Black Beans with Pork

Balancing the need for healthy yet tasty meals with full-time work and other interests presents challenges to even the most committed cook. Tonight's slow cooker recipe will also be a warm, spicy and quick dinner for Monday and Tuesday in addition to a tonight's Sunday supper. This dish holds up well with flavors that meld yet remain strong.

Black Beans & Pork
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cans (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pint home canned tomatoes (or substitute 14.5 oz diced tomatoes)
1 small can diced jalapenos
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 cups cooked rice

In a slow cooker bowl, toss together pork, chili powder, coriander, salt and pepper. Stir in onion, beans, jalapenos and tomatoes. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for six hours.

Using a potato masher, mash beans slightly until mixture is thickened. Serve bean mixture over rice garnished with cilantro and yogurt or sour cream.

Serves 6.

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Cous Cous

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Cous Cous
Originally uploaded by kellik

Getting home late from work can make you quickly jettison plans for a homecooked dinner. Tonight I talked myself into this recipe I invented inspired by Emily's Lebanese in Northeast Minneapolis.

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Couscous

1 lb ground lamb
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup whole almonds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1 bunch parsley
2 cups couscous
2 cups chicken broth
1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Boil two cups chicken broth. Add couscous and remove from heat, cover. After 5 minutes remove lid and fluff with fork.

2. In another saucepan boil one cup of water. Add almonds and let sit in water for one minute. Drain and remove skin. Set aside.

3. Saute chopped onion, garlic and 1/2 the parsley in olive oil. When onions are translucent, remove from heat and mix with couscous.

4. To the ground lamb add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp cumin. Form into meatballs and brown on all sides. Do not cook through.

5. Transfer couscous mixture to baking dish and top with meatballs. Sprinkle with extra cumin and cinnamon and drizzle with juice of half a lemon and olive oil and half the remaining parsley.

6. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

7. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and lemon juice.

Mirror of Korea

Friday evening we met another couple at Mirror of Korea in St. Paul. (An area along University Avenue that boasts several Korean restaurants locally referred to as Koreatown.) I've had very limited exposure to Korean food and have not had any in the Twin Cities area.

We selected the following from the large and extensive menu:

• Appetizers: Man Du Twee Gim (fried dumplings) and Dong Gu Rang Tang (Meat Filled Pancakes) - both were crispy, meaty and delicious.

• Entrees: Kim Chee Jeon (kim chee pancake with pork) and Samm Sum Jjahm Bbong (noodles with spicy soup and five different seafood and vegetables). The kim chee jeon was crispy and mild with a rich tasting pork. The soup was a beautiful red treasure bowl filled with lucious seafood including shrimp, crab legs, oyster and is filling enough for two.

• Side dishes: At least eight side dishes filled our table with various kinds of kim chee including pickled mung beans with sesame oil and spicy red pickled cabbage. These items don't appear on the menu so it will be another trip (or several) to discover what each of these condiments is.

• Dessert: Two of us had a luscious little red velvet cake that contained a small cake layer, a layer of rich vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Really beautiful!

• Drinks: The drinks menu includes wine and beer. I had OB Lager, a Korean beer and others had plum wine and shiraz.

Our total was around $100 for 4 people and includes drinks, apps, entrees and desserts. A reasonably good deal with both couples taking large carry out containers.

Cons:

• Not much ambience
• Friday night and they closed at 9 pm which cramped our socializing a bit
• Restaurant was a bit chilly
• Wait-staff was prompt and attentive but not much of a presence. Will ask for explanations of the side dishes when we go again.
  

Mozza Mia Pizza

Mozza Mia Pizza
Originally uploaded by kellik

Met a couple of pals at a newish Twin Cities hot spot, Mozza Mia. On a Wednesday night, the place was doing a swift business. They serve Neopolitan pizzas, appetizers, salads, fresh mozzarella made onsite and baked pastas.

My companions and I had the following from their menu:

• Siciliana salad: Fresh fennel, orange, arugula, pine nut, citrus vinaigrette
• Mozzarella Caprese salad: Vine-ripened tomato, fresh basil
• Salumi: Tomato, fennel salami, aged provolone, peperoncini pizza
• Quattro Stagioni: Artichoke, mushroom, onion, Cotto ham, Fontina, fresh egg (really spectacular looking--see photo)
• Baked gnocchi with marinara sauce
  

Pros:

• Generous glasses of wine served in a mini-carafe
• Generous pizza and salad portions
• Reasonable prices on pizzas
• Attentive staff
• Fun atmosphere
  

Cons:

• Mediocre mozzarella
• Wait staff unfamiliar with wine; unable to make a recommendation
• Mediocre entrees

Likely won't rush to visit again but a good place to gather before seeing a movie or meeting friends as it is centrally located.

Where: Mozza Mia, 3910 West 50th Street, Edina
Reservations online: Yes, Open Table

Plantains with Cuban Black Beans and Rice and Andouille

Plantains with Cuban Black Beans and Rice and Andouille
Originally uploaded by kellik

Tonight's work night dinner came together quickly with the aid of Trader Joe's Cuban Black Beans. Served with white rice cooked to perfection in a rice cooker, andouille sausage (from local farm, Pastures Aplenty) and fried plantains.

Plantains are a starchier member of the banana family used in Caribbean and Latin cooking. I can buy them at my local supermarket.

To peel the plantains:
1) Cut the ends off the plantains
2) Cut the plantains into 2-3 inch chunks
3) Cut slits down the sides of the chunks and peel off the skin in sections

I pan fried two plantains in 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil and once softened and carmelized on each side, seasoned with Hawaiian red sea salt and lime juice.

Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken
Originally uploaded by kellik

There's something about a house filled with the smells of a roasting chicken. It's winter here in the upper Midwest and any chance to hunker in with a tasty meal is welcome.

My approach to roast chicken pays tribute to Mark Bittman and 40 clove garlic chicken.

Here's my rough recipe:

Starting with one 5.75 lb roasting chicken, I wash thoroughly, rub the skin with olive oil and then sprinkle generously with kosher salt both inside and out. I halved and peeled cloves from two heads of garlic and placed these, along with lemon quarters, into the cavity of the bird. I also placed halved garlic cloves under the skin of the chicken after first loosening the skin with a wooden spoon handle. I placed garlic and lemon quarters in the bird cavity and also stuffed the clove halves under the chicken skin. I then sprinkled the skin generously with herbes de provence and black pepper. The bird is placed on a rack in a roasting in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes.

While the chicken cooks during this initial 30 minutes, I peeled 6 carrots, halved 12 small potatoes and 2 onions and broke 2 garlic heads down into cloves. The cloves can remain unpeeled. After 30 minutes at 450 degrees, I pulled the roasting pan from the oven and placed the vegetables and garlic around the chicken making sure nothing is crowded. I added one cup of water to the roasting pan and turned the oven down to 325 degrees. I continued to cook the bird for another hour until both bird and vegetables were cooked through continuing to add water to the roasting pan as needed to keep drippings from burning.

Remove bird and vegetables and keep warm on serving platter by tenting with aluminum foil. Pour an additional cup of water into the roasting pan and use a spatula to loosen brown bits from the bottom. Perform these tasks with roaster over stovetop so you can turn burners on low while stirring up the carmelized bits. Transfer drippings to a gravy boat to serve with vegetables and chicken during serving.

I also served warm bread along side the meal for smearing those tasty roasted garlic clove contents.

Sake Thursday

Voices in the Mist Sake
Originally uploaded by kellik

I tried sake for the first time on our Montana vacation in September. We visited an Asian fusion restaurant in Missoula, Iza, and the waitress spent some time educating us about their sake menu. We decided to give it a try and really responded to the dry, clean favors. We tried both the Tozai Voices in the Mist (unfiltered) and Rihaku Wandering Poet. The unfiltered Voices in the Mist seems to taste a bit better at room temperature and Wandering Poet is good a little chilled.
We have been able to find these locally at Surdyk's and plan to try a few more sake varieties.

Tonight's dinner was less successful. I tried Stir Fry Chicken Paprikash from February's Everyday with Rachael Ray. The recipe calls for a 1/3 cup sour cream to be added at the end of the recipe. I was expecting a smooth and creamy, slightly dairy taste. Combined with the recipe's sweet paprika, the result was uninspiring--underflavored and too sweet. I cut up a fresh pineapple to serve along side and this provided a nice punch of color.

Sunday Night Thai

thai basil chile beef
Originally uploaded by kellik

Cooking shows are a form of porn, as many of us know. The beautiful colors and textures, the close-ups of sizzling garlic, the slow motion hand washing with fuzzy background music. A week or so ago, Rick and I were wasting time that should have been spent on household chores watching Everyday Food, a Martha Stewart production on PBS.

One of the chefs was making a Thai beef dish with ground beef that was served on coconut rice. The recipe looked a bit mediocre to me but Rick was intrigued so I made a note to get the ingredients and make it soon. The recipe contains all the ingredients you'd expect to see in Thai cooking: coconut milk, fish sauce, jasmine rice and lime.

I was a bit worried that the jasmine rice, cooking for 30 minutes in coconut milk, would taste more like rice pudding than a foundation for the spicy beef. I was wrong. Although I can't say I would eat the rice alone, it made a creamy base for the warm, spicy beef.

Here's the full recipe:

1 1/4 c. jasmine rice

1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk (I used lite)

coarse salt

2 T, plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce

2 T. plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 T. vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 long, hot peppers, or red jalapeno chiles, seeded and sliced into 2 inch matchsticks

1 1/4 lbs ground beef

1 c. coarsely packed torn fresh basil leaves

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, 3/4 c water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

2. When rice is almost done, combine the fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl, set aside. Heat a cast iron skillet or wok over high heat. Add oil and heat; add garlic and half the chiles. Cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until completely browned, about 4 minutes. Add soy mixture and cook 30 seconds. Add basil and remaining chiles and stir to combine. Serve beef over coconut rice with lime wedges.

Serves 6

Comfort Food: Beef and Barley Soup

January in Minnesota can be a tough one. Holidays are over, spring is a ways off, and it can take some fortitude to just keep getting up each day. I'm a fan of the earthy flavors of mushrooms, barley and beef that have cooked for a couple of hours to let the flavors meld, the meat tenderize and the whole house to smell warm and homey.

Another library cookbook find is Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden by Jeanne Kelly. She had a lovely recipe for Beef Barley soup that is chocked full of wild mushrooms including shitake, oyster, cremini (baby portabellas) and porcini. A little heavy on the thyme otherwise the recipe was divine and reheated well for leftovers. An earlier version of this recipe appeared in Bon Appetit in 1999.

Here's the recipe for 8 from page 67 of the above cookbook:
2 T olive oil
12 oz assorted fresh wild mushrooms (see above)
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs stew meat
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 c. dried porcini mushrooms, broken into pieces
1/2 lb parsnips, peeled and sliced (omitted, Rick doesn't like parsnips)
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
3/4 c barley
3 T chopped fresh thyme or 2 T dried thyme (I recommend using 1 1/2 T dried)
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in heavy, large pot over medium-high heat. Add the fresh mushrooms and onions. Saute until the mushrooms brown, about 18 minutes.

Add the beef and garlic and cook until the beef browns, about 6 minutes. Add 3 cups water, the porcini mushroonms, and the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Ringing in 2011 with Noodles

We stayed in for New Years Eve this year but I took the opportunity to make a special dinner. I love both Asian food but especially noodles. My friend, Ben, and I had met midweek for pho at Pho 79 and I was not only craving more and wanting to give Rick the chance to taste some but wanted to create a more satisfying experience with more meat, better noodles. and lots more veggies--mung beans, cilantro, lime juice.

From the library I checked out Noodles Every Day by Corinne Tang. I chose Rice Noodle Soup with Ground Pork and Shrimp from page 113. Then I headed out to United Noodle, only a few blocks away, to get the supplies I'd need including: rice stick noodles, small dried shrimp and chili-garlic sauce. I went back the next day to pick up a couple of those soup spoons you see at Asian restaurants.

Photos of the result are posted to my Flickr account. Other items for dinner included steamed pork and vegetable buns, sake and buttermilk vanilla panna cotta.

Here's the noodle recipe for 6 servings:

8 to 10 oz. dried narrow flat rice sticks, soaked until pliable
24 small headless tiger shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups mung bean sprouts
2 1/2 quarts Southeast Asian stock (I used Kikkoman Hon Tsuyu soup and sauce base; directions for mixing with water are on the container)
1 lb coarsely ground pork (I formed into balls)
1/2 cup small, dried shrimp
Fish sauce
Freshly ground coarse black pepper
3 limes, quartered
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 scallions, chopped and thinly sliced
6 fresh red Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
chili-garlic sauce (I used bottled from United Noodles)

Boil water and cook the noodles until tender but firm, about 10 seconds. Using a strainer to scoop out the noodles, drain them and divide among the bowls. Cook the shrimp in the same water until opaque, about 1 minute. Drain, and distribute the shrimp among the noodle servings. Top each one with mung bean sprouts.

In another large pot, bring the soup base and water to boil over high heat. Working in batches, put the pork balls in a ladle, adding some hot broth to it and release into the hot broth. Add the dried shrimp, if using, or season with fish sauce and pepper to taste. Continue to boil for 5 minutes or until pork is cooked through.

Ladle the broth, along with some pork balls and dried shrimp into each bowl, making sure to cover the noodles and bean sprouts. Taking a lime wedge or two, squeeze fresh juice over each bowl, and garnish with scallions, fresh cilantro and chili-garlic sauce.