Reader's Challenge: What's for Dinner?

Dawn and I have had a lot of fun with Cats. Crooners. Cook. over the past few months. We’ve enjoyed sharing our joy of cooking with all of you. Our blog is still young, but we’re growing. In fact we’ve just passed 1000 pageviews. In celebration of that, Dawn and I want your help. Each of us has chosen three potential dishes and we want you to choose what we’re going to make. We’ll each make the dish from our list that receives the most support from you, our readers. We’re planning to make these dishes this weekend.

Please send us your comments telling us what you want to see for dinner! Thanks everyone for participating.

The three dishes I’ve chosen are as follows:

Star Anise and Pomegranate Flank Steak: Flank steak marinated for 24 hours in a pomegranate soy base then grilled and garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Ossobuco: An Italian classic. Fresh veal, cooked with fresh vegetables.

Rack of Lamb with Mint Pesto and Warm Gorgonzola Potato Salad: I think the title says it all.


The three dishes Dawn has chosen are:

Wild Greens-Filled Ravioli with Walnut Sauce: Homemade pasta, stuffed with wild greens, then bathed in a creamy garlic and walnut sauce.

Boston Cream Pie Cake: A tribute to the classic Boston Cream Pie, with 4 layers of milk sponge cake, vanilla and chocolate pastry cream, and a chocolate glaze.

Asparagus Lasagna: A sundried tomato pesto layered between fresh homemade pasta, vegetables, and cheese.

Berry Crisp

After a very filling lunch today of winter vegetable chili, Aric and I were in the mood for something simple but satisfying. Pair that with this being the first snow day of the season in Dayton, OH, I figured something warm would fit the bill. So I turned to a favorite that works well as a breakfast dish, a dessert, or in this case, a tasty dinner in front of the fire. I am referring to a gooey bowl of berry crisp. Once again, it is a Williams-Sonoma recipe (honestly, I am not getting paid by them to promote their stuff, I just really adore their company) and it is pretty straight forward to make.

A couple notes: the recipe calls for pecans but feel free to pick and choose nuts of your choosing. Tonight I had walnuts and cashews on hand so I used those. I also saw a bag of shredded coconut and threw some of that in too. It is pretty flexible to what you are in the mood for. Second note is the butter. I didn't have time to do this tonight but Aric's mom actually told me about this trick. If you get a stick of butter really cold, you can get those pea size pieces that they always talk about in recipes without a whole lot of effort that we are all used to - simply grate it on a grater and voila! Pea size pieces. Brilliant.

Without further ado, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
    1-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey, plus more for drizzling
• 4 cups mixed berries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp. water

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 375ºF.

In a bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, pecans, flour and salt. Using your fingers or 2 knives, cut in the butter until no clumps remain. Set the topping aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and the 1/4 cup honey. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the berries, granulated sugar, cornstarch and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries release their juices, 5 to 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Transfer the berry mixture to a ceramic loaf pan and sprinkle the topping over the fruit. Set the dish on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Spoon the crisp into 2 bowls, dividing evenly. Drizzle with the yogurt mixture and more honey.

 

Serves 2.

Eggnog Waffles

Well we’ve covered the African appetizer, so let’s get to the main course, eggnog waffles. There is absolutely no connection between my choices for tonight’s meal, simply liked how these recipes looked. The recipe for eggnog waffles comes from my favorite cook book, yup, Bobby Flay’s Throwdown! For those of you who don’t know anything about Bobby Flay, he has a TV show called Throwdown where he challenges people from around the country to a cooking throwdown, challenging them to a cook-off of their signature dish. The cookbook I keep returning to is a compilation of some of Bobby’s favorite episodes which includes the recipes of both Bobby and the chef he has challenged. The reason for this short explanation is that to date, I have only used Bobby’s recipes. Tonight marked the first time I’ve ventured to the other side of the aisle and utilized the local chef’s recipe. The episode I‘ve chosen from was titled Chicken and Waffles. The recipe comes from Melba Wilson. She explained that she developed eggnog waffles accidentally. One day while making a batch of regular waffles, she realized she was out of heavy cream and used what she had available as a substitute, eggnog. She loved the result so much, she never went back to heavy cream. No chicken today, just the waffles, but lets get straight into this fun twist on a classic recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 cups eggnog
2 large eggs, separated
4 Tbsp. unslated butter, melted
Cooking spray, for waffle iron

For the Strawberry Butter

1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
4 oz. strawberries, hulled and sliced
A few drops of grenadine syrup

Directions for the Waffles

Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggnog, egg yolks, and butter in another bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined. Wish the egg whites until almost stiff; fold them into the batter. Heat the waffle Iron. Spray the iron with cooking spray. Pour some of the batter into the middle of the iron, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Close and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. Top the waffles with the Strawberry Butter, and Maple Syrup.

Directions for the Strawberry Butter

Put the butter in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and blend until smooth. Add the berries and grenadine and pulse until combined, but with small pieces of berry still visible.
-

Kalawule (Spicy Fried Bananas)

It’s been a fantastic food night in the Merrill house this evening. I’m sitting here on my couch with a belly full of eggnog waffles and kalawule, while every breath I draw pulls me deeper into the aroma of Dawn’s winter vegetable chili (tomorrow’s lunch). It’s been a fun night. Let’s start with the Kalawule, which filled the role of appetizer this evening.

I had a very short business trip to Baltimore this past summer, there and back the same day, but I was able to schedule enough time for a short stroll around Fell’s Point, and an early dinner, before I had to run back to the airport. Quick side story, but for those of you who don’t know, Baltimore, MD is awesome. It’s a fantastic harbor city, and it has some fantastic food. If you ever find yourself in Baltimore with a couple spare hours, I highly encourage you to try the following restaurants: Pazo Restaurant, a swanky tapas bar located in a renovated old brick warehouse; and The Black Olive, a Greek inspired seafood restaurant (they have a seafood bar, where you get to choose the specific fish you eat). I promise I’m going somewhere with this. As I said, I had a few minutes to walk around Fell’s Point, and ducked into a few of the local stores, one of which had a cookbook that I just couldn’t leave behind, The World of Street Food. Kalawule is my first attempt at any of its tantalizing recipes. For those who are not familiar with kalawule, it originates from Africa. It’s a very simple dish, often sold by street vendors from trays in the evenings. Here are the ingredients.

4 Firm bananas, cut into chunks
½ - 1 tsp grated fresh or powdered ginger
½ tsp cayenne or chili powder (I did a little of both)
½ tsp ground black pepper
Palm or peanut oil (I didn’t have either, but used some Spanish olive oil)
Salt

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the ginger with the cayenne and chili, pepper, salt and a few drops of water to combine the ingredients.
2. Put the chunks of banana into the spices and coat them well.
3. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or wok and cook the banana pieces in hot oil until nicely golden. Drain well on a paper towel.

It’s simple, quick, fun, and really tastes great! Dawn and I are planning to make Zitumbuwa soon, which is very similar, but instead of the spices the bananas are coated with sugar to make a sweet treat.

Mustard & Molasses Baked Beans

As Aric mentioned, he had come up with a Cuban themed dinner and my contribution was a side dish. While I was searching for a recipe, I came across this sweet and tangy baked bean dish from Williams-Sonoma. It actually hails from the Carolinas so it doesn't really adhere to the Cuban theme but the savory flavors of mustard and molasses were bound to be a perfect compliment to Aric's chicken.

I was not mistaken. This was a delicious new twist on baked beans... and easy! It tastes like you have spent hours slow baking the beans and all it takes is half an hour from start to finish!

Enjoy.

Ingredients:
10 oz. bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used veggie bacon strips)
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 cup mustard and molasses grilling sauce
3/4 cup water, plus more as needed
2 cans (each 15 oz.) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (each 15 oz.) pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until golden but not crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the salt, cayenne, grilling sauce, the 3/4 cup water, and the kidney and pinto beans. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Uncover, stir the beans and add more water to achieve the desired consistency. Continue to cook, uncovered for 5 minutes more. Serve warm.

Serves 8.

Havana Nights!

I am ashamed to say that it took me almost a complete year to really delve into Bobby Flay’s Throw Down cookbook, which Dawn gave me as a Valentine's Day present last year. It had nothing to do with my interest in the recipes inside. Simply, that just about every time I would go on a recipe hunt I used the internet since I wasn’t at my house. But after the smashing success of Bobby’s Mac & Cheese, I decided to see what other recipes intrigued me. It didn’t take me long. Actually, I now have a Throw Down recipe waiting list. In particular, there are several chicken recipes that I want to take a shot at. The ironic thing here is that not more than a year ago, I hated chicken. The only form of chicken I would eat was nugget form. I don’t really have a reason. Maybe I just had some really bad experiences, but I never seemed to find any chicken that I liked. But then like many things, Dawn perked my interest. I can’t remember if it was due to a chicken dish she made me, or if it was her suggestion that I BBQ some chicken, which led to my first original Aric Merrill recipe, Raspberry Chicken (which I will post about after Christmas), but it worked. Chicken is my new favorite food to cook. Let’s get back on track here.

As I was saying, I identified several dishes that I wanted to prepare, but was most interested by Bobby Flay’s Cuban Pork with Sour Orange Sauce. Now some of you may be confused since I spent the whole first paragraph rattling on about chicken, and those of you who know me may be confused because you know I don’t eat pork. Well the marinade and the mojo dipping sauce for this Cuban pork sounded so amazing so decided I had to try it and thought it would go great with Chicken; I was not disappointed. The Cuban pork got me all riled up and I decided that we needed to do a cultural theme so I found a great recipe for a Cuban salad to pair with the chicken. Let’s delve into the salad straight away.

Avocado & Pineapple Salad

The salad itself its incredibly simple. Just combine the following items:

Shredded iceberg lettuce
2 Cups Pineapple Chunks
1 Large Avocado, peeled and cut into cubes
1 Small onion, sliced thin

This recipe did come with its own simple vinaigrette dressing, but I found the following recipe for a Cuban Mango Mojo that sounded to die for, and I figured it would make a wicked good salad dressing.

Cuban Mango Mojo

2 Cups fresh mango
½ Cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
1 red onion, diced
¼ Cup garlic, chopped
¼ Cup ginger, chopped
1Tbsp. sugar
1 Bunch Cilantro, minced
2 Cups Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

A few points of interest. This is the original recipe. It makes a lot of Mojo. I cut up 2 fresh mangos, used the juice from 2-3 fresh limes, used store bought OJ, used about ½ an onion, used about 4 cloves of garlic, and much closer to 1/8 cup of ginger, and no more than 2/3 cup of olive oil. But play it by ear to see what seems to be working for you.

Directions:

Mix the all the ingredients into a blender and puree. Use the olive oil to get to the consistency you desire. Use the salt & Pepper to season to your preferred taste. Once completed, simply pour over the salad and enjoy.


Bobby Flay’s Cuban Pork (or Chicken) with Sour Orange Sauce

Interestingly enough, Bobby’s recipe differs ever so slightly from the recipe I have posted here, which was found on the internet, to the one he has in his cook book.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, divided
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice, divided
1 orange, zested
1 lime, zested
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh oregano, divided
12 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bone-in pork shoulder (about 4 to 6-pounds), trimmed of excess fat (I used a couple of chicken breasts)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mojo Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Directions:

Combine 4 cups of the orange juice and 1 cup of the lime juice and zest in a large saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 cups. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining orange juice and lime juice add a few cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup of the oregano. Let cool to room temperature.

Using a paring knife, make small slits over the entire surface of the pork and rub the garlic into the slashes. Whisk together the oil and remaining 1/4 cup of the oregano in a large roasting pan, add the pork and turn to coat, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. I also grilled my chicken on the BBQ. The BBQ season is rapidly coming to an end, so I’m using every excuse in the book to get outside and grill.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the marinade during the last 30 minutes of roasting until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 150 degrees F. Remove from the oven, baste with any remaining glaze, tent loosely and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Mojo Dipping Sauce:

8 cloves garlic
1 serrano chile, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
Salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, serrano, cilantro and a few pinches of salt until it becomes a paste. Add the orange juice, lime juice and oil and stir to combine.

Dawn will be following up with a post explaining the beans you've seen in the photos throughout this post.

Mozzarella Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This is actually a follow-up to the Bobby Flay’s Macaroni and Cheese night Dawn and I had a week or so ago. We did have a couple semi healthy items that day. This salad is from a cook book I picked up a few years ago titled, Simple but Perfect Salads. I’ve made several of their salads, all of which have been nothing short of wonderful, but both Dawn and I felt this may have been one of the best salads in the book. It’s a very simple salad, which is actually one of the reasons I chose it. The Mac & Cheese was quite involved, so we wanted our salad to be something quite simple. Let’s not waste any time, let’s get right into the recipe.

Ingredients:
A bag of mixed salad greens, such as oak leaf lettuce, baby spinach, and arugula.
A ball of smoked mozzarella cheese, cubed.

For the Dressing:
5 oz. sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, reserve the oil from the jar
¼ cup coarsely shredded fresh basil
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. capers, rinsed
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
Extra olive oil, if necessary
Freshly ground pepper

Put the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, capers, vinegar, and garlic in a food processor or blender. Measure the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar and make it up to 2/3 cup with more olive oil if necessary. Add it to the food processor or blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with pepper.

Divide the salad greens among 4 individual serving plates. Top with the cubes of mozzarella and spoon the dressing over them. Serve immediately.