Maple Pecan Granola

I've been eating this out of a mason jar for breakfast and snack at work. 

Have a yogurt on the side. May try adding peanut butter to it sometime. OK to leave out the coconut if you don't have any. 

Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut shreds
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon maple flavoring
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Mix oats, pecans, coconut, flax seed, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
4. Stir canola oil, maple syrup, maple flavoring, and salt together in a small bowl; pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat evenly.
5. Spread the resulting mixture evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 40 minutes.
7. Turn oven off and let sit overnight to dry out completely. 
8. Store in an air-tight container.

Garlic Shrimp Pasta Bake

A satisfying and easy dinner to whip up when you’re in the mood for garlicky shrimp!

The night before or two or even three is fine, thaw 1/2 lb (I used a large mason jar) frozen medium shrimp, peeled and deveined. After cooking, you will take off the tails.

Cook 1/2 box penne pasta, 9min. I used mini penne. They’re so satisfying and cute! If you cook ahead and run to the store like I did, toss with a dash of olive oil so they don’t stick. 

Meanwhile, prep:

Chop 3 large cloves garlic

1 plum tomato or any nice tomato

3 Tb parsley

Juice 1 Tb lemon

Have 2 Tb flour

In 1Tb oil and 1 Tb butter, sauté the garlic briefly, 30 sec. 

Add 2Tb parsley and the shrimp, cook 3-4 min. Remove to a plate and take the tails off.

Have 1/2cup chicken broth, 1 cup milk and 1Tb lemon juice ready.

Put heat back on, with a whisk melt 2 Tb butter and add 2Tb flour, cook a minute.

Whisking, add broth then milk, stir in tomatoes and lemon juice. 

Add a dash of pepper. No salt is necessary because of the cheese. 

Stir in 1/2 cup parmesan and 1/2 cup romano cheese. The romano can be a strong flavor (made with sheep milk), use more parmesan in that case. Add 1Tb mozzarella. Once melted, stir in the penne. Add the shrimp and pour into casserole. Top with 1/4c mozzarella and 1/4c parmesan, remaining parsley. 

Bake at 400 ten minutes until top starts to brown and it’s bubbly. 

Chimichurri Steak Flautas

I’ve made these a few times and discovered they freeze well. 

Microwave 5 min at 50% then finish in the toaster over so they crisp up.Serve with sour cream to dip into, and/or guacamole.

Make chimichurri in food processor. I used:
6 garlic cloves
1 bunch of parsley (top chopped off)
1 bunch of cilantro (top chopped off)
1 shallot rough chopped
1/2 cup vinegar (half cider and half red wine vinegar)
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Dash of red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning
You only need 1/4 cup for this. I like that it’s
versatile for other recipes. I may also freeze leftovers in a couple packets.

6 flour tortillas (small)
1 plum tomato, chopped. Put in a cup, s&p and add Tb water
Shredded cheese (Mexican blend or Mozzarella)
1 shallot, sliced
Flank steak or any good sliced steak you’d use for fajitas.

Put a splash of oil in skillet over high and cook the shallot and steak.
When the pink is gone, add tomato and cook until it thickens, a couple minutes.
Add chimichurri and heat up, remove from heat to a plate or bowl.
Rinse skillet and dry, add more oil.

Assemble flautas: cheese, steak, roll and place seam side down in the skillet.
On high (but watch so they get crispy but not burnt) cook 2 min and roll to fry all around.
Delicious!
Once cooled off a bit you should be able to eat them from hand. Keep napkins handy! 

Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints

Taster approved- kept going back for more! 

Makes 2 dozen

I purchased and roasted/peeled raw hazelnuts but next time I’ll try buying them prepped. I used a food processor to grind them and about 10 packets of “sugar in the raw” = 3 Tb turbinado.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, separated 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup toasted, skinned hazelnuts, roughly ground

3 Tb turbinado sugar

Chocolate Filling

1 cup dark chocolate, finely chopped

2 Tb unsalted butter

Beat butter and salt until smooth. Add sugar and mix until incorporated. Add egg yolk and vanilla.

Add flour and mix until dough comes together. Dump onto plastic wrap and knead into a ball, wrap and refrigerate 1 hour (I did overnight). A log would be helpful.

Prepare hazelnuts and mix with turbinado sugar.

Oven 350.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Cut up dough into equal Tb sizes and form into balls with a thumb divot in each.
Whisk the egg white until frothy.
Dip cookie into egg white then into the nuts. Use a spoon to help sprinkle. It’s ok if the mix coats everything.
Bake 10 minutes (first pan in, 2nd pan takes about 10 min to prepare).
Take first pan out, 2nd goes in.
Fuss with divots to remake them if they filled in. Put back in oven, may need up to 10 more min but keep an eye out, you want them golden brown and set.
Allow to cool on sheets and prepare the chocolate filling.
In a bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate then stir in butter until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool. I was impatient; my chocolate could have cooled longer before piping it.
Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and when the cookies are cooled, pipe chocolate filling into the cookie cavities.
Enjoy immediately, or allow chocolate to set up.

Soy-Braised Short Ribs

Last night I discovered the Netflix series:

and I can't wait to try this recipe, but also others in the book I ordered!

https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/salt/soy-braised-short-ribs/

Soy-Braised Short Ribs

Serves 6 to 8

5 pounds meaty short ribs on the bone, 2-3 inches thick

Salt

Neutral tasting oil, such as canola or grapeseed

¼ cup (60 grams) soy sauce

¼ cup (55 grams) dark brown sugar

¼ cup (58 grams) mirin (rice wine)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

4 garlic cloves, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne

About 1 cup (228 grams) dashi

1⁄4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

4 scallions, green and white parts slivered

Prep the ribs the day before you want to cook. Season the meat lightly with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. Keep in mind that the marinade consists mostly of soy sauce, which is salty, so use only about half as much salt as you otherwise would.

In the meantime, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and cayenne. Place the meat in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and squish the marinade around so all the meat is evenly coated. Refrigerate overnight.

A few hours before you want to cook the ribs, pull them out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 400°F.

Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat to preheat. When pan is hot, drop the temperature to medium-low, add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Working in batches so as not to crowd pan, brown a few short ribs at a time on all three meaty sides, adding more oil if necessary before each batch. Reduce heat as necessary to achieve browning gradually; it may take 4 to 5 minutes per side for well-browned ribs.

Transfer the ribs, bone-side down, to a large Dutch oven or a large, deep ceramic or pyrex roasting dish, then pour the marinade over the meat.  It’s fine if the ribs are snug, but they should all fit in a single layer. Add enough dashi to go about ¾-inch up the sides of the ribs, then cover with lid or parchment and aluminum foil. Slide into the oven and cook until the liquid simmers, about 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 325°F and cook until meat is very tender and falling off the bone, 3 to 4 hours more.

Uncover pot or dish and crank oven to 450°F. Brush ribs with the braising juices and cook for about until shiny and brown, about 8 to 12 minutes.

Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and slivered scallions.

Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This is a great dip to make for a party. It was gobbled up! I can’t wait to make it again, made it for one of my friend's outdoor concerts. The recipe is found on the back of a packet of Knorr vegetable recipe mix I purchased at Shaw’s.

4 cups | Prep time: 10min | Cook time: 35 minutes

1 box (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 package vegetable recipe mix
1 1/2 shredded Monterey Jack, cheddar or Swiss cheese, divided
1 jar marinated artichokes (Trader Joe’s), chopped
1 can (8oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Combine spinach, cream cheese, mayonnaise, Knorr vegetable recipe mix, 1 cup cheese, artichokes, water chestnuts and garlic.

Spoon into a 2-quart casserole, then top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. I added shredded Parmesan. Bake for 35 minutes or until dip is hot.
*oven at 350. I think a mini crock pot would also work well here.
Serve with pita chips or tortilla chips. Or even crackers!

Smoked Fish and Potato Soup with Chorizo

NY Times, 12/9/15 by David Tanis

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• Salt and pepper
• 6 ounces chorizo, diced
• 1 pound yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 cups chicken broth or water
• 2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts, diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 pound smoked sablefish or smoked mackerel, in 1-inch chunks (any kind of smoked fish can be used: whitefish, sturgeon, haddock, even eel or smoked mussels)
• 8 ounces piquillo peppers from a jar, cut in 1/2-inch strips (Spanish)            
• 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• Lime wedges, for serving

(6 servings)

                   

Preparation

1. Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Add chorizo and potatoes and stir to coat, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add bay leaf and broth and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. When potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 minutes, add leeks and cook for 5 minutes more. Taste broth and add salt as necessary.
3. Add smoked sable and piquillo peppers and simmer for 10 minutes, then turn off heat to let flavors mingle.
4. Reheat soup to serve, adding chopped cilantro at the last minute. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing into bowls at the table.

Tip

• Since the soup is made from smoked fish, it will keep refrigerated, and actually improves in flavor upon reheating.