Brussels Sprouts Hash

I believe that roasting is the best way to prepare most vegetables. Toss almost any vegetable with a little olive oil, season with salt & pepper, and place them in a 425-degree-or-so oven. Flavors and sugars will emerge that will make you believe that your oven is capable of granting culinary wishes.


Lately, we've been roasting a lot of broccoli, which is a nice change from the steamed version that normally graces our dinner table. Invite some Parmesan to the roasting party, and then you're crossing into gourmet territory. However, this post isn't about roasting.

I normally roast Brussels sprouts, but last night I expanded my vegetable repertoire by preparing the following recipe:

Brussels Sprouts Hash

Ingredients:

1 pounds Brussels sprouts

1 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 ounces smoked ham, coarsely chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup low-salt chicken broth

Coarse kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Trim root ends from Brussels sprouts. Using sharp knife or processor fitted with coarse shredding disk, thinly slice Brussels sprouts into shreds. I would use a knife. When I used the food processor, it grated my Brussels sprouts too finely. Is it just me, or are food processors overrated? DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
2. Melt butter with olive oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add ham; sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds.
3. Add Brussels sprouts and broth; sauté until crisp-tender but still bright green, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with coarse salt and black pepper. Transfer to serving bowl.

Here's what I learned from preparing this recipe:

1. For almost 40 years, I've been leaving the "s" off of Brussels. I've been saying "Brussel" sprouts, and it should be Brussels.
2. The "B" in Brussels should always be capitalized. Again, it took me 40 years to learn this.
3. This recipe rocks. Not only is it a quick way to cook Brussels sprouts, but it's a good base recipe for improvisation. If you don't have ham, you could use bacon or you could you toss in some leftover pulled pork. Heck, you could leave the meat out completely. There's room to add other vegetables. I could see julienned carrots or peppers in this recipe.

What improvisations would you make to this recipe?

there's always something left to learn,

muddy

Graduation Day

Back in February, I wrote about a student who was building his own mandolin. Nic finished his mandolin about 3 weeks ago, and since today is his high school graduation, I thought I'd take time to share the final product with you.
It's beautifully crafted out of cherry, which will develop a deeper red with age. Nic told me that he plans on crafting more instruments. I look forward to admiring his future craftsmanship.

For the record, the following are my five favorite songs featuring the mandolin:

1. "Blue Moon of Kentucky" by Bill Monroe
2. "Orange Blossom" from Marty Stuart's album Live at the Ryman.
3. Any song on Radney Foster's live album Are You Ready for the Big Show featuring Chris Thile on the mandolin.
   
4. "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.
5. "Tom Ames' Prayer" from Steve Earle's album Train A Comin.
   

While listening to these songs I might eat a bit of this Green Chile Hominy, which is a great accompaniment to some good bbq.

Green Chile Hominy

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 15-ounce cans of white hominy (drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid)
• 1 tablespoon juice from pickled jalapenos
• 1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese
• 10 slices bacon, fried crisp and chopped (reserve drippings)
• 1 cup chopped green chiles.
• 1-2 pickled jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Preparation:

1. Saute the onions in a little of the bacon drippings and put aside.
2. Heat the hominy in a separate saute pan, stirring often. When heated thoroughly, add the hominy liquid and jalapeno juice, bring back to peppers and bacon and all the onion.
3. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch baking pans and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, bacon and peppers.
4. At this point it can be refrigerated or even frozen, if you want to make it in advance.
5. Bake at 325 degrees until cheese on top melts and the casserole bubbles. This will take 15-20 minutes or longer if the casserole was refrigerated.
   

May every song you sing be your favorite tune,
muddy

The Best Laid Plans Are Often Squashed

There's so much I want to do in the kitchen, but sometimes I'm overwhelmed by my intentions, which leads to procrastination.

Exhibit A:

I found this great recipe for a winter squash salad over Fritter.

Since the recipe sounded appetizing and I strive to incorporate new ingredients into my cooking, I purchased a butternut squash on January 20th.

It's now the end of the April, and the squash reclines in my fruit bowl, mingling with mangoes, bananas, apples, and other fruits that come and go.

The squash has made itself quite at home, but now it's time to put the squash to work. However, I'm at a loss what to do with it, so I'm asking you for help.

Even though it's spring, do I proceed with the winter squash salad?

or

Should a make a savory butternut squash tart, even though I've never made a tart before?

or

Do you have a tastier alternative or an option that's suitable for the grill?

How should I prepare the butternut squash?

May all your plans materialize,

muddy

PS. . . The weather should be in the high 70's and sunny the rest of this week in Lawrence, KS. This info. might determine the recipe you suggest.

Corn Fritters

I'm faced with a glut of fresh corn, which is a good problem to confront. When it comes to fresh corn, I'm one dimensional in my approach to it. Generally, I just grill or boil it on the cob.

It's not a very imaginative way to prepare corn, but sometimes the simpler approaches to life yield the best results. However, I'm always striving to expand my range as a cook, so today I set out to try a new corn recipe, corn fritters. The recipe is adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, a great cookbook to reach for when you're craving a bit of inspiration.

Corn Fritter Recipe

Ingredients of 12 (2-inch) fritters:

• 4 ears fresh corn (You could also used canned or frozen corn)
  
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons fine-ground cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (If you don't have cream, you could substitute sour cream)
  
• 1 shallot minced (You could use onion also, but only mince a tablespoon)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Cut the corn from two of the cobs using a knife. Grate the remaining ears of corn over the large holes of a box grater.
   
2. Stir the egg, flour, cornmeal, cream, shallot, salt, and cayenne into the corn to make a thick batter.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter into the oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the fritters to a paper-towel-lined plate. You'll need to cook the fritters in two batches.

While this recipe will never top plain corn on the cob slathered with butter and sprinkled with a generously with salt, it's a tasty side dish that looks good on the plate. It's a dish I'll probably fix again when faced with an abundance of corn.

Take care,
muddywaters

Portabella and Asparagus Salad

After trying the somewhat hoighty-toighty Bon Appétit recipe on Monday, I was ready to return to my roots. I kept it real, practical, and simple with my beloved asparagus. This is the way we typically roll in Kansas. We're practical, down-to-earth souls.

However, we still appreciate a good meal, and this flavorful, colorful dish will turn heads and tantalize taste buds. This salad is the real deal. I'm sorry my photos don't do it justice.

Enjoy.

Portabella Mushroom and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed (used baby portabella mushrooms because they were less expensive.)
  
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, tough ends removed
• 1 point grape tomatoes, halved (I used cherry tomatoes).
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning blend (I just seasoned with salt and pepper because I didn't have any Greek seasoning, but I've included a recipe for this seasoning, which I didn't make because I didn't have any dried mint.)
  

Preparation:

• Brush mushrooms, asparagus, and tomatoes with olive oil.
  

• Grill mushrooms until tender, 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally. Cut mushrooms into thin strips; place in a medium bowl.

• Grill asparagus 3 to 4 minutes, turn occasionally. Cut asparagus into 2-inch lengths; add to mushrooms in bowl.

• Grill tomatoes, cut side down, 3 minutes. Add to mushrooms and asparagus in bowl.

• Drizzle lemon juice over vegetables; sprinkle with Greek seasoning, tossing gently to coats.

• Serve.

Greek Seasoning

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

Panko Crusted Asparagus

Excuse me while I ramble a bit. I promise I'll eventually get to the Panko Crusted Asparagus.

I don't always feel comfortable at parties. Much of it has to do with me being an introvert, so when I attend a party I feel like a vegetarian at a BBQ - I feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and out of place. I also spend a lot of time worrying about appearing interesting to the other guests. I guess, I'm still that junior high boy wearing corduroy pants who's approaching the cute girl at the junior high dance. At age 38, you'd think I'd be over this by now.

By now you're wondering what this Oprah-like confession has to do with asparagus. Well, my friends, when I'm socializing I imagine scenarios like the following:

I'm at a party and someone approaches me and asks, "How do you prepare your asparagus?"

I reply, "Well, I simply steam it."

Then there's an awkward silence. The individual finishes his/her drink, searching for a way to escape any more conversation with a boring guy who thinks steaming asparagus is the best and most interesting way to prepare it."

I know this is a bit strange. My friends, welcome to my world. I live inside my head too often, and I do imagine such scenarios. I know I shouldn't care what others think about the way I prepare asparagus, but I do. I don't want to be a close-minded dolt who refused to expand his culinary horizons.

I'll be honest with you. I do like my vegetables prepared simply. I'm the guy who cringes when someone dips a piece of broccoli in ranch dressing. Please don't deep fry, glaze, or drizzle a sauce over my vegetables. I like my vegetables naked. I want their full unadorned glory and nutritional value to shine down on me because I believe salvation can be found in a plate of well, prepared vegetables.

With the abundance of asparagus in the local markets, I've decided to dedicate myself this week to finding new ways to prepare asparagus and incorporate this wonderful vegetable into my culinary repertoire. Today's recipe is from Bon Appétit and possesses a very unwieldy title, Roasted Sesame-Panko Crusted Asparagus. Therefore, I condensed the title.

Panko-Crusted Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar, divided
• 3 teaspoons soy sauce, divided
• 1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger, divided
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)*
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 pound thick asparagus spears, trimmed, bottom 2/3 of each spear peeled
• 2 1/4 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon golden brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce*
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Oil large rimmed baking sheet. Whisk mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon grated ginger in pie dish. Mix panko and sesame seeds in another pie dish. Toss asparagus in mayonnaise mixture to coat (This part was extremely painful for me to do), then roll in panko mixture. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Roast until browned, turning once, about 16 minutes.

• Meanwhile, whisk 1 teaspoon water, brown sugar, chili-garlic sauce, remaining 3 teaspoons vinegar, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil in small bowl for sauce.

• Transfer asparagus to platter; sprinkle with salt. Drizzle with sauce.

*Available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets.

My final verdict: I couldn't bring myself to drizzle my glorious asparagus with sauce. Rolling it in mayo traumatized me enough, so I drew the line when it came to drizzling. Much of the panko fell off during the cooking process. I wish it would have browned and coated more evenly.

This flavor wasn't bad, but I don't think it trumped plain ol' steam asparagus. Nothing beats the simplicity of nude asparagus. I don't think I'll prepare this recipe again.

Wednesday, I'll try an asparagus salad that is much simpler and mirrors my cooking philosophy.

Take care,
muddywaters