccoli - all about a tough defense. You got your gold potatoes and your black steak. Well, not black. Black and gold, like the Stillers! The sauce was what dreams are made of."

It would help to mention that we (apparently) were watching a Steelers game during dinner.

He went on to say, "The best part was one of the edge pieces. The middle wasn't that great, but I can chew through anything with my remarkably sharp incisors." What a guy.

Like I said before, just make sure you cook the beef for long enough, on a gentle enough temperature, to make it really tender. The easy weeknight way to do this would be to put it in a crockpot and leave it on low while you're at work. Crockpots, I might add, are completely underrated. 10 minutes of prep in the morning while you have your coffee, and you get to come home to a delicious hunk of meat in its own gravy.

Moving on to a different variation on the age-old hunk of meat: my BBQ Turkey Burgers That Miraculously Do Not Suck At All. Or: Further Proof That BBQ Sauce is Infallible.



INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground turkey (get the kind with a little bit of fat - I usually buy 90% lean for burgers)
1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
ground cayenne pepper, a few dashes
Pam spray
sliced pepper Jack cheese
whole wheat burger buns

1 large yellow onion
2 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
a couple pinches sugar

BBQ sauce (I used SmokeDaddy)
mayo (unless you hate mayo)

1 head fresh broccoli

5-6 carrots, the cute kind with the green parts still attached. Why? Because I think they're better.
squeeze of honey (I used some homemade pear honey my aunt made, but the kind in the bear is just fine)
1 T. butter

STEP ONE

Thinly slice the onions. In a nonstick skillet, heat 2 T. olive oil. Cook the onions, with a little salt and pepper, over medium heat, stirring and flipping every now and again, but not too much, until they are deeply brown. When they're about 2-3 minutes from being done, throw in the pinch of sugar to help them caramelize. Set aside and keep warm.







STEP TWO

In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (to taste) until combined. Shape into patties and set aside.



STEP THREE

Heat a grill pan or a nonstick skillet, with a light spray of Pam, over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers about 4-5 minutes on each side. When they're about 2 minutes form being done, place a slice of cheese on top of each and cook until burgers are cooked through (this is not the time for medium-rare burgers), and cheese is melted.





STEP FOUR

Boil some salted water and cook broccoli until it's just tender. Meanwhile, thinly slice the carrots on the bias. In a separate nonstick pan, heat 1 T. butter over medium-high heat. Saute the carrots, seasoned with a little salt, for a few minutes, then add a few tablespoons honey. Continue to cook in the honey and butter until carrots are just tender, about 5-6 minutes.







STEP FIVE

Spread some mayo (if you're going for it) and some BBQ sauce on a bun. Place a burger on top, and top with some of the caramelized onions. Serve with the carrots and broccoli. Enjoy!



I'll give this the official Fearless Cook rundown.

From Ross: "The carrots are amazing. Best carrots I've ever had. Can I have another burger?"

MY VOTE ON MY DISH: Hmmm...I give myself 8 stars. I have made turkey burgers before, but not like this. They were juicy, flavorful, and I actually didn't feel like a cow eating it - there was nothing about them that was suspect. I, too, agree that the carrots were magical. I've never been a huge fan of cooked carrots (I love them raw), but I will definitely be making them this way again. I felt like I was eating an indulgent, carby side dish, but really I was just having another veggie! If I had to change one thing, I might actually ditch the cheese (and no, I have not been abducted by aliens). Despite my cheese obsession, I have to say it didn't really add anything to the burgers. The BBQ sauce and onions were such powerful flavors that the little old slice of cheese just couldn't make himself heard.

Overall, it was a great dinner. Almost makes me forget about the snow...



Almost.

Cheers to 2009! Hope it's off to a great start. Thanks for reading!

A Fearless Thanksgiving

Burnt rolls...
Lumpy gravy...
Dry turkey...

Thanksgiving is a holiday that strikes fear in the hearts of seasoned cooks and novice kitchen-pilgrims alike. Much like the knot of anxiety that must have tied up the stomachs of our forefathers and the Native Americans as they sat down to the original feast, awakening to a day filled with chopping and carving can be downright scary.

Good thing I'm fearless. Now, this isn't your typical eat-and-be-judged fearless post. Not only did I have a teammate in the kitchen who's fearless in her own right (Ross' mom, Connie, flew in from Pittsburgh to keep us company - not to mention cook the turkey), there were no judgments at this meal (befitting a time of thanks and good vibes).



She even came bearing gifts! Check out this Christmas tree plate - the light on the knife actually lights up!



We awoke to beautiful snow flurries and...NO COFFEE IN THE HOUSE. So I strapped on my Uggs and schlepped to Dollop to get a pound. I completely forgot that it was a holiday, but luckily they were open till noon (they obviously know their clientele).



I got a pound of Indian coffee, in honor of the book Eat, Pray, Love, which Connie is reading, and which I read recently and am totally obessed with. I suggest reading it immediately. This is a great micro-roaster, Metropolis, that's pretty easy to find in the independent coffeeshops around town. A cup of this got the day started off energetically.

Since there were only three of us sitting down to this feast, we kept the menu small, but focused on making each dish great. We had turkey (of course), gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, whipped and baked butternut squash (you might remember that recipe from the pomegranate-scallops post I did awhile back), rolls, and green bean casserole (one of our family traditions, and my little bro's favorite). For dessert, we had Beulah's Famous Banana Pudding (and I don't use the word "famous" lightly) and pumpkin pie (we may be only three people, but one dessert does not a Thanksgiving feast make).



GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE (WILL'S FAVORITE)

1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces
1 can gream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper
French fried crispy onions

Boil the green beans for about 8-10 minutes, until they're still bright green but beginning to get tender, then drain. In a baking dish, mix the green beans with the soup and the milk. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, then top with the onions. I baked mine in a 325 degree oven (because the turkey was already in there at that temp) for about an hour. The green beans for really tender, but using fresh green beans instead of canned really brightened up the flavor.



WHIPPED AND BAKED SQUASH

Check out my old post for the squash recipe. This one was slightly modified because I started with whole (not pre-cut) butternut squash, and added the sugar, etc. after they were cooked. Then I spread the mixture into a baking dish and baked it for about an hour (again, at 325 because it shared the oven with the turkey).



GRAVY

Connie manned this one on her own. She made a roux, using about 4 T. butter and a few T. of flour. She added the pan drippings (the little brown bits from the bottom of the turkey roasting pan and the juice) and some chicken broth to the roux, and reduced it until it was deliciously cravy-like (it took about 20 minutes).



STUFFING

We just used a regular old bag of stuffing, with chicken broth, and Connie added some fresh onions and celery. We stuffed it in the turkey (that was truly a team effort), and when we took it out, we put it in the oven to get it extra hot.



TURKEY

OK, so that's not a picture of OUR actual turkey. Somehow, I managed NOT to snap the most important picture of the evening, so this one found on the world wide web will have to do. By the time I got my camera over to the bird, Ross was busy carving away like a maniac.



Hmmm, this picture reminds me of something....





OUR LITTLE PLYMOUTH ROCK





THE FINAL PLATE:



AND FOR THE ENCORE(S):





On an impulse, we bought this eggnog with the brandy already in it. At $6 a bottle, it was a deal. We haven't cracked it open yet (we had wine with dinner), but I'll let you know how it goes.



All in all, it was a great day, filled with warmth in the kitchen, great phone talks with everyone in my family, who I missed very much, and thoughts of gratitude for all the wonderful blessings in all our lives. And now we all have leftover turkey sandwiches and Black Friday to look forward to!

Thanks for reading! Hope you're all full and happy.