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Simple Macaroni Salad

March 10, 2013

Here in Hawaii macaroni salad is a staple found in almost every “plate lunch” in town (the classic noon time island meal). Most versions are very simple: elbow macaroni cooked quite soft (never al dente) mixed with lots of mayonnaise, seasoned with salt and a bit of pepper and occasionally with thin shreds of carrot or minced onion. That’s it. I like to include green peas, chopped eggs and a little minced parsley to give the salad a refreshing taste and some color.

Macaroni Salad

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

mayonnaise (Best Foods or Hellmans)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons minced carrot

2 tablespoons finely chopped celery

2 teaspoons finely minced onion

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup green peas

3 boiled eggs, finely chopped

Preparation

Boil the pasta until fully cooked. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Drain again and spread pasta on paper towels to absorb excess water. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove pasta from refrigerator and mix in mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in carrot, celery, onion and parsley. Fold in green peas and chopped eggs. Check seasoning adding more salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Appetizers, Dinner, Eggs, Recipes, Side Dishes

Deviled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

March 5, 2013

Deviled eggs (aka eggs mimosa) are a perennial favorite. I never tire of them. Have you ever wondered about the origin of the name? The term “deviled” refers to a dish that has some kick or spiciness to it. Ingredients such as Dijon mustard and cayenne pepper are added to mayonnaise along with other savory ingredients and that is what makes the dish “deviled.” With so many variations there is no standard way to make them. Some recipes call for jalapeños, pickle relish, smoked salmon, and so on. My favorite topping is crispy pancetta. Truly delicious.

The conventional wisdom advises against buying the freshest eggs when you want to hard boil them because they are difficult to peel. Why in the world would I look for old eggs? I bought these beauties at Costco. They don’t have “old” eggs because people scoop them up so quickly they don’t have time to sit around on the shelves for very long. That being said, the “conventional wisdom” was correct: they were a bit tricky to peel. I lost a couple of whites but they didn’t go to waste and made a good snack while preparing the deviled eggs for my dinner party.

A foolproof way to hard boil eggs is to place them in a sauce pan, cover with water by an inch or two and bring to a boil (don’t walk away from the stove!). As soon as the water boils turn the heat down to medium and set your timer for 10 minutes. When done, drain sauce pan and run cold water over the boiled eggs. They will be perfectly cooked.

Sieved eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon, chives.

Thin cut pancetta.

Crispy pancetta.

Deviled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

Ingredients

8 large eggs, boiled

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon finely chopped chives

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 ounce pancetta finely diced and fried until crispy

Preparation

Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Carefully remove yolks and mash in a bowl with a fork. Add mayonnaise and mustard and stir with fork until smooth, then season with salt and pepper. Fold in chives.

Pipe filling into egg whites with a pastry bag or use a Ziploc bag (just snip off a corner for a makeshift piping bag). Top deviled eggs with crispy pancetta and minced chives. You can prepare the deviled eggs in the morning, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Dinner, Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, Veggies

A Light Caesar Salad Dressing

February 23, 2013

There’s nothing more satisfying than a good Caesar salad. I found a recipe for Caesar dressing in a Cooking Light magazine back in 1998 and have been making it ever since. Though it doesn’t require the usual raw egg, it still has a richness to it and I love the tart flavor of the fresh lemon juice. It’s important to use good cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano. Those pre-grated waxy strands of so-called parmesan just won’t do.

I found a tiny jar of anchovies at Whole Foods. It’s perfect because I don’t eat anchovies other than in Caesar salads. I am not that fond of them as some people are, draping them all over their pizzas and eating them right out of the jar. Here’s an article from NPR for those of us who might want to give anchovies another chance. Also here’s a short video on how to make anchovy paste.

If you have time to make your own croutons, cut some good sourdough bread into cubes and toss them with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a smidgen of garlic salt. Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Watch them closely so they don’t burn. The baking time will depend upon the size of the cubed bread and as we all know, individual oven temperatures can vary quite a bit.

Light Caesar Salad Dressing

Adapted from Cooking Light

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard such as Coleman’s

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

1 large garlic clove, finely minced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano for the dressing and more for sprinkling on the salad

Preparation

Whisk together mayonnaise, water, lemon juice and vinegar. Add Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, Dijon and anchovy paste. Whisk until well blended. Mix in garlic and black pepper. Once all ingredients are well combined, gently fold in the cheese.

The dressing can be made one day in advance and will firm up in the refrigerator. Prior to tossing the dressing with your greens, add a few drops of water or extra lemon juice if the dressing seems too thick. If you prefer a less tangy dressing use 1/2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

If using large romaine leaves, chop them up and toss with the dressing and croutons. If using only small leaves arrange them on your serving plate and drizzle the dressing over the lettuce leaves and croutons. In either case, sprinkle extra cheese over the entire salad before serving.

Dinner, Recipes, Side Dishes, Veggies

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta

February 18, 2013

I was never fond of Brussel sprouts. I don’t recall eating them when I was growing up and I’ve always passed them by in the grocery store, never giving them a second look. Then suddenly, some years ago they appeared on every menu whether bistro, steak house or four star restaurant. So a few years ago while in San Francisco, we ordered roasted Brussel sprouts and what a revelation. I’ll have to say that anything roasted gets high marks from me. To top it off, the pancetta adds a nice crispy factor to this dish. If you’ve never tried pancetta, get to the store and buy some.

Remove the outer leaves, trim the stem ends and slice the Brussel sprouts in half.

Fried until crispy pancetta is the highlight in any dish you add it to.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Brussel sprouts

4 ounces pancetta

Olive oil

salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Remove outer leaves from Brussel sprouts, trim stems and cut into halves.

On a large baking sheet or jelly roll pan, toss Brussel sprout halves with olive oil (just enough to lightly coat) and season with kosher salt and pepper.

Roast Brussel sprouts for approximately 20 minutes. Test to see if they are done. If they are not quite ready, roast for a few more minutes. Remove Brussel sprouts to a plate until ready to serve.

While the Brussel sprouts are roasting, dice pancetta and fry until crispy and browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a large skillet or sauté pan heat a teaspoon of olive oil or butter over medium heat. Add roasted Brussel sprouts and heat until warmed through. Add the pancetta, toss and serve.

Dinner, Pork, Recipes

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Herbs and Pancetta

February 9, 2013

Now that the weekend has finally arrived I’ll have some time to tackle some chores I’ve neglected for a while. One of which might be to sift through all of the food magazines I have stacked on the book shelves and toss a few. It’s rare that I go back to past issues once I move them from the living room to the book shelf in the back of the house. The exception to that would be Cooks Illustrated. I like to keep my back issues as reference. Their in depth analysis of every recipe is quite valuable. Speaking of weekends and food magazines, I found this recipe in the August issue of Bon Appetit (this particular one never found its way to the book shelf). I finally made this dish last Sunday. All I can say is that it’s delicious, easy to prepare, great for a dinner party. If you happen to have leftovers it makes a tasty sandwich.

Herbes de Provence and fresh rosemary are rubbed on the pork tenderloin and pancetta is wrapped and tied over the herbs.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Herbs & Pancetta

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

4 teaspoons herbes de Provence

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 pork tenderloins (about 2 pounds total)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

16 thin slices pancetta (about 8 ounces)

Preparation

Mix rosemary, herbes de Provence and oil in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture over the pork. Season the pork with salt and pepper.

Wrap pancetta slices around the pork and tie at 2 inch intervals with kitchen twine.

Gas Grill Instructions:

Heat all but one burner to high. Grill tenderloins over the hot part of the grill, turning frequently, until a crisp brown crust forms on all sides, 8 – 10 minutes. Turn heat down to medium and move tenderloins to cooler part of the grill to gently cook through. Close grill (if your grill has a built-in thermometer, aim for a temperature of about 350 degrees F.) and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of each tenderloin registers 145 degrees, 15 – 20 minutes longer.

Transfer tenderloins to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with demi-glace sauce or the plum chutney suggested in Bon Appetit.

***If using a charcoal grill, build a medium hot fire; push coals over to 1 side of the grill and continue with the gas grilling instructions above.

Breakfast, Dinner, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Crash Hot Potatoes

February 4, 2013

Roasted potatoes are always tasty, but these are even better. The potatoes are flattened before roasting which produces more irresistible crispy edges. This recipe comes from Jill Dupleix, a freelance food writer originally from Australia but now a resident of London. Speaking of Australia, the people there are famous for their humorous slang. Take Jill’s instructions for boiling the potatoes “Just bung (throw) them into a pot of salted water” she says. I love that.

The potatoes are boiled until just cooked through without being soft. Use a potato masher to squash the potatoes flat then brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and black pepper. Scatter some fresh thyme sprigs on the potatoes.

Crash Hot Potatoes

2 generous servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

coarse sea salt (Maldon works well)

freshly ground black pepper

thyme sprigs

Preparation

Heat the oven to 450 degrees

Scrub the potatoes and place in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 12 minutes until just done. The cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes, check frequently so they don’t over cook.

Drain the cooked potatoes and arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Using a potato masher, flatten the potatoes until they are twice their original diameter.

Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt and pepper. Scatter the thyme sprigs over the potatoes.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until they potatoes are crisp and golden.

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Dinner

Simple Macaroni Salad

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Deviled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

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A Light Caesar Salad Dressing

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Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta

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Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Herbs and Pancetta

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Crash Hot Potatoes

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