Chipotle tacos and salsa and Indian dal

So far this week we've made two recipes. First, Rick Bayless' Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos with Avocado, Red-Skin Potatoes and Romaine. As you probably know by now, Gina and I LOVE Mexican food, especially Rick's recipes. So this was the next one we picked out of the Mexican Everyday recipe book.


Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos with Avocado, Red-Skin Potatoes and Romaine & Chipotle Salsa With Pan Roasted Tomatillos

So, this recipe we tried was pretty simple. Just used some chicken that we had on hand, along with some leftover chipotle chilies and a potato. Unfortunately, the avocado that we had was not ripe enough to use in this recipe. We also decided to use the rest of the canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce we had to make some chipotle salsa with pan roasted tomatillos (who doesn't love tomatillo salsa?). We'll start with the salsa:

Who knew making salsa was so simple? Just basically roast the tomatillos and some garlic until the tomatillos are soft. Throw them into the food processor (or blender) w/ some chipotle chilies, and it's done and amazing. The recipe can be found here: http://ellysaysopa.com/2009/08/30/chipotle-salsa-with-pan-roasted-tomatillos/.

Picture of the roasted garlic and tomatillos

The finished product!

Now for the tacos, as I said they were very simple to make. We used balsamic vinegar and omitted the avocado (although it may have been better with it). The recipe for the tacos can be found here: http://www.sidewalkshoes.com/2009/05/chipotle-chicken-salad-tacos-with.html. In any case, the dish was still very good. We also decided to reheat the corn tortillas Rick Bayless style and a new margarita recipe that we found online (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/margaritas/Detail.aspx). The margaritas were extremely simple: limeade concentrate, tequila, and triple sec. And also, they tasted just as good as most restaurant margs! I had to go back for a second! The tortillas were easily reheated by wrapping in a moist paper towel, then loading into a plastic bag (sandwich bag). We put it in the microwave to steam for ~4 minutes on 40% power. The tortillas came out very moist and pliable (they didn't fall apart like corn tortillas do sometimes). Made for very good tacos.

Below are some pictures:

Finished tacos

Tacos with Margarita in the background

Margarita close-up

 We like the simplicity of Rick Bayless recipes. There aren't too many ingredients, and they're pretty inexpensive. The flavor of the tacos was interesting, the balsamic vinegar with the potatoes made for an interesting combination. After refrigeration, the flavors of the vinegar and chipotle chilies really came out, I would recommend at least some chilling before serving. Overall, Gina and I would give this recipe 4/5 stars.

Next, we decided to try something new. Even though we love Mexican, we talked with a friend, Teja, this weekend who recently moved here from India. He recommended that we try Dal, which is a traditional Indian lentil dish.

Dal over Rice


This recipe was relatively adventurous for us, but we found a simple recipe on allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Masoor-Daal/Detail.aspx). Even though this recipe got good reviews, we wanted to go with something a little bit more authentic. We found one review on the website that had their own version of the Dal recipe, which we recreated below:

1 cup Lentil
2 diced carrots
1 medium onion
1 large tomato
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1.5" peeled minced ginger root
1/2 cup chipped cilantro

1. We soaked the lentils for ~4 hrs before cooking (drain before cooking)
2. Boil the lentils and carrots with about 1 inch of water covering them with the cayenne pepper, salt, 1/4tsp of the turmeric, and 1/4 tsp of the garam masala until cooked
3. Meanwhile, cook your white rice (we used a rice cooker)
4. Then sautee the onion in the oil until soft
5. Add the garlic, ginger, and remaining spices to the onions, sautee ~5 min
6. Add tomato to the onion mixture with the cilantro, cook until tomatoes are soft
7. Add onion mixture to cooked lentils (should still have quite a bit liquid in the lentils), simmer for 5-10 mins
8. Serve over rice, salt if necessary
9. Enjoy!

Pictures below:

After adding the onion mixture to the lentils (with a little extra cilantro)

The finished product (garnished with cilantro)

Honestly, this was my first time eating or making Dal. I was very impressed with how much the spices really stood out. In particular, the clove flavor/smell from the garam masala really made the dish. The dish perfectly spicy (you can always add less cayenne if needed). I am a huge fan of fresh cilantro, so that's an added bonus. I felt it needed just a little bit more salt, so add it as necessary! Additionally, the dish is loaded with nutrients and low in calories. I highly recommend Dal for anyone who hasn't tried making this yummy, easy-to-make Indian dish. Thanks Teja!

Happy Cooking!

Gina and Zach

Mushroom Stroganoff and Mexican MOLE!

Mushroom Stroganoff

Hey all, so we made some more yummy dishes this week. First off, we made a mushroom stroganoff recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. We wanted an easy dish that night, and it definitely delivered. Basically just boiled up some pasta (fettuccine) and made a nice creamy sauce. The sauce called for sour cream, however we substituted non-fat plain yogurt (which we had on hand). It didn't have quite the same taste as normal stroganoff, but it was still pretty good (with a little pepper). The recipe can be found: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/mushroom-stroganoff/ (here). Button mushrooms are far cheaper than Shitake (which was recommended), this is what we used and it still tasted great! We also made two side dishes: boiled carrots and broccoli. The carrots went well with the dried dill, the broccoli just stayed as is. The sides were refreshing with the heavy main course.

A picture of the Mushroom Stroganoff and the Boiled Carrots and Broccoli!

Chicken and Oaxacan Yellow Mole with Green Beans and Chayote

So, BEST recipe we've tasted (so far) from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday. You can find the recipe here: http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/chicken-in-oaxaca-yellow-mole-with-green-beans-and-chayote-or-potatoes. Where to start? Well, initially we had some trouble finding the dried guajillo chili peppers that were requested. Luckily, we live in L.A. and there are quite a few Mexican Grocerias nearby. I'm sure that something could be substituted. The groceria we went to had plenty of dried chili selections and more. We know that we'll be able to find whatever we need to make future Bayless recipes. Started with some yummy Chayote squash

 Gina modeling the Chayote squash, you can find this in just about any grocery store.

Dried Guajillo Chilies and Chayote Squash

So this recipe was relatively straightforward, just blend up the guajillo chilies with some spices (Allspice, cinnamon, oregano, and cumin)  and chicken broth (although we used vegetable broth) in a blender. Then we just let it simmer in the pan until it made a paste. Then added more vegetable broth and masa harina (corn flour). Simmered a little more, then threw in chicken, green beans, and chayote pieces. Simmered some more and it was IMMACULATE! Mouthwatering, perfect amount of spice. The spices really came out in the flavor along with the chili, I would highly recommend this recipe to everyone. Check out the link, it has all of the steps. Gina loved it because of the flavor and the nutrition. It is a very simple recipe with simple ingredients that really pack in the nutrients without the calories. Lots of vegetables and spices with very little fat!

Simmering the vegetables and chicken in the mole sauce

The finished product with some cilantro on top.

Bread, Cookies, and Burgers, oh my!

We have been cooking a lot this week, and in the last 2 days have made bread and hamburger buns, cinnamon and sugar cookies (we both have a serious sweet tooth), and turkey burgers.

Baking Bread
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Simple-Whole-Wheat-Bread/Detail.aspx
Zach and I bought a nice bread loaf pan from Williams and Sonoma (gosh it was expensive!) but apparently it is a great one to use for homemade bread. It reflects light in just a way that makes the color of the crusts perfect. This is the second time we have made bread, and this time we added gluten to make it more like store-bought sandwich bread. We also added sunflower and poppy seeds and salt (since we forgot to add it the first time!).

Letting the dough rise

I make Zach knead, but he likes the workout! 

 Our hamburger buns

 See the golden color on the left loaf? That's because of the fancy bread pan!

The bread on the right is with a cheap bread pan, and the color is a bit darker. 

The bread turned out great both times we have made it, although the added gluten helped with the texture the second time. It's great sandwich bread, and we highly recommend this recipe to anyone who wants to bake their own bread! The whole process took about 3 1/2 hours because it has to rise 3 separate times, but it's totally worth it.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
I found an easy cookie recipe from my cookbook College Vegetarian Cooking. Luckily, I had all the ingredients the night Zach and I had a sugar craving and whipped it out in 20 minutes. They weren't the best sugar cookies we have ever had because they were more chewy than we're used to, but definitely satisfied our craving.

 Turkey Burgers and Fries
Craving burgers, we tried a turkey pesto burger recipe from George Foreman Indoor Grilling Made Easy. It contained pesto, parmesan cheese, and added pine nuts. It was moist, so Zach was impressed by that because he says a lot of turkey burgers are dry, and really flavorful. The pesto we made from our homegrown basil plant. For the hamburger buns, we used the rolls we had made when baking the bread. They weren't as soft as hamburger buns, but when toasted they worked well.

We thought Cajun fries sounded delicious, so we made some! We used cajun seasoning, oregano, tobasco, olive oil, and pepper, and baked them in the oven on 400F for about 30 minutes. They were crispy and spicy, a very nice complement to our pesto turkey burgers.

Until next time!

Mexican, EVERYDAY

Got a new book from Rick Bayless because I see him on TV on the regular and I love Mexican food! Rick is a chef who owns several Mexican restaurants, but he's a fricken genius. Gina and I have been making good stuff from his book: Mexican Everyday which tries to take great Mexican dishes and reinvent them to make something you can make at home on a weeknight with all of the true Mexican flavors (not like the tex-mex place down the road).

Chorizo, Potato, and Mushroom Tacos (with Poblanos!) and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

 http://www.raleys.com/www/apps/recipes/recipe.jsp?recipeid=835976 (Taco recipe here)
http://www.kalamazoogourmet.com/rbme154.php (tomatillo salsa recipe)

Hand roasting the poblano pepper

Salsa, the finished product (SOOOOOOOOOOO Good)

Finished product (before plating)

Served on corn tortillas, muy bien!

Chipotle Shrimp and Chayote Squash served on Gulf Coast-Style White Rice Pilaf

http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/chipotle_shrimp.html

Sprinkle some cilantro on it, 5/5 stars: no question. Plus it has a spicy kick to it. 

Or served on a tortilla (but the pilaf was better)