One Dish at A Time

01/19/2018

I’m going to see Pollan in March in March !! Thanks to my friend Frances

01/02/2018

Well, as of today, my official title is Director of Food Hospitality at First Unitarian Society. Fancy name for Chopper & Dishwasher in Chief. My first "Mini-meal" will be this coming Sunday. Am deciding between the traditional New Year's Day dish of Hoppin' John or, a Kale & White Bean cassoulet.

12/23/2017

Yes, I served another batch of Balsamic-marinated Roast Beet & Lentil Salad to attendees of a training workshop last week. It's kind of my signature dish, I guess. A truly Festive side dish which doubles an as entree for your vegetarian guests! Add bright green chopped sugar snap peas & walnuts. Get schmancy w/ dollops of goat cheese. The combination of chewy al dente lentils, soft sweet beet cubes, crisp snap peas & celery and the muted crunch of walnuts is a joy.

The great thing about a marinated bean salad -- and this one in particular -- is that the longer it sits, the better it tastes. This keeps in frig for 8 days. And, I swear, a bowl per day makes you feel healthier; certainly your bowels will agree.

Am catering a LOVELY birthday party on Thu July 3rd with fancy canapes, warm grilled flank steak in chermoula marinade served on spiral zucchini, poached salmon from Coastal Seafood, barley, quinoa, power greens, balsamic roast beet salad (see pic). One GF guest and he will be very happy. He'll even get his own dessert of ice cream and gourmet macaroon (Belle Amour).

12/23/2017

KUDOS to David Leussler and his crack team for the fab annual Solstice dinners served at First Unitarian Society (Mount Curve Ave, Mpls) the past 2 nights! I helped out last night and witnessed a well-oiled machine in action. 205 people were served a family-style dinner of roast pork, braised balsamic red cabbage, a wild rice, mushroom & chickpea pilaf, and a barley quinoa salad w/ peas & kidney beans (white, green, red, get it?).
These dishes are easy to cook. What's not easy is plattering, serving, fetching second helpings, clearing tables, washing tons of dishes & glassware and putting it all away. Unless you have aforementioned well-oiled machine of great volunteers. For example, as a server, I logged 6142 steps (2.5 miles) last night!

12/05/2017

Last week I catered an interfaith strategy session on homelessness. Cooked vegan Posole and lime cilantro cabbage slaw, with tortilla chips and cookies. Big hit. I'm serving the exact same meal for another training luncheon on Thur.
A traditional Mexican soup, hearty Posole is perfect for the winter chill. Hominy (corn), peppers in a tomato sauce broth, traditionally w/ pork, topped with a cabbage slaw, cilantro and squeeze of lime. For depth, my vegan version relies on veg broth base + lots of smoked paprika, plus beans instead of pork. Slow-cooker or 1.5 hr on stove.
Trick = if I'm not slow-cooking the canned hominy which releases more corn flavor and corn starch, I dissolve masa flour (tamale) in the soup. You can also use finely crushed tortilla chips.
Chicken variation is great too. For pork, I cut up country-style boneless ribs, which are meaty and inexpensive.
Photos: my vegan Posole (its darker color is due to smoked paprika); a verde posole; trad. posole w/ pork; canned hominy.

12/05/2017

These are the sorts of soups I make all the time and which I'll serve at First Unitarian Society's Sunday lunches.

24 Healthy Soups and Stews is a group of recipes collected by the editors of NYT Cooking

11/27/2017

LEFT-OVER MAGIC: BFF made a fab tasty dish out of my Thxgiving veggie left-overs! She combined the crimini and balsamic green beans with cubed tofu, shredded carrots & onions, then stir-fried all w/ some Worcestershire sauce and other condiments. Voila! She also used left-over cornbread stuffing to stuff roast Delicata squash and recycled the mashed pots & turkey gravy in a lamb-beef Shepherd's Pie.

11/24/2017

Thx-giving Dinner is ALL about the SIDES. I prefer them very savory & tangy, to offset the multitude of mostly blander carbs. This year I made a mildly spicy cranberry ginger apple relish and 4 easy veg sides:
1) Sauteed Crimini Mushrooms w/ garlic, onions, thyme, fennel. This time I opted to stir in a dollop of sour cream tho usually I keep it 'clean'.
2) Roasted Brussel Sprouts in a Vietnamese salad dressing topped w/ fresh Thai basil; fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic and lots of lime juice. Inspired by World Street Kitchen's FAB dish, totally worth the drive to Lyndale & 27th).
3) Balsamic-marinated Green Beans w/ walnuts.
4) Spinach Salad w/ red bell, sugar snap peas, avocado.

All except shrooms were room-temp, which helped relieve that last-minute heating scrum. I also brought a smoked salmon, goat cheese & grapes platter.

Meanwhile, my lovely BFF expertly handled the heritage turkey (dry brine) and the carbs: a cornbread bacon stuffing, mashed pots, a yummy whipped sweet potato casserole, and finally, an addictive, dense Ginger Stout bundt cake -- tastes like gingerbread -- with vanilla ice cream of course.

What a feast! We toasted our gratitude w/ a 21 y.o. Barolo brought by friends.

11/22/2017

A proper Zoodle dish

Last week's DDoW Veggie Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing. Pretty or what?

11/22/2017

So funny! But, I must point out, Zoodles are meant to have sauce/dressing, like a nice Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing or a fresh Tomato & Basil.

11/20/2017

Thursday's luncheon guests really liked my creamy Thai Pumpkin Coconut Soup w/ Garbanzo Beans ! I added 'banzos for protein as well as parboiled chopped green beans, and threw in chopped fresh Thai basil, chopped scallions & lime juice before serving. Very easy soup to make, plus Vegan & Gluten-Free.

For the 'body' I used canned pumpkin puree, canned coconut milk and veg broth. For the flavor, I sauteed onions & garlic, and mixed in Thai curry paste and generous amounts of ginger puree.

A favorite entree of mine is this + cubed butternut squash and medium-firm tofu, served over rice. Can sub in any green for green beans. A Bok Choy side dish is nice, like sauteed w/ garlic, or a slaw/salad w/ a lime & rice vinegar dressing.