I like broccoli, but it's not my favorite green vegetable. My favorite vegetable that is high in chlorophyll is asparagus. However, since this recipe is not called "My favorite asparagus" I'm not going to post that today.
Yetis like fresh veggies, typically prepared with not too much fuss and work. But we still like our veggies to taste really good. Typically, that means that the ingredients list requires a few more items than just vegetables and water. Here is a version of steamed or boiled broccoli that requires just a touch more than minimum of effort. Minimum effort for vegetables usually means raw vegetables. This also only requires a handful of ingredients. I'll make up for the effort and ingredients list when I post my favorite barbecue rub and barbecue sauce, if I ever do. Those may remain secret. And the snowdogs are doing fine now that colder temperatures are here, by the way.
Steamed or Boiled Broccoli with in a light lemon-wine-butter sauce
1 bunch of raw, fresh, good broccoli. About 4 large handfuls
water for steaming or boiling, or you can steam the broccoli in the microwave
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup of white wine
rind of 1 lemon, no pith or you're asking for extra bitter broccoli
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)
pinch of salt
pinch of fresh ground black pepper (optional)
Cut up your raw broccoli into your desired size for serving. If boiling the broccoli, bring some water to a boil. If steaming on a stove top, set up your steamer. Steam or boil the broccoli for just 2-3 minutes. The broccoli pieces should be just slightly more tender than raw and bright green. Remove the broccoli and drain, but do not rinse or cool.
Place the butter in a medium to large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the butter melts and starts to foam, but is not browning, add the broccoli and toss. Add the lemon rind, white wine, pinch of salt, and red pepper if desired to the broccoli in the saucepan and bring to a low boil. Allow the liquid to reduce greatly, until there is just a small puddle of liquid in the bottom of the pan.
Add the lemon juice and black pepper if desired, and toss. Allow to cook for about 1-2 more minutes and serve.
I really like this as a side dish for broiled salmon or steak and some saffron rice or roasted new potatoes.
Serves about 4 as a side, or 4 Yetis if you use Yeti-sized handfuls of broccoli and double the rest of the ingredients.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Quick no-chicken chik'n soup
OK, here's a fully vegetarian post. Pretty much. And it's easy. And quick. And full of vegetables. Yetis eat vegetables. Sometimes we eat things that also pass for food, but that's a whole different story. This is a dish that the snowdogs don't really go for as it is lacking in the meat parts, but it is wonderful on cold nights with a nice piece of dill bread (to be another post). Here is Quick No-Chicken Soup, or QNCS in acronym land. This soup only has rough amounts for ingredients as the exact contents usually depends on what you have in your fridge at the time you make it.
Ingredients, in rough quantities:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a carrot, small dice or halved and then cut into thin slices
a stalk or two of celery, small dice or thin slices about the same thickness as the carrot
some finely diced onion
a garlic clove, minced
about 4-6 cups of no-chicken broth, mushroom broth, or other veggie broth (you can use a meat or poultry broth, low sodium please, instead for meat)
some nicely diced fresh herbs. I like tarragon, or thyme, or cilantro, or parsley, or even some slivers of sage, but not all at once.
a handful or two of cooked egg noodles, probably optional.
You could also add leftover barley (yum!), rice, diced or sliced mushrooms, a pinch of red pepper flakes, etc.
Put a large saucepan, one large enough to hold the entire contents of the soup, over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the veggies and saute for about 3-4 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a low boil. Add the herbs, stir through, and serve. Told you it would be easy.
Feeds 2 Yeti with bread. Feeds 4 humans with bread. Feeds 1 college student. Students can't afford bread.
Ingredients, in rough quantities:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a carrot, small dice or halved and then cut into thin slices
a stalk or two of celery, small dice or thin slices about the same thickness as the carrot
some finely diced onion
a garlic clove, minced
about 4-6 cups of no-chicken broth, mushroom broth, or other veggie broth (you can use a meat or poultry broth, low sodium please, instead for meat)
some nicely diced fresh herbs. I like tarragon, or thyme, or cilantro, or parsley, or even some slivers of sage, but not all at once.
a handful or two of cooked egg noodles, probably optional.
You could also add leftover barley (yum!), rice, diced or sliced mushrooms, a pinch of red pepper flakes, etc.
Put a large saucepan, one large enough to hold the entire contents of the soup, over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the veggies and saute for about 3-4 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a low boil. Add the herbs, stir through, and serve. Told you it would be easy.
Feeds 2 Yeti with bread. Feeds 4 humans with bread. Feeds 1 college student. Students can't afford bread.
Monday, December 10, 2007
It's more assembly than cooking. It's Chicago-style hot dogs or soy dogs!
I decided that today I wouldn't cook much. But instead, I'm going on a Yeti assembly-line spree! I'm going to post information that will allow you, the reader at home, or at work, or slacking off at school, to make your very own, authentic, Chicago-style hot dogs and soy dogs. All of the ingredients are the same for both versions, except for the hot dogs vs. soy dogs. And the cooking techniques are a little different, but I'll get to that in a minute.
For those of you Yeti not familiar with the Chicagoland area food specialties, there are a number of well-known ones. Deep dish pizza and eye-talian beef are two of them. But every Chicago Bigfoot knows how to make a Chicago hot dog. Don't be intimidated by the ingredients list. If you are going to make a bunch of these, it's just like setting up an assembly line and doing the same thing over and over. You'll see. By the way, the snowdogs don't get to eat these at all because raw onion is toxic to snowdog metabolisms. And you can never put ketchup on a Chicago dog, soy or animal. It's just wrong. Never. Nope, not even now.
Chicago-style hot dogs (or soy dogs) or "a salad on a bun"
Ingredients:
yellow mustard, not Dijon or brown
sweet pickle relish, the bright green kind if you can find it
yellow onion, small dice
2 cucumber slices per dog, quite thin
2 tomato wedges per dog
celery salt
sport peppers, or tabasco peppers, or pepperocini if you can't find the others and you're desperate (the peppers are optional)
dill pickles cut into wedges lengthwise, one per dog
Kosher beef franks for regular dogs
soy dogs (I prefer Yves brand Good Dogs) for soy dogs
hot dog buns
Preparation:
Put all your vegetable ingredients in easy-to-handle containers, like small bowls for the chopped onion and tomato slices, etc.
Kosher beef franks should be steamed or boiled until heated through. Soy dogs require some sort of grilling to have the nice external texture required for a Chicago-style dog experience. When the dog of your choice is heated through (but not snowdogs), place the dog inside one of your hot dog buns. Traditionally, the buns are slightly warmed, either on a steam table or in the oven briefly, but it's not necessary. Once you have your hot dogs safely in the bun, you can start assembly. Put a single line of mustard down one side of the dog, and an even spoonful of relish down the other side. Not too much relish, only about a teaspoon full. Put about a half teaspoon of chopped onion in a line on top of the mustard. The mustard will help hold the onion in place. Slide two cucumber slices down one side of the bun next to the dog. They would look like OO next to each other. Tuck the tomato wedges in, pointy-side down, next to the cucumbers on the same side of the dog. Sprinkle a small amount of celery salt on the dog, add 2 peppers per dog if desired, and put a dill pickle wedge on top.
There you go, an authentic Chicago-style experience. You'll be the envy of the neighborhood and all the Cubs Yeti fans and White Sox Sasquatch fans and Da Bears Bigfoot fans and Orange and Blue will flock to your door to pet the snowdogs behind the ears and eat a Chicago-style dog and say Hey! Hey! Holy Cow!
Feeds about 6-8 dogs per Yeti or Chicagoan, 2-4 dogs per normal person.
For those of you Yeti not familiar with the Chicagoland area food specialties, there are a number of well-known ones. Deep dish pizza and eye-talian beef are two of them. But every Chicago Bigfoot knows how to make a Chicago hot dog. Don't be intimidated by the ingredients list. If you are going to make a bunch of these, it's just like setting up an assembly line and doing the same thing over and over. You'll see. By the way, the snowdogs don't get to eat these at all because raw onion is toxic to snowdog metabolisms. And you can never put ketchup on a Chicago dog, soy or animal. It's just wrong. Never. Nope, not even now.
Chicago-style hot dogs (or soy dogs) or "a salad on a bun"
Ingredients:
yellow mustard, not Dijon or brown
sweet pickle relish, the bright green kind if you can find it
yellow onion, small dice
2 cucumber slices per dog, quite thin
2 tomato wedges per dog
celery salt
sport peppers, or tabasco peppers, or pepperocini if you can't find the others and you're desperate (the peppers are optional)
dill pickles cut into wedges lengthwise, one per dog
Kosher beef franks for regular dogs
soy dogs (I prefer Yves brand Good Dogs) for soy dogs
hot dog buns
Preparation:
Put all your vegetable ingredients in easy-to-handle containers, like small bowls for the chopped onion and tomato slices, etc.
Kosher beef franks should be steamed or boiled until heated through. Soy dogs require some sort of grilling to have the nice external texture required for a Chicago-style dog experience. When the dog of your choice is heated through (but not snowdogs), place the dog inside one of your hot dog buns. Traditionally, the buns are slightly warmed, either on a steam table or in the oven briefly, but it's not necessary. Once you have your hot dogs safely in the bun, you can start assembly. Put a single line of mustard down one side of the dog, and an even spoonful of relish down the other side. Not too much relish, only about a teaspoon full. Put about a half teaspoon of chopped onion in a line on top of the mustard. The mustard will help hold the onion in place. Slide two cucumber slices down one side of the bun next to the dog. They would look like OO next to each other. Tuck the tomato wedges in, pointy-side down, next to the cucumbers on the same side of the dog. Sprinkle a small amount of celery salt on the dog, add 2 peppers per dog if desired, and put a dill pickle wedge on top.
There you go, an authentic Chicago-style experience. You'll be the envy of the neighborhood and all the Cubs Yeti fans and White Sox Sasquatch fans and Da Bears Bigfoot fans and Orange and Blue will flock to your door to pet the snowdogs behind the ears and eat a Chicago-style dog and say Hey! Hey! Holy Cow!
Feeds about 6-8 dogs per Yeti or Chicagoan, 2-4 dogs per normal person.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Sushi! Or not! It's all up to you.
Ok, lots of people like sushi. Lots of people don't like sushi. Lots of people don't like Yetis either, but I don't hold that against them. This is a recipe that basically uses stuff that I talked about earlier, but in other variations and with sushi rice instead of jasmine. If you don't want to make maki (rolls) that's fine, I've got some alternatives down below.
Also, watch out for the snowdogs on this one, as they love tuna and fish.
Raw or seared tuna maki sushi! Or not!
You need to have prepared ahead of time about 2 cups of sushi rice, which is often about 1 cup before cooking, including seasoning with rice wine vinegar and anything else you want. The rice should be cool. I usually put some lemon or lime rind in with the rice when it cooks for a nice citrus flavor.
2 shallots, small dice
bean sprouts, very fresh, washed, and patted dry
red pepper flakes (optional)
sushi-grade ahi tuna, probably about 1/4 pound or so
seasoning mixture, described below. About 2 tablespoons or so of this mix, depending on how much tuna you have.
about 2-3 sheets of nori (seaweed sheets for sushi, available in many supermarkets) for maki, or you could have this sashimi or nigiri style
Optional: wasabi, pickled ginger as garnish / condiments
For the marinade for a seared tuna version of this see my November 9, 2007 entry. The leftovers work really well in this roll. If you are making this fresh however, read the following.
To use raw tuna (assuming your tuna is of excellent quality and impeccably fresh) you'll want to mix up ahead of time a seasoning mixture. I prefer a tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar, a tiny pinch of salt, preferably sea salt, and teaspoon of tamari. Or, if you like it spicy, replace the salt and tamari with a few dashes of Tabasco or other hot sauce of your liking. You can also replace the vinegar with lemon or lime juice and a small pinch of sugar. You'll want to set this mixture aside for use when you are ready to assemble your sushi.
DO NOT MARINADE THE TUNA more than 10 minutes or they will over-cure in the acid in the seasoning. You'll just want to briefly dip the fish in the seasoning before making your sushi.
For maki, cut quarter-inch square, but long (like a square cylinder) slices of the raw tuna.
For nigiri, cut nice thumb-sized, 1/8 inch thick sections of tuna.
For sashimi, cut the widest, but still 1/8 inch thick sections of tuna.
Maki: open up your nori, shiny side up. Spread enough rice on the nori to enclose the tuna and other fillings. Season your raw tuna in your pre-made mixture. Place a single thickness (depending on the length of your tuna you may need to trim to fit or use multiple square cylinders) of seasoned tuna along the rice, with a small sprinkling of shallots, some bean sprouts parallel to the tuna, and some red pepper flakes if you want. Roll. Repeat. Cut. Put on a plate with optional condiments. Enjoy.
Nigiri: Don't use nori. Form some thumb-sized cylinders of rice. You can place a small dab of wasabi on the rice and then place the seasoned tuna strip on top, or just place the tuna on top. Repeat until all tuna or rice is used up. Put on a plate with optional condiments. Enjoy.
Sashimi: season the tuna, and then place on a plate. Have some rice with it. Put on a plate with optional condiments. Enjoy.
This serves about 1 Yeti that likes sushi, or 2-4 as an appetizer, or 2 humans that are hungry, or so. It depends on how many pieces you make and how much the individuals like sushi. Watch out for the snowdogs though. They like fish.
Also, watch out for the snowdogs on this one, as they love tuna and fish.
Raw or seared tuna maki sushi! Or not!
You need to have prepared ahead of time about 2 cups of sushi rice, which is often about 1 cup before cooking, including seasoning with rice wine vinegar and anything else you want. The rice should be cool. I usually put some lemon or lime rind in with the rice when it cooks for a nice citrus flavor.
2 shallots, small dice
bean sprouts, very fresh, washed, and patted dry
red pepper flakes (optional)
sushi-grade ahi tuna, probably about 1/4 pound or so
seasoning mixture, described below. About 2 tablespoons or so of this mix, depending on how much tuna you have.
about 2-3 sheets of nori (seaweed sheets for sushi, available in many supermarkets) for maki, or you could have this sashimi or nigiri style
Optional: wasabi, pickled ginger as garnish / condiments
For the marinade for a seared tuna version of this see my November 9, 2007 entry. The leftovers work really well in this roll. If you are making this fresh however, read the following.
To use raw tuna (assuming your tuna is of excellent quality and impeccably fresh) you'll want to mix up ahead of time a seasoning mixture. I prefer a tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar, a tiny pinch of salt, preferably sea salt, and teaspoon of tamari. Or, if you like it spicy, replace the salt and tamari with a few dashes of Tabasco or other hot sauce of your liking. You can also replace the vinegar with lemon or lime juice and a small pinch of sugar. You'll want to set this mixture aside for use when you are ready to assemble your sushi.
DO NOT MARINADE THE TUNA more than 10 minutes or they will over-cure in the acid in the seasoning. You'll just want to briefly dip the fish in the seasoning before making your sushi.
For maki, cut quarter-inch square, but long (like a square cylinder) slices of the raw tuna.
For nigiri, cut nice thumb-sized, 1/8 inch thick sections of tuna.
For sashimi, cut the widest, but still 1/8 inch thick sections of tuna.
Maki: open up your nori, shiny side up. Spread enough rice on the nori to enclose the tuna and other fillings. Season your raw tuna in your pre-made mixture. Place a single thickness (depending on the length of your tuna you may need to trim to fit or use multiple square cylinders) of seasoned tuna along the rice, with a small sprinkling of shallots, some bean sprouts parallel to the tuna, and some red pepper flakes if you want. Roll. Repeat. Cut. Put on a plate with optional condiments. Enjoy.
Nigiri: Don't use nori. Form some thumb-sized cylinders of rice. You can place a small dab of wasabi on the rice and then place the seasoned tuna strip on top, or just place the tuna on top. Repeat until all tuna or rice is used up. Put on a plate with optional condiments. Enjoy.
Sashimi: season the tuna, and then place on a plate. Have some rice with it. Put on a plate with optional condiments. Enjoy.
This serves about 1 Yeti that likes sushi, or 2-4 as an appetizer, or 2 humans that are hungry, or so. It depends on how many pieces you make and how much the individuals like sushi. Watch out for the snowdogs though. They like fish.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
French Onion Tart! Mmm, oniony. If you can't eat onions don't make this.
Over the recent eat-birds-and-bread holiday I put this together on a whim. Sometimes the Yeti food experiments work, and sometimes they don't. This one worked out really well. I found that the mixture of thyme and the carmelization of the onions and the shredded gruyere really recreated the taste of French onion soup. You want to leave the onion skin where noted to keep the onions from drying out in the oven. The skins are really easy to remove later. Just don't burn your fingers. Remember, abominable snowdogs shouldn't eat onion, it's not good for them.
Onion Tart with gruyere
3 tablespoons butter
1 large sprig thyme or 1 teaspoon dry thyme
2 tablespoons sugar
3 onions, medium sized, tips and root removed, skin left on and cut in half widthwise
1 pre-made pie crust, home made or store bought
About 4 ounces gruyere, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the thyme and sugar. Crowd the onions into the pan, center cuts down and skins on. Allow the onions to caramelize in the pan over medium heat, approximately 5 to10 minutes. Place the pan in the oven and cook until the onions are fork tender, approximately 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove the tough, outside onion skins without disturbing the onions.
Put about 1/3 of the shredded cheese in the bottom of the pre-made pie crust. Carefully add the onions, preferably cut side up, into the pie crust. Sprinkle the onions with a small pinch of salt, the rest of the gruyere, and a few grinds of pepper. Bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown and fully cooked. Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool to just warm. Cut into 6 pieces and serve alongside a green salad.
Serves 1 hungry Yeti, or 2 Yeti as a side dish, or 4 people.Saturday, December 1, 2007
Whiskey chicken
Sometimes in the cold barren wastelands you want something extra to warm up the Yeti in you. Sometimes you want vegetarian chili (to be posted later). Perhaps you want some French Onion Tart (again, to be posted later). Or maybe you want some chicken. With rice. And booze. Boozy chicken with rice. Mmmm, sounds warming. Here is how I make my boozy whiskey chicken. It's got the Yeti stamp of approval. This can also be an appetizer if you stick toothpicks in the chicken and put them on a plate for individual consumption. Eating kind of consumption, not the other kind. And watch out for the snowdogs on this one. They like the booze.
Whiskey Chicken
Prepare 1 batch of your favorite rice. I use that long grain white rice recipe that I posted back in October. I'd prepare it while the chicken is marinating.
For the chicken:
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cleaned of any tendons or fat, clean and patted dry
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, also cleaned of any tendons or fat, clean and patted dry
For the marinade:
1 1/2 ounces of good whiskey
2 tablespoons of oil, canola or corn or peanut, not olive oil
1 tablespoon of rice wine or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
about 1/4 cup of chopped chives, optional
Additional ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons of canola or other high smoke point oil
1 teaspoon of honey
Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a leak-proof container that is big enough for all the chicken. I use a gallon size zip top bag. Cut the chicken up into about 1 inch cubes. Place the chicken in the marinade for about 1 hour, turning over or stirring after 30 minutes to make sure the chicken has good contact with the marinade. Do not marinade more than one hour or the flavors in the chicken will be too strong and slightly bitter.
Now is a good time to make the rice. Not later, as the chicken will cook really quickly. Also why don't you have some nice steamed veggies? Like some broccoli or green beans? Those would go well with this. Or maybe sautéed and tossed with some oil, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, and a pinch of sesame seeds. Mmm, wouldn't that be nice?
Heat up one and a half tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottomed pan or a wok over high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, drain, and pat dry. Discard the remaining marinade. Carefully add the chicken to the hot oil and toss frequently. The chicken will express some liquid during cooking. Drain and reserve this expressed liquid for the final sauce. Keep stirring or tossing the chicken until the chicken is fully cooked and browned nicely. Now is the time to add the reserved liquid and honey and stir through, making sure the liquid reaches a full boil. Remove from heat and serve.
Serves 2-3 Yetis with rice and veggies, or 6-8 people with the same side dishes.
Whiskey Chicken
Prepare 1 batch of your favorite rice. I use that long grain white rice recipe that I posted back in October. I'd prepare it while the chicken is marinating.
For the chicken:
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cleaned of any tendons or fat, clean and patted dry
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, also cleaned of any tendons or fat, clean and patted dry
For the marinade:
1 1/2 ounces of good whiskey
2 tablespoons of oil, canola or corn or peanut, not olive oil
1 tablespoon of rice wine or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
about 1/4 cup of chopped chives, optional
Additional ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons of canola or other high smoke point oil
1 teaspoon of honey
Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a leak-proof container that is big enough for all the chicken. I use a gallon size zip top bag. Cut the chicken up into about 1 inch cubes. Place the chicken in the marinade for about 1 hour, turning over or stirring after 30 minutes to make sure the chicken has good contact with the marinade. Do not marinade more than one hour or the flavors in the chicken will be too strong and slightly bitter.
Now is a good time to make the rice. Not later, as the chicken will cook really quickly. Also why don't you have some nice steamed veggies? Like some broccoli or green beans? Those would go well with this. Or maybe sautéed and tossed with some oil, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, and a pinch of sesame seeds. Mmm, wouldn't that be nice?
Heat up one and a half tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottomed pan or a wok over high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, drain, and pat dry. Discard the remaining marinade. Carefully add the chicken to the hot oil and toss frequently. The chicken will express some liquid during cooking. Drain and reserve this expressed liquid for the final sauce. Keep stirring or tossing the chicken until the chicken is fully cooked and browned nicely. Now is the time to add the reserved liquid and honey and stir through, making sure the liquid reaches a full boil. Remove from heat and serve.
Serves 2-3 Yetis with rice and veggies, or 6-8 people with the same side dishes.
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