Easter

Aside from Thanksgiving, Easter is probably my favorite food holiday. Roast lamb, rice pie, ham pie (pizzagain)...all things that I love, made even more special because I only have them once a year on Easter and the fact that they are all expertly made by my mother. Oh yeah, how could I forget the Cadbury Mini Eggs...I really love those too!

Here's my contribution to this years meal, two loaves of french bread and an Easter Rye.

Whether or not you celebrate Easter (you can still have the Mini Eggs at least), have a great day!

Braised Escarole with Garlic and Oil

The other day I was faced with a head of escarole, a leftover ingredient from a pot of soup that I never made, that I had no idea what to do with. Roasted chicken sandwiches were already on the menu for dinner, so I figured I could easily turn the escarole into a side of some sort. My wife told me that her grandmother likes to saute escarole with a bit of oil and garlic (knowing her grandmother, I'm sure it is actually WAY MORE than a bit) and that it comes out bitter, but that's the way grandma likes it. I was into the oil and garlic, but not so much the bitter. After looking through a few recipes online, I decided that I would go with a quick braise, which hopefully would result in nice soft (but not mushy) greens, without me having to worry about burning garlic over a longer cooking time. Since I was having chicken, I chose chicken broth as a braising liquid. I decided to add some onions for a little sweetness to balance the bitterness of the escarole, and a little crushed red pepper for a touch of heat. It all came together quite nicely. In a moment of inspiration, I did what my dad would probably do, and ended up putting the escarole on the sandwich, which was really nice.

I liked it so much that I bought two more heads the next day and made it to accompany the turkey burgers I was having. I can imagine this would be great stirred into some pasta with a little grated cheese, or with some sausage on a roll, or maybe with some cannellini beans...

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Start by cutting, washing well, and drying the escarole. Heat the oil over medium for a few minutes, then saute the onion, garlic, and red pepper for a few minutes.


Add the escarole and braising liquid, stir to combine, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Give it a stir and it is ready to go.


Makes a great side or sandwich topping.

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Braised Escarole with Oil and Garlic
About 30 minutes - Serves 2 to 4 as a side

• 1 large head escarole, washed, dried, and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  
• 1/2 of a medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth, dry white wine, etc.)
• salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until it shimmers but is not smoking
2. Add the onions, garlic, and red pepper and saute for 3 minutes
3. Add the escarole and chicken broth, stirring to combine ingredients
4. Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes
5. Remove the cover, stir, salt to taste and serve

Use a non-meat based braising liquid for an all-veggie version of this recipe.

If you would like the escarole to be a bit drier, uncover after 10 minutes and cook for the last 5 minutes uncovered to boil off some of the remaining liquid.

Falafel and Pita

There were three lunch trucks outside the library where I worked in college, one of which was affectionately known as the "Greek Truck." I am pretty sure that this had to do with the fact that they had gyros and a big Greek guy, who whenever you would order anything with the works, would yell into the back of the truck to whomever was working the grill, "Give me a gyro all the way!" From this man I had my first pita with hummus, sprouts, and cucumber and I was hooked right away. Soon after I had my first falafel, and all was right with the world. Now anything on a pita always makes me think of that lunch truck and the man who taught me that it's not pronounced "jahy-ro," but "jeer-oh."

I have made a few pita recipes over the past year or so with pretty good results, but I have tried a different recipe pretty much every time. Recently, when I saw a post about pita on the Smitten Kitchen blog, I knew that I had yet another new recipe to test. Now, what to put in the pita once they were baked? Falafel sounded good to me, so I decided to try my hand at frying some up. Except for one somewhat failed attempt many years ago at one of my first all-veggie meals to try and impress my new fiance (she married me anyway so I guess those falafel couldn't have been too bad), I have never made falafel at home. I perused a few recipes and settled on this one from Mark Bittman.

The pita recipe worked beautifully. The dough was very easy to work with and the pita puffed nicely in the oven.

Now I think I'm finally ready to take the plunge, settle down, and commit to a pita recipe.

The falafel were very good as well. I cut down the cayenne in the recipe by half and forgot to add the onion, although I don't think the falafel were any worse for it. I am definitely going to be making this recipe again as well. I prefer a light, tangy yogurt sauce on my falafel rather than a tahini-based sauce. I just combined some yogurt with a bit of lemon juice, some minced garlic, and a dash of salt, pepper, and cumin. Delicious!

All I can say is, "Give me a falafel, all the way!"

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Pita Bread Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Falafel Recipe from Mark Bittman's Bitten Blog

Brown Rice and Black Bean Soft Tacos

A few weeks ago I inadvertently recreated one of my old favorite fast food items. I had not eaten anything from any fast food restaurant in at least 5 years, probably even longer, but nonetheless I found myself experiencing a bit of food déjà vu. I was pretty sure I had never made a burrito (actually it was more of a taco due to over-stuffing) with this exact combination of ingredients, but I knew I had eaten it before. Then it struck me, the Seven Layer Burrito from Taco Bell - rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato (I looked it up). Of course, my dinner was slightly different as I had mashed avocado rather than guacamole, crumbled goat cheese instead of cheddar, and salsa instead of tomato, but the essence remained the same. Fond fast food memories came flooding back, making me feel all nostalgic, as well as slightly nauseous, for times spent with good friends driving around and...well, eating at fast food restaurants.

The amazing technique for cooking the brown rice used in this recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated Magazine, and it has been a revelation for me. I know it sounds pathetic, but I have never been able to cook brown rice with any type of consistency. This technique has you bake the rice in the oven, which was completely new to me. I have made brown rice this way at least ten times now, and its always come out exactly the same, that is to say, absolutely perfect. I'll never simmer it on the stove top again. The only down side is that you need to start 1 hour and 20 minutes before you want to use the rice, so some planning ahead is definitely required. Alternatively you can make a large batch of rice in advance, and freeze it in smaller portions to defrost and reheat as needed.

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Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of brown rice into an 8-inch, oven safe baking dish. Measure out the spices and bring the water and oil to a boil.

Stir the spices into the boiling water and pour it over the rice. Pouring the water into the dish will move the rice around, so just use a spoon to coax it back into a nice even layer.

Cover tightly with a double layer of foil and place into the oven for 1 hour.

While the rice cooks, open up a can of black beans, rinse them and drain them well. When the rice is done, make sure to uncover it carefully or you can get a pretty nasty steam burn.

Fluff the rice with a fork, and place the foil loosely back over the top for 5 minutes.

While you are waiting for the rice, mash the avocado. You don't want to do this too far in advance because the avocado tends to discolor quickly. Stir the beans into the rice and allow it to sit uncovered for a few more minutes.

To assemble your soft tacos, start with a medium size (about 8 inch) flour tortilla. Spread as much sour cream as you like in the middle (I generally use about 1 tablespoon per taco).

Spoon approximately 1/8 of the rice mixture onto the sour cream and top with some goat cheese. I got the idea for goat cheese in tacos from this great recipe by Rick Bayless, the undisputed king of authentic Mexican cuisine in America. I know goat cheese sounds a little weird for tacos, but I think it adds a really nice tangy flavor and creaminess that you don't get from grated cheddar or jack cheese, but you can use whatever you like of course.

Next comes a little of your favorite salsa spooned over the top and a generous dollop of mashed avocado. If tomatoes are in season, I'm sure some fresh, diced tomato would be great, but if they're not in season, skip the tomato and use the salsa.

Top with some nice crispy romaine lettuce and you're ready to eat.

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Brown Rice and Black Bean Soft Tacos
1 hour 30 minutes (about 10 minutes if rice and beans is cooked in advance) Makes 8 to 10 tacos

• 1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice
• 2 1/3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained well
• 8 to 10 flour tortillas
• sour cream
• 4 ripe avocados
• crumbled goat cheese
• your favorite salsa
• romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into bite size pieces

To make the rice and beans:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven t0 375 degrees
2. Place rice in 8-inch square, oven safe baking dish
3. Place water and oil in small saucepan and bring to a boil
4. Stir spices into boiling water
   
5. Pour boiling water over rice, smooth rice into an even layer with a spoon
6. Cover tightly with a double layer of foil
7. Place into oven for 1 hour
8. Remove from oven and carefully uncover
9. Fluff rice with fork, then place foil loosely over top and allow rice to sit for 5 minutes
10. Uncover, mix in beans with fork, and allow the rice to sit uncovered for 5 more minutes

To assemble the tacos:

1. Prepare flour tortillas according to package directions
2. Place a tortilla on a plate and spread about 1 tablespoon of sour cream evenly over the middle of the tortilla
3. Place 1/8 to 1/10 of the rice and beans (about 1/2 cup) onto the tortilla
4. Top the rice and beans with a few crumbles of goat cheese (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)
   
5. Place a few spoons of salsa on top of the cheese (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)
6. Top the salsa with a generous dollop of mashed avocado (about 1/3 cup or more if you like)
7. Sprinkle a few pieces of lettuce on top
8. Repeat as many times as you like

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Brown rice is much healthier for you than white, but it takes considerably longer to prepare. The cooking method in this recipe makes delicious rice, is very simple, and is hands off for almost all of the cooking time leaving you free to prepare the rest of your meal. Use the brown rice cooking technique above whenever you need brown rice, simply omit the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and beans.