CHICKEN FAJITAS

It’s been over a year since I resumed a five-days-a-week-in-the-office job after several blissful years of working partly from home, but I’m still struggling to strike the right balance in my weeknight cooking plans. On the one hand I have my hankering to experiment with new techniques and ingredients, make everything from scratch, and add content to my blog, and on the other I have my yearning for easy, quick, reliable recipes that allow me to have a little bit of evening free time left over when they’re done. For the most part, simplicity is winning. Baking, long braises, and instructions longer than 10 steps are out, old standbys are in, and at least one night a week I feel like just throwing something on a tortilla and calling it good.

Fajitas aren’t something I’ve routinely craved before now—they’re fun to order in a restaurant now and then, with the loudly sizzling pan and the extra joy of assembling them as you please—but quickly stir-fried and served with whatever fixings you have on hand, they make an excellent speedy dinner that doesn’t require too much thought. I tried a recipe sometime last year but it was lackluster, so I promptly forgot about the idea until this version appeared at Smitten Kitchen. It’s a little more effort because it involves a marinade—which you really should start the night before, if you think of it—but it delivers a lot more flavor and keeps the chicken deliciously tender. Prep all the toppings in advance of even turning on the stove, because the cooking itself is so fast you’ll be eating before you know it. I know the recipe doesn’t look like much, but it magically transforms into a perfect post-work meal.

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons lime juice
1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra to taste
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
Small flour or corn tortillas
Olive oil
2 large bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 large yellow or sweet onion, halved and sliced thinly
Toppings as desired (e.g., salsa, pico de gallo, sliced avocado, guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro, pickled onions or jalapenos, lime wedges)

1. To prepare the chicken, slice into thin strips (¼ to ½ inch wide). Place in a bowl or freezer bag. Add lime juice, 1½ teaspoon salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder, paprika and garlic and mix together. Let marinate for 30 minutes or up to 2 days in the fridge.
   
2. 20 to 25 minutes before you’re ready to eat, heat the oven to 250 and wrap tortillas in foil. Set on oven rack to warm. Set out fixings of your choice.
   
3. Heat a large skillet over high heat. When very hot, drizzle in some olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. When this is nearly smoking hot, add the peppers in a single layer. Wait. Try to get them a little charred underneath before you move them around. Once they’ve begun to brown, add the onions, plus some salt to taste. Wait again for some color to develop before you move them. When peppers are nicely charred in spots and onions have softened and sweetened, scrape mixture onto a plate or bowl to clear the skillet.
   
4. Heat skillet again on a very high heat with a thin slick of olive oil. Spread chicken strips in as much of a single layer as you can. Wait until they brown underneath to move them. Saute strips, regularly pausing so that they can get some color, until cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Return peppers and onions to skillet. Heat again until everything is sizzling.
   
5. Spoon chicken mixture onto warm tortillas and add toppings of your choice.

Serves: 4-6
Time: 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes to 2 days of marinating
Leftover potential: Great; store chicken-pepper mixture, tortillas, and toppings separately.

SHREDDED BEEF TACOS

After the smashing success of carnitas, I looked around eagerly for something else I could braise and stuff in a taco, and beef was the next logical choice. I remembered seeing (and bookmarking and unbookmarking a few times over the years) this recipe at The Way the Cookie Crumbles, and followed it back to its source at Use Real Butter. It’s only marginally more difficult than the carnitas: marinate the meat with vinegar, lime, garlic and spices; add liquid; bake the heck out of it until it falls apart in shreds; pile on tortillas and gorge.

The only challenge was finding “eye of chuck,” the cut particularly specified in the original recipe. This is where having access to an actual butcher would come in handy, especially if you are incapable of learning cuts of meat (as I seem to be, no matter how many times I look at those cow diagrams). I did the best I could and went to Whole Foods, where of course there was nothing actually labeled “eye of chuck,” but the very helpful man behind the counter immediately consulted his supervisor, who told us that it was a certain portion of the chuck roast closest to the rib, and instructed his employee exactly where to cut it off for me. Customer service at its finest!

Unsurprisingly, these tacos were as succulent and flavorful as I’d imagined, another “I can’t believe I just made that” hit. The beef would be just as good in a burrito, quesadilla, tostada, nachos or any other tortilla-related format. Now I just need to figure out a good braised-chicken taco and I’ll be set.

1½ pounds eye of chuck (chuck eye steak or chuck eye roast)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1½ teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup beef stock
Corn or flour tortillas
Toppings of your choice, such as salsa, guacamole, lettuce, cheese, etc.

1. Trim the fat off the beef and cut the meat into 1-inch-thick slices. In a zip-top bag, combine the oil, vinegar, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, salt, and garlic. Place the meat slices in the bag, seal, mix it around and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Bring the meat to room temperature and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all contents from the bag in a baking dish (a Dutch oven works well) with the beef stock. Cover the dish and bake for 1½ to 2½ hours. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes, then shred it with two forks.

3. Serve beef on tortillas with toppings of your choice.

Serves: 4-6
Time: 2-3 hours, plus marinating time
Leftover potential: Good.

SOFT FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES

As I’ve mentioned before, I have nostalgic feelings about sugar cookies. Most of my childhood memories involve the flat, crisp-chewy style with thin, glaze-like icing. I could never resist these in a bakery window, especially when they came in unusual shapes with elaborate decoration, like the faces of Sesame Street characters (bonus points for garish blue or green that stained my tongue); my particular favorite was the “cookie on a stick” I would always choose as my treat for behaving myself when my mom dragged out shopping at the mall. But later in life, mostly thanks to office holiday celebrations, I fell hard for the polar-opposite sugar cookie model, the fluffy, impossibly soft, buttercream-frosted ones found in grocery store bakery sections. Why do I find them so irresistible? It’s that pillowy cakelike texture, even when it verges on being too floury (and no doubt artificial-preservative-laden). I always felt a little gross after finishing one, but the first bite was sheer heaven.

So when a recipe popped up at Annie’s Eats that promised to replicate the super-soft sugar-cookie experience, I had to give it a try. These cookies really do feed that craving, satisfyingly thick and tender but without the dense, doughy, chalky quality the storebought ones can have. And the flavor is infinitely better, buttery and intensely vanilla-spiked.

My one stumble has been with the frosting, which has turned out smooth and glaze-like instead of thick and creamy both times I’ve made these. The first time (pink, for Valentine’s Day 2013; yes, I’ve been holding out on you that long) the finished cookies were so homely (er, “rustic”) that I didn’t even want to photograph them, but as soon as I realized how addictively delicious they are, I knew I’d have to try again so I could post them. I figured I had put too much milk in the frosting and tried to dial it back on the second attempt, but got the same result (this time in robin’s-egg blue, in honor of spring). The frosting is delicious and I have no desire to change it, but you’ll see that mine didn’t resemble Annie’s original picture or the store version.

It’s strange to say because I always consider myself a chocolate-chip fan, but these might be some of my favorite cookies ever. It’s kind of a problem how good they are. If you’re a soft sugar-cookie fan, try this recipe.

















Cookies:
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
7-8 tablespoons milk
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)

1. To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.
   
2. When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop a scant quarter-cup of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake about 10-12 minutes or just until set. (Do not overbake! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned, if at all.) Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. To frost the cookies, place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in additional milk as necessary, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Use an offset spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies. (If the frosting begins to thicken as you decorate, just continue to whisk in small amounts of milk to keep it workable.) Top with sprinkles if desired.

Yields: About 2 dozen large cookies
Time: 2 hours
Leftover potential: Great. I store mine in an airtight container in the freezer and they keep for weeks. 

EGG DROP SOUP

This recipe, also from Budget Bytes, is the perfect side dish to accompany baked egg rolls in your DIY Chinese-takeout-themed meal. It’s easy, fast, and light yet nourishing…and making egg ribbons is fun. I had much more success with these than with my previous attempts in Italian wedding soup, probably because this broth is thickened slightly with cornstarch to help suspend them, or maybe just because Budget Bytes did such a good job explaining how to create a swirling vortex and drizzle them in.

The first time I made this, I figured I might as well use the whole 8-ounce package of mushrooms (the original recipe only calls for 4 ounces), but I felt that the finished soup was a bit too mushroom-heavy, so the second time I split the difference at 6 ounces. The first time I used spinach as my greens and the second time baby bok choi. The recipe’s flexible, is what I’m saying. The overall flavor is delicate, and I’m not a Sriracha fantatic, but I highly recommend stirring at least a few drops into each serving; you won’t be able to taste it exactly, but it adds just the right zip of acidity and spice to keep the soup from verging on blandness.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated or minced
4-6 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
3-4 green onions, sliced
8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 large eggs
2 cups fresh baby spinach or shredded baby bok choi leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Sriracha to taste (optional)

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Ad the ginger, mushrooms, and green onions and sauté until slightly softened (5 minutes).

2. Add chicken broth and soy sauce. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a rolling boil.

3. While waiting for the soup to boil, place the cornstarch in a small bowl and add just enough water to dissolve it (about 2 tablespoons); stir together until smooth. When the soup reaches a boil, stir in the cornstarch slurry.

4. Whisk the eggs in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of water. Turn the heat off and wait for the soup to stop boiling (one minute or less; if you have an electric stove you may want to move it off the burner). Using a large spoon, swirl the soup in the pot in a circular motion. Once it’s all moving consistently in the same direction, slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs. (If you want thicker egg threads, swirl a little slower and/or pour a little faster.) Do not stir the soup for at least one minute while the eggs set. Allow the swirling current to slow to a stop on its own.

5. Once the egg threads are set, stir in the spinach or bok choi and allow to wilt, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Sriracha (I like about 5-6 drops per serving).

Serves: 6
Time: 30 minutes
Leftover potential: Good. Not sure it will freeze well, but it keeps for a week in the fridge.

BAKED EGG ROLLS

Egg rolls are one of A’s favorite foods (after tacos), but I never considered making them at home because I’m afraid of deep-frying. It didn’t occur to me that egg rolls could be baked until I saw this recipe at Budget Bytes. I did think egg rolls that weren’t fried and didn’t contain meat might be a bridge too far for A, so following a lead in the comments, I swapped out the veggie filling for one that included pork. This took a little manipulating, since the pork version was intended for potstickers and was thus uncooked, so I ended up making a mashup of the two different recipes. Unfortunately, I didn’t take good notes, and enough time elapsed before I made these again that I didn’t remember what I’d done before and had to figure it out all over again. Luckily, the filling is forgiving.

You should know that I’m cabbage-averse, although I’m slowly warming to the stuff. I was a little put off by the thought of using a whole head, so the first time around I just bought a bag of pre-shredded cabbage from Trader Joe’s. That’s probably why I only ended up with enough filling to stuff 12 of my 20 egg roll wrappers, although this didn’t occur to me at the time. On my second attempt I increased the pork to ¾ pound, upped the carrot and green onions, and used a whole head of cabbage. (Luckily, Budget Bytes has helpful slicing instructions with photos, since I hadn’t tried to take on a head of cabbage since my CSA gave me one in 2007.) It turns out there’s a lot more cabbage in a head than in a bag! I filled 20 egg roll wrappers generously and still had a little filling left over. So maybe I should have stuck with just ½ pound pork? (A would say no.) In both iterations, the filling tasted great, which is the important thing. I even liked the cabbage.

Are baked egg rolls the same as fried ones? They aren’t going to fool anyone into thinking they’re takeout; the texture is crunchier, chewier, a bit drier (definitely have your favorite dipping sauce on hand; I love Trader Joe’s gyoza sauce, which is basically soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil with some seasonings, but sweet chili sauce or spicy mustard are also good options). I actually think I might prefer the baked version, though. Four or five plus a side dish (see my next post for that) adds up to a reasonable meal with a decent serving of fresh veggies that doesn’t feel too heavy, and they even make passable leftovers. (I think if you reheated them in the oven or toaster oven they’d regain their crispness and be near-new again, but even zapped in the microwave and thus a bit softer, they were just as tasty.)

These may be a bit more complicated than tacos, but they still weren’t too hard for a weeknight and will definitely be a regular menu feature.

½-¾ pound ground pork
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-inch segment fresh ginger, peeled and grated or minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 small head green cabbage, cored and thinly shredded
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 package of 20 egg roll wrappers
Nonstick spray (or additional vegetable oil)

1. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the pork and brown, breaking up with a spoon, until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel lined plate, leaving the skillet on the burner.

2. Add 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the skillet. Add the green onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until slightly softened (1-2 minutes). Add the carrot, sauté for one minute more, and then add the cabbage and ½ teaspoon salt. Continue to cook and stir until the cabbage has reduced in volume by half.

3. Return the pork to the skillet, then add the soy sauce and cook until slightly thickened. Drizzle the sesame oil on top and stir in. Turn the heat off and add a few grindings of pepper. Give the mixture a taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Let the mixture cool slightly.

4. Begin to fill and roll the egg rolls. Place one wrapper at a time on a clean surface and place about ¼-1/3 cup of the pork mixture just off center, close to one of the corners on the square. Roll the corner up and over the filling, fold each side in, and then roll the rest of the way up. Keep a small bowl of water near by and use it as “glue” to hold the corners of the egg roll wrapper in place.

5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by covering with foil. Place the egg rolls on the baking sheet and coat with nonstick spray or brush with vegetable oil. Roll them over and spray/brush the other side with oil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Turn the egg rolls over halfway through cooking and rotate your baking sheet if you have hot spots in your oven.

Serves: 4-5 as a main dish, more as an appetizer
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Leftover potential: Surprisingly OK. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven for best results, but microwave is fine if you don’t mind a softer texture. You can also freeze the unbaked egg rolls and just pop them into the oven without thawing, although the texture may not be as good as with the freshly made ones.

POPCORN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

My work counterpart went through a phase where she was obsessed with popcorn. At least once a week she’d stop by Trader Joe’s on her lunch break and come back to her desk with a bag of cheddar or kettle corn. Then remorse would strike and she’d press me to share in her snack, which was just fine by me. So when her birthday rolled around and I wanted to bake a gift, something involving popcorn seemed a natural choice.

I remembered seeing a recipe for buttered popcorn cookies in the Smitten Kitchen cookbook, but when I Googled for it, I stumbled upon this Joy the Baker adaptation that improves upon that brilliance by adding chocolate to the mix. My coworker loves the sweet-salty combo, I have a long history with chocolate popcorn, and it doesn’t really seem like a birthday without chocolate, so it’s no surprise which version I settled on.

As an homage to the recipient’s particular fixation, I used TJ’s bagged kettle corn instead of making buttered popcorn from scratch. It turned out so well (not to mention being easier) that I’d be tempted to cut this corner again in the future, but I’m leaving in the directions for popping the corn yourself in case you’re more energetic (or farther from a Trader Joe’s) than I.

No matter what, these are some excellent treats. When I plopped the dough onto the baking sheets, it looked like clumps of popcorn just barely held together by batter, but they did indeed settle into proper cookies as they baked. If popcorn cookies sound weird to you, think addictively chewy chocolate chip cookies with an extra dose of salt and an occasional bit of crunch…the perfect movie-theater contraband snack. My coworker loved them, but they’ve definitely earned a spot in my personal cookie hall of fame too.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup yellow corn kernels
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped dark chocolate
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

1. To make the popcorn, place the oil in the bottom of a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat. When oil is hot, add corn kernels in a single layer across the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot but keep the lid ajar to let a bit of steam out. Listen to the popcorn as it pops. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner once the popping has subsided. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and drizzle with the 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Toss well, then pick through the popcorn to remove any unpopped kernels. Set aside to cool. You’ll have about 4 to 4½ cups of popcorn.

2. Preheat then oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until butter is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla extract for one more minute. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat on low until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a spatula to fold in the popcorn. It might seem like a disproportionate amount of popcorn considering the cookie batter, but keep folding; the popcorn will break down a bit as it’s folded in. Fold in chocolate.

4. Scoop dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with coarse sea salt. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until the edges and tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Yields: 2 dozen
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Good; store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.

COCONUT CARDAMOM TAPIOCA PUDDING

Speed blogging! I’m busy busy busy and tired tired tired, but I feel bad for repeatedly neglecting you over the past month, so I’m just going to crank out some entries in a more slipshod manner than usual. Bear with me. First up: Another chapter in my long history of pudding mania. I saw this recipe at Smitten Kitchen and thought, “Hmm, do I like tapioca?” I vaguely recall my mom serving the instant stuff when I was a kid but don’t remember having any strong feelings toward it, although apparently tapioca is polarizing stuff, if the comments on the recipe are a fair representation. People seem to either love it or hate it, with texture being the main sticking point. I tend to like creamy-chewy concoctions, so I suspected I’d be in the tapioca-liking camp, and since coconut milk, vanilla, and cardamom turned my rice pudding indifference into passionate love, I figured they could do the same for my tapioca ignorance. I bought some Bob’s Red Mill small pearl tapioca (which reminds me alarmingly of Styrofoam fragments), fiddled with the recipe to mimic the rice pudding (not being a fan of either mangos or effort, I skipped the toppings from the Smitten Kitchen version), and got to work.

It turns out that while I can see why tapioca weirds people out, I do like it, especially when it’s dressed up in so many of my favorite flavors. It doesn’t hurt that it’s incredibly easy to make, either (although, as you can see, it did prove hard to photograph). Soak, mix, simmer, and you’re done! Its starchiness turns it into pudding without much effort on your part, and I find the texture fascinating. This is a comforting, nursery-style dessert that still feels relatively light and refreshing. Since I now have a giant bag of tapioca to use up, I’m extra glad the experiment worked out.

1/3 cup small pearl tapioca
2½ cups coconut milk (light or full-fat; a 13.5-ounce can contains 1¾ cups)
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt or a heaped ¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the seeds from 1 small vanilla bean
¼-½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1. In a medium saucepan, soak tapioca in coconut milk for 30 minutes.

2. Whisk in egg yolk, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean seeds, if using (if using extract, you’ll add it in a bit). Place saucepan over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer, then reduce it to very low heat so it’s barely bubbling. Cook until it thickens, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Remove from heat and add cardamom, plus vanilla extract, if using. (Pudding will seem thin, about the consistency of thick gravy, but it will set after chilling in the fridge.) Pour into pudding cups to chill for several hours or overnight.

Serves: 4-6
Time: 1 hour plus chilling time
Leftover potential: Good.

PORK SCHNITZEL WITH BUTTERMILK RANCH SAUCE

Schnitzel, schnitzel, schnitzel: Not only is it fun to say, but it’s also hard to go wrong with thin cutlets of breaded and fried meat. Pounding them flat with a mallet is both good stress relief and a way to ensure quick cooking and maximum crispy surface area. Although I’ve got several chicken recipes that use this technique, my growing fondness for pork made this recipe catch my eye in a recent issue of Cooking Light. There’s nothing especially revolutionary here, but pork chops are still an undiscovered country for me, and an easy weeknight dinner of them seemed like it wouldn’t go amiss, especially with the added enticement of buttermilk ranch sauce.

The verdict? Would make again, although the sauce needed a little enhancement. Cooking Light, of course, calls for fat-free sour cream, which I dutifully obeyed, but next time I’ll just spring for the real stuff. With only 1 tablespoon per serving, I don’t think it’ll ruin my health. If you want to go lighter, 2% or nonfat Greek yogurt might be a better choice. As written, the sauce didn’t taste as ranchlike as the recipe title in the magazine led me to suspect, so I took a cue from my ranch dressing recipe and added a bit of minced garlic and parsley, which perked it up. (I almost wonder if next time I should just make the ranch dressing instead?) Despite my fears of blandness, the sauce tasted great with the pork, and we both enjoyed this meal. I’m afraid I can’t remember what I served on the side (roasted broccoli or green beans, or maybe a kale salad), but any green vegetable will do.

¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 small garlic clove, minced (optional)
¼ cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup dry breadcrumbs (I used panko)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder
4 4-ounce boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed and
pounded to 1/8-inch thickness
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, dill, buttermilk, 1/8 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and minced garlic if desired; set aside.

2. Whisk together milk and egg in a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Dip pork in milk mixture; sprinkle with salt. Dredge pork in breadcrumb mixture.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Place two pork chops in pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining two pork chops. Serve with sauce.

Serves: 4
Time: 30 minutes
Leftover potential: OK; breadcrumb coating will get soggy, but the flavor is still good.

WINTER PANZANELLA

Will I ever tire of kale salads? Probably not, especially if they contain apples and cheese and roasted squash. I love the fresh, grassy flavor of raw kale, and I love how sturdy and convenient the leftovers are. This recipe might seem similar to others I’ve made in the past, but it might even better, because it’s rounded out with croutons that give it enough heft to be a main course. Throw in an assertive maple-mustard-balsamic vinaigrette and the satisfyingly meaty flavor of smoked cheese, and who could resist?

I’m not sure where I stumbled across a link to this post at Five and Spice, but I was immediately taken with the idea of a wintery spin on the classic panzanella. The original recipe included roasted beets, but beets are one of the few vegetables I just can’t find a love for no matter how hard I try (they taste like dirt to me), so I skipped those and increased the squash quantity instead (I hate using only part of a squash anyway). I also increased the kale amount (to use a full bunch and because I adore it), decreased the bread (so all the croutons fit in my 12-inch skillet in an even layer) and replaced the smoked mozzarella with smoked Gouda (because I love Gouda but don’t remember to buy it often enough). All good moves, but I’m particularly proud of my two final touches: throwing the red onion in the oven with the squash instead of leaving it raw (because roasted onion is crazy delicious and raw can be overpowering), and adding dried thyme to the croutons (which I know from experience makes them extra irresistible).

The end result is an incredibly pleasing jumble of textures (crisp, crunchy, tender, creamy, chewy) and flavors (sweet, tart, smoky, salty, savory) that makes a great lunch or light dinner. It’s so good, I’m almost sad that winter is over and soon butternut squash will be out of season…. That is, until I remember that soon I’ll be able to eat my delicious summer kale salad.

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3-4 cups)
1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges (eighths or sixteenths)
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6-8 ounces ciabatta or other good, crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
1 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, crushed and minced (about ¼ teaspoon)
1 bunch Tuscan kale, stemmed and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1 large, tart, crisp apple (I recommend Granny Smith), cored and cubed
About 4-6 ounces smoked Gouda, cut into ½-inch cubes (about ½-¾ cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment, place the cubed squash and onion wedges on it, and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus salt and pepper to taste. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer, put the baking sheet in the oven, and roast until tender and browned, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and toss well. Season with salt and pepper and the dried thyme. Toast, tossing frequently, until croutons are crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup oil, mixing until emulsified.
4. Place the sliced kale in a large bowl and pour about half the dressing over it. Toss well to coat, massaging the dressing into the kale with your hands. Let the kale sit in the dressing for at least 15 minutes.
5. Once the butternut squash and onions have cooled to about room temperature, add them to the bowl with the kale. Add a little more dressing and toss again. Add the cheese and apple cubes, finish with dressing to taste (you may not quite use it all), and toss thoroughly until well combined.
6. About 15 minutes before serving, add the bread cubes and toss well. (But if you are saving some salad for later, store the bread cubes for those servings separately and don’t add them to the salad until shortly before you plan to eat it.)

Serves: 4
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great (store bread cubes separately from rest of salad).

ROASTED TOMATO PIZZA MARGHERITA

I have all these exotic pizza recipes in my repertoire, from asparagus to zucchini (with hummus and strawberry in between), without a basic Margherita. We make tomato-sauce pizza at least once a month, but we always load it up with our favorite toppings: mushroom and sausage for me, pepperoni and jalapeno for A. Yet cheese pizza was my favorite as a picky child, and as an adult I’ve come to appreciate its sophisticated cousin, Margherita, as the archetypal authentic Neopolitan standard at fancy artisan pizzerias, where its simplicity lets high-quality crust, sauce, and cheese shine through. Making it at home, though, seemed like it might be too…plain, at least until I spotted a delectable-looking “Pizza Margherita, Fancified” at Annie’s Eats. With a double hit of tomatoes—in a sauce spiked with cream as well as in my favorite secret-weapon roasted form—it seemed anything but dull.

And indeed (although it is not a true Margherita), this pizza was a minor revelation for me, mostly because it threw into question why I’ve been bothering to make pizza sauce out of canned tomato sauce all these years. My old sauce recipe is pretty great, doctored up with herbs, balsamic vinegar, even soy sauce—yet this simple concoction of butter, pureed canned tomatoes, tomato paste, a tiny bit of onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes gives it a serious run for its money. The tomato flavor is so much fresher and brighter this way that I feel myself slowly gravitating toward making it my go-to sauce.

The original quantities were a bit odd, calling for less than a full can of tomatoes, but I’ve found that if I use a whole can and increase the other ingredients accordingly, I can make enough for three pizzas in one fell swoop, allowing me to stockpile reserves in the freezer for later use. (If you only feel like making enough for one go-round, for some reason, use the original version at Annie’s Eats.) The cream in the sauce is delicious but not necessary—I might add a bit if I happened to have it sitting around, but it’s almost too decadent for frequent eating, and the sauce is plenty great without it. For the roasted tomatoes, I swapped in my usual recipe. Not much else to it but crust and cheese and basil, but the results are incredibly tasty and far from plain. Even A, who tends to feel that any vegetarian pizza I make would be better with meat (usually bacon) added, really enjoys this (although I’ve also found that sprinkling on some pepperoni and sautéed sliced mushrooms doesn’t hurt when I feel like branching out from the Margherita concept). Only time will tell if this really becomes my regular tomato-sauce pizza recipe, but regardless it’s a delicious diversion.

Tomato sauce (makes enough for three pizzas; freeze the rest for later use):
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in tomato puree (I use Trader Joe’s San Marzano)
2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
¼-½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Pizza:
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Grade B maple syrup
½ teaspoon coarse salt
1 pound pizza dough
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
¼-½ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1. To make the sauce, puree the tomatoes and their liquid in a blender or food processor (or using an immersion blender) until smooth. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook about 1 minute, until it begins to soften. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and red pepper flakes and mix just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato puree, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer about 5-8 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream, if using. Divide the sauce into three equal portions and freeze two of them for in airtight containers for later use.
2. To make the pizza, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tomatoes in half and place them on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, and salt. Pour the mixture over the tomatoes and gently toss until well coated. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer, cut side up, and roast, without stirring, until the tomatoes shrink a bit and caramelize around the edges, 45 to 60 minutes. (You can do this up to a week ahead of time if you like—just let the tomatoes cool, scrape them into a glass or plastic container along with any liquid that was left on the baking sheet, seal tightly, and store in the refrigerator.).
3. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and roll out the pizza dough on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Spread with an even layer of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella in an even layer over the sauce, and sprinkle the Parmesan over that. Dot the roasted tomatoes evenly over the cheese.
4. Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chopped basil over the top of the pizza. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Serves: 4
Time: 2 hours (some work can be done ahead)
Leftover potential: Good; reheat on a dry skillet on the stovetop.

DARK CHOCOLATE, PISTACHIO, AND SMOKED SEA SALT COOKIES

Why don’t we put pistachios in cookies more often? Walnuts, pecans, and almonds steal the spotlight, and macadamia nuts have their white-chocolate niche, but pistachios are super delicious yet seem to get little love. They finally get to be superstars in this recipe, transforming otherwise ordinary (though always tasty) chocolate chip cookies into something truly special. You might be distracted by the exoticness of the smoked salt, as indeed I was when I first bookmarked this recipe from Joy the Baker, but it plays a supporting role here, and indeed if you were to use regular coarse sea salt instead, I wouldn’t scold you. I recalled seeing smoked salt in grinders at Trader Joe’s for a few bucks, but of course when I went to actually buy it I found it had been discontinued, as are so many TJ’s products just at the moment you really need them. Thinking that these would just be plain old chocolate chip cookies without the smoked salt, I went to Whole Foods and spent a rather ridiculous sum of money for a container I will now spend the rest of my life trying to use up. Don’t be like me! The smoked salt is great if you can get it, but the pistachios were the real revelation here. We both loved these cookies, to the point that A repeatedly exclaimed how good they were every time we ate one. Definitely a keeper—and not just because I now have a surplus of smoked salt on my hands.

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups dark chocolate chips or chunks (I’ll admit I just used semisweet and it was still great)
1 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
Smoked sea salt for topping

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and beat in for about 1 minute. Add vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the mixture all at once to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

4. Dollop or scoop cookie dough by the 2 tablespoonful onto prepared baking tins. Leave about 2 inches of room between each cookie. Sprinkle generously with smoked sea salt.

5. Bake cookies for 18 minutes, or until just golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: 2 dozen
Time: 40 minutes
Leftover potential: Great, either in a sealed container at room temperature or frozen.

CARNITAS

Hey, I made carnitas! And it was super easy! And one of the best meals I cooked in 2013! I can’t stop using exclamation points!
Buying a pork shoulder and slowly braising it is one of those food-bloggy things I never seemed to get around to doing. I grew up thinking I didn’t like pork (oh, the dry pork chops of my childhood), so long after I knew how to do all kinds of things with chicken, I had never even tried cooking a tenderloin. But my enjoyment of pork is steadily growing, and carnitas are a particular favorite, so when I saw this recipe at Dinner With Julie my heart skipped a beat. It sounded doable—put meat and liquid in a pot and throw it in the oven for a few hours. The hardest part would be obtaining a pork shoulder, and that didn’t turn out to be difficult at all (the meat counter at Whole Foods has pretty much everything).

Cooking pork in milk might sound weird, but I’ve seen similar recipes before (Jamie Oliver’s chicken in milk is getting rave reviews, for instance) and knew that it adds sweetness and aids caramelization. I was all set to go until I read the comments on the post and someone mentioned the carnitas recipe at Smitten Kitchen, which turns out to be from the Homesick Texan, an authority if ever there was one. Those two sources have never steered me wrong, so I considered switching recipes, but Julie’s sounded easier and I liked that I could do it in the oven instead of on the stovetop. I did worry it would be bland, so I swiped the garlic, cumin, and generous salt quantity from the SK/HT version, and boy was that an excellent decision; the garlic smelled particularly amazing during the nearly 4 hours this was simmering in my oven on a Sunday afternoon.

Needless to say, the result was incredible: a little sweet, a little tangy, mostly porky; crisp-browned in a few places and meltingly tender (and yes, just the right amount of fatty) everywhere else. As I texted A the next day while eating leftovers, “Hot damn these carnitas are delicious.” I really couldn’t believe I had made them, even though it was so ridiculously easy. The flavor was delicate but didn’t need much accompaniment—just a few tortillas and guacamole did the job for me, although of course you can add any taco-type toppings you see fit. It makes a ton of food but you’ll have no trouble finding uses for the leftovers—in salads, on pizza, tossed in BBQ sauce for a pulled-pork sandwich, and if all else fails, just freeze it. We devoured almost all of ours in taco form, but I threw the last scraps into a Southwest Scramble and it was excellent.

2-3 pounds boneless pork shoulder (butt) or boneless country pork ribs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large orange, washed and quartered
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra to taste
1 cup milk (original recipe says whole, but I used 2% and it was fine)
Black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Cut the meat into a few chunks and brown each piece on all sides, then transfer them to a Dutch oven or other heavy lidded baking dish. Squeeze the orange wedges over the meat and toss in the rinds alongside; add the garlic, cumin, and salt. Pour in the milk, then add enough water to almost cover the meat. Sprinkle with pepper, cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake for 3 hours, until the meat is very tender.

3. Break or pull the meat apart into smaller pieces, remove and discard the orange rind, and turn the oven up to 375 degrees. Roast the meat uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat is crisp and brown on the edges. (If there still seems like there’s a lot of fat/liquid in the pot, you can just drain it off and discard it before eating.)

4. Serve the pork on warm corn or flour tortillas with the toppings of your choice, such as salsa, guacamole or diced avocado, finely chopped onion or scallions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Serves: At least 8
Time: 4 hours
Leftover potential: Awesome; versatile and freezes well.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPER PIZZA

I’m extra pleased with this one because I invented it myself. I know, putting toppings on a pizza isn’t exactly rocket science, but I’m a habitual recipe follower (hence the title of this blog), and while I think I have pretty good instincts for adapting existing recipes, I rarely come up with anything brand-new. Although putting sausage, peppers, and onions together is hardly original, when I got hungry for a pizza based on this classic combo (34 pizza recipes on file and I still don’t have one that features bell peppers!), Google came up surprisingly short. There were plenty of tomato-sauce pizzas with sausage and peppers, but that seemed too easy; I wanted the main ingredients to shine. I love ricotta in place of regular pizza sauce and thought its mild creaminess would be extra great here.

When a recipe calls for sausage, I usually default to chicken sausage, just to keep things a little lighter. Trader Joe’s has a perfectly serviceable Italian chicken sausage, but since I really wanted to hew closely to the idea of a traditional sausage-and-pepper sandwich, I decided to splurge and use pork sausage. It was a wise decision. It’s notably greasier, but in a way that’s perfect for pizza, which needs a little gooeyness. You can get away with using a fairly small amount because its flavor thoroughly permeates the other ingredients. I wanted big rounds rather than crumbles, so I browned the sausages whole to make them firm enough to slice, then cut them up and sautéed the pieces with the colorful peppers and plenty of aromatic onion and garlic. As for the cheese, there are probably a lot that would be great here, but I went with the standard Parmesan and mozzarella. A garnish of fresh basil adds color, freshness and Italian flair.

This turned out exactly as I’d envisioned it, which is not always the case when I improvise. I’ll definitely make it again and won’t change a thing.

½ pound hot Italian sausage (pork recommended)
Olive oil
1 small to medium red pepper, sliced
1 small to medium yellow pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound pizza dough
About ½ cup ricotta cheese
Shredded Parmesan and mozzarella cheese to taste
Chopped fresh basil to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown the sausages. Remove from the pan, let rest for a few minutes, and slice. (It’s OK if the sausage isn’t cooked all the way through yet.)

3. Return the pan to the heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. When it’s warm, add the onions and sauté for a few minutes. Add the peppers, sausage, and garlic and cook until sausage is fully cooked and vegetables are tender.

4. Roll out the pizza dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Spread the ricotta over it in an even layer. Scatter the sausage-pepper mixture over that and top with Parmesan and mozzarella.

5. Bake pizza for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is browned.

6. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serves: 4
Time: 40 minutes
Leftover potential: Good. Reheat on the stove in a dry skillet over medium heat for best results.

CHICKEN AND APPLES IN HONEY-MUSTARD SAUCE

I first made this in 2012 but forgot to take a photo. I put it in my “to make again” file and waited until the seasons rolled back around to autumnal weather, when apples and cider and dishes composed entirely of different shades of brown seemed like a good idea again. That time I did snap a picture, but now a few months have passed and the details have faded somewhat from my mind—yet I don’t want to wait yet another year to share this, because it’s one of those simple crowd-pleasers that are good to have in your back pocket (metaphorically, that is; please don’t keep actual food in your back pocket). It’s pretty much what it sounds like: sautéed chicken and apples in a sweet sauce with a mustardy kick. You could eat it on its own, but it’s nice to have a starch to soak up some of that sauce; my Germanic heart went with egg noodles, although rice would also be nice if you are so inclined.

The original post at Simply Recipes notes that the sauce is mild and you can double the cider, honey, and mustard, leaving out the chicken broth, for a more intense flavor. I can’t quite remember, but I dimly recall that I tried that and found it a little too sweet and syrupy for my taste; the broth adds an important savory note. I do like having plenty of sauce to cover my noodles, so I’m thinking one-and-a-half times the cider/honey/mustard measurements plus all the chicken broth is the way to go, and those are the quantities I’ve noted below. A and I both thought onions might also add a good counterpoint flavor, so I might try throwing some in when I add the apples next time. I’ll try to iron out the details when I make this again in fall 2014.

¾ cup apple cider
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1½ tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ cup flour
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium unpeeled apples, cored and cut into ¼-inch thick slices (use good cooking apples, such as Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Pippin, or McIntosh)
½ cup chicken broth
Chopped fresh parsley to taste

1. Whisk cider, cornstarch, mustard, honey, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Salt the chicken well and dust it in flour. Shake off the excess.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden-brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes. Turn chicken, add apples, and cook until the chicken has browned on the other side.

4. Add chicken broth and cider mixture to the pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 15 minutes.

5. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken and apples to serving plates. (I like to slice the chicken breasts after they rest for a few minutes.) If sauce looks too thin, increase the heat and reduce it slightly. Spoon sauce over chicken and apples and sprinkle with parsley. (If serving with egg noodles, I toss them into the pan with the sauce until they’re well coated and then serve the chicken, apples, and parsley on top.)

Serves: 4
Time: 40 minutes
Leftover potential: Good.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIES

Is it too soon to talk about cookies? These are the next item on my long backlog list and I really feel you ought to know about them. Sure, all the food blogs are still full of green smoothies and if your cupboards are anything like mine they’re still full of leftover Christmas treats, but if you don’t feel up making these just yet, bookmark them for later. Because if I’d managed to get this recipe posted in 2013, it probably would have garnered a spot on my list of the year’s top recipes.

I know these look really basic, even homely, and I wasn’t expecting anything especially remarkable. I mean, chocolate and coconut are great together and oatmeal cookies are my fave, so obviously that trifecta is what lured me to try this recipe when I saw it at Tasty Kitchen. But except for the slight twist of replacing some butter with coconut oil, this is about as straightforward as cookie formulas come. Yet I ended up making them twice last year, and considering I don’t make cookies more than once a month (excepting December) and have a wealth of great recipes already on file, that’s pretty remarkable. These might be my ideal everyday cookie. (OK, not every day, but ordinary, not special-occasion.)

One thing I like about these is that they’re not too sweet, but I was too lazy to go to Whole Foods for the unsweetened shredded coconut and got good results using the less-sweetened version from Trader Joe’s, which is still way less cloying than Baker’s or other standard grocery-store versions.



















1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup (heaping) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and sugars. Scrape down the sides and then add the egg and vanilla; mix to combine.

4. On low speed, gradually add the flour and cocoa mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the shredded coconut and oats and mix. Add chocolate chips and mix until just folded in.

5. Form dough into balls about the size of a heaping tablespoon and place on baking sheets lined with silicon mats or parchment paper.

6. Bake for 11 minutes or until just solidified. Remove from oven and let cool for about 2 minutes more on the sheet, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Yields: 3 dozen
Time: 35 minutes
Leftover potential: Great; freeze well.

FAVORITE RECIPES OF 2013

Blogwise, 2013 was mainly marked by frustration over my inability to stay up to date. I didn’t cook any less than in previous years (although perhaps less ambitiously), but my posting was sporadic at best and I still have a long backlog of good recipes not yet written up (some of which would have been contenders for my favorite recipes of the year if I’d actually managed to get them posted in 2013). It feels overwhelming, and although the food blogs I follow provide much of my cooking inspiration, seeing so many gorgeously photographed, frequently updated sites only amplifies my sense of inadequacy. I have to stop and remind myself that many of the bloggers I read don’t work full-time outside the home, and for some their sites are their jobs, so there is much more time and energy at work there.

I’m definitely content to stay an amateur, but I at least want to be an organized and capable amateur. Last year I had the stunning epiphany that I don’t actually need to post every single recipe I make, only the ones I really think I’m likely to make again, which streamlined my process somewhat. I also finally realized that while my current schedule doesn’t easily allow for big chunks of time to devote to personal writing, finding a few moments is better than none at all. In the fall I started trying to work on Bookcook for 15 minutes a day, and found I could finish a post in two or three days. I might have gotten up to two whole posts a week if the holiday craziness hadn’t interrupted my flow. So, long story short, my goal for the year is to keep plugging away and get caught up, but also not to stress so much about it that I drain all the fun out of what I’m doing.

Having only managed to post 35 recipes in 2013 (my worst record since 2006), I feel a bit silly making a top 10 list, given that it will contain nearly a third of my total content for the year. But once I started reviewing the recipes, I spotted so many delicious ones that have already become standbys that I realized it’s still worth highlighting them. So, here are my favorite 10 recipes I posted in 2013 (in chronological order):

1. Roasted Tomato, Kale, and Feta Pizza: Building on one of my favorite recipes of 2012, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, this is pretty much my ideal pizza—a little spicy, a little sweet, a little salty, a little tart, a little earthy, loaded with vegetables, plenty cheesy, and easy to put together. Sold! 
2. Cardamom Cookies: Not sexy to look at, but a must for any cardamom lover, these buttery spice cookies have become one of my Christmas standards (although I only posted the recipe last January, I’ve been making them for several years now). I originally struggled with the odd shape and considered just making them round, but I was recently paging through a Swedish cookie recipe book A’s mom gave me a few years ago and spotted almost this exact recipe, titled “Cardamom Horseshoes.” So they are legitimately traditional, and I’ll be sticking with the horseshoe shape now that I’ve finally figured out how not to make them look like butts.
3. Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal: I’d been making a plain version as an occasional break from granola since 2010, but with my discovery of the wealth of flavor variations at Budget Bytes, 2013 was my baked oatmeal renaissance, and now I only tend to make granola as an occasional break from baked oatmeal. Banana and Funky Monkey (although unless I’m feeling hormonal or decadent, I usually omit the chocolate and coconut so it’s just peanut butter-banana) are also in my regular rotation, but pumpkin remains my all-time favorite, regardless of the time of year. I actually have some in the fridge right now!
4. Apple and Fennel Salad: My first time out with raw fennel, I happened to stumble on pretty much the perfect salad. I love the fruit + greens + nuts + cheese + lemon vinaigrette salad formula in many forms, but this is an especially successful version.
5. Mushrooms and Poached Eggs on Cheesy Toast: Hardly a complicated recipe, but beloved, not only because it’s easy and delicious but also because I was hungry for something specific and was able to improvise to feed my craving, not always my strong suit. It also kicked off my mini-mania for other breakfasty sandwich-type things (see also Open-Faced Egg, Cheese, and Tomato Sandwiches).
6. Spinach Soup With Garlic Thyme Croutons: 50-something soup recipes on this site and this was the first time it occurred to me to (a) make a pureed spinach soup and (b) gussy it up with croutons. I may be slow on the uptake, but it helps that this is a really flavor-packed recipe.
7. Farro Salad With Roasted Mushrooms and Parmesan: 2013 was definitely my Year of Farro. I not only discovered that I like it, but found three killer recipes. This one narrowly edged out the excellent Beef, Mushroom, and Farro Soup and One-Pan Farro With Tomatoes, due to the sheer number of times I’ve made it—at least five times already, which pretty much means once a month. I love making a lemony kale salad alongside it and having wholesome, satisfying double-salad lunches all week long.
8. Southwest Scramble: I said in the original post that I’m not sure I could ever get tired of this one, and that still holds true even though I’ve done my best to try. As if the discovery of how to make baked tortilla chips wasn’t exciting enough, I can throw them into a pan with black beans, eggs, salsa and cheese and have easy comfort food in just a few short minutes. Definitely make your own tortilla chips for this one—I did try it with storebought once and it’s not the same.
9. Roasted Strawberry and Toasted Coconut Popsicles: I finally used my popsicle molds! And I struck gold on my first outing with this recipe. Next summer I’m going full-on popsicle-crazy, but I doubt I’ll find anything as delicious as these.
10. Tex-Mex Beef and Bean Enchiladas With Chili Gravy: Slam dunk, instant classic. I’m pretty pleased to have made my own enchilada sauce, but the simple filling is a winner too, with a genius use of refried beans to create a saucy consistency.

OPEN-FACED EGG, TOMATO, AND CHEESE SANDWICHES

Breakfast sandwiches...I never really saw the appeal, but then I haven’t been wild about eggs until recently. Now an egg on toast sounds cozy and lovely to me—for dinner. An egg on toast with mustard, melted cheddar, and tomato sounds even better. You probably don’t even need a recipe for that, but it wouldn’t have occurred to me without this post from Everybody Likes Sandwiches via Poppytalk. I had some fat sourdough English muffins from a neighborhood restaurant, La Grande Orange, each half just the right size to hold a slice of tomato and an egg comfortably (suddenly this breakfast sandwich thing is making sense). A quick egg-frying and broiler-toasting later, and you’ve got a crispy-gooey delight for any time of day. The cheese that oozes off the bread and browns on the baking sheet is my favorite part. I also love the way the egg yolks get just a little more solid in the oven—still soft, but more gelatinous and less runny. Throw some salad or roasted asparagus on the side and peel an orange to round out your lazy dinner.

1 large tomato, thickly sliced
2 large, thick slices of rustic bread or 2 sturdy split English muffins
2-4 thick slices sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you prefer, as long as it melts well—Edam and Harvati are also good options)
Dijon mustard to taste
Butter
2-4 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the broiler.

2. Run the bread under the broiler for a few minutes until lightly toasted (sometimes I find it easier to just use a toaster for this).

3. Place the bread on a baking sheet. Spread mustard over the bread, then add the tomatoes and cheese (enough to cover the whole surface of the bread). Place under the broiler for a couple of minutes, just until cheese is melted.

4. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add enough butter (1 tablespoon or less) to just coat the bottom of the pan when it melts. When the butter starts to bubble, crack in the eggs and cook until whites are set on the bottom.

5. Slide the eggs on top of the toast (one per English muffin, or one to two per slice of bread depending on the size) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to the broiler for 30 seconds or so, just until the top of the white is fully set and the yolk appears cloudy (or go for a full minute if you want your yolks solid).

Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes

Leftover potential: No. Eat immediately and make more later.

TEX-MEX BEEF AND BEAN ENCHILADAS WITH CHILI GRAVY

I was craving chili with all the fixings. A pointed out that it was over 90 degrees outside (this was back in September), hardly the ideal weather for simmering a hot pot for several hours on the stove. A countered with a request for beef tacos. I pointed out that I needed leftovers to take to work, and tacos are very annoying to transport because I have to store each component in a separate container and assemble them all at my desk. We needed a compromise, something spicy and beefy but not overly heavy, something compact and portable. Enchiladas were the perfect solution.

It turns out that I’m such a rube of a northern Midwesterner that I didn’t know authentic enchilada sauce doesn’t have tomatoes in it. I guess I always assumed that’s what made it red—and in Minnesota in the 1980s, that may have been the case. (My enchilada experience is not vast, since I avoided them for most of my youth because they were usually made with corn tortillas, which I hated.) Poking around online for enchilada recipes, however, I soon learned from Homesick Texan that genuine Tex-Mex sauce is essentially a gravy that starts with a roux, spiked with plenty of chili powder and thinned it with broth. Easy done. I wasn’t sure I liked it when I tasted it on its own, but it was awesome when baked into the enchiladas, deep and dark and smoky. (I vaguely recall adding some chipotle chili powder into the mix to enhance the smokiness.) Even if the filling I used here doesn’t sound good to you, you should still try this sauce and swap it into the enchilada recipe of your choice—it’s one of those amazing kitchen tricks that goes from “I’m not sure this is going to work…” to “I can’t believe I made that!” in a few minutes flat.

I chose a recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride that combined the chili gravy with a straightforward spiced-beef filling, but cut the meatiness with some beans. Refried beans aren’t my favorite (although they’re growing on me), but they melt into the background here and create a wonderful creamy, saucy consistency. It was my first time buying canned ones, but it turns out Trader Joe’s fat-free refried beans are pretty darn good, at least for this purpose.

Still thinking of chili and tacos, and wanting to make things a bit healthier and more colorful since it was still technically summer, I topped the enchiladas generously with shredded lettuce and a pico-de-gallo-type salad made of cherry tomatoes, avocado, green onions, cilantro and lime juice. Probably not authentic, but excellent all the same.

Not surprisingly, the enchiladas were delicious and are destined to become a repeat favorite. Apparently A and I need to disagree about what to eat more often, if it results in this type of tasty compromise.

Chili gravy:
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cups chicken broth
Enchiladas:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
½ medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 14 ounce-can refried beans
16-20 small flour tortillas
2 cups Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, shredded

1. To make the chili gravy, heat the ¼ cup oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and continue stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until the roux is light brown.

2. Add the pepper, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, and chili powder and continue to cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.

3. Add broth slowly, stirring while the sauce thickens.

4. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes while you make the enchilada filling.

5. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef to the pan, breaking up with a spoon, and cook thoroughly. Drain excess grease from the meat and set the meat aside.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the same skillet and add onions, cooking until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

7. Return cooked beef to the pan and stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in the refried beans and ½ can of water. Stir until smooth and cook until bubbly.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While it heats, put ½ cup of chili gravy into a 9x13 baking pan and spread it evenly.

9. Add ¼ to ⅓ cup beef mixture to the center of a tortilla and top with a pinch of cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat until all the beef mixture is used. Pour remaining chili gravy over the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

10. Bake 12-15 minutes in the oven, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve unadorned or with garnishes of your choice (e.g., cilantro, green onions, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado).

Serves: 8-10 (2 enchiladas each)
Time: 1 hour
Leftover potential: Great.

ROASTED STRAWBERRY AND TOASTED COCONUT POPSICLES

I know, it’s not strawberry season for most of you, and it’s not popsicle weather either, and this picture is kinda crappy. (Popsicles turn out to be surprisingly difficult to photograph, especially when they’re melting—it actually was popsicle weather way back when I made these—and I really want to eat the subject. Hunger is my number-one obstacle to becoming a better food photographer.) But I had to share, because popsicles! I made them! And they were delicious. So you’ll just have to bookmark this for next summer.

When I was a kid, my mom used to make pudding pops (from Jell-O boxed pudding mix; pistachio was my favorite) in Tupperware molds. (These, to be precise.) Periodically I’ve seen fancy foodie popsicle recipes on blogs and in magazines and thought about making them, but it never seemed worth buying special equipment for. Popsicles are refreshing and all, but I’ll happily pass them over for ice cream. Then I won some popsicle molds (these, to be precise) in some random departmental contest at my old job…and promptly shoved them into a deep back corner of the cupboard and forgot about them for nearly a year, until I spotted this recipe at Joy the Baker. Roasted strawberries and toasted coconut? Hold the damn phone.

Why didn’t anyone tell me popsicles could be this good? They’re a snap to make but don’t taste like anything you can buy at the store: creamy coconut milk with toasty coconut shreds, rich red strawberry concentrated via roasting, not too much sweetness and just a hint of lime for contrast. This immediately launched a popsicle obsession for me, but none of the other recipes I’ve tried so far have held a candle to this one.

Trader Joe’s only sells a light coconut milk, which works well for most uses but would have been too icy when frozen, so I tried TJ’s coconut cream instead and it was fantastic for this purpose, thick and rich with a purer flavor than any other coconut milk I’ve had. I also used TJ’s shredded coconut, which is only mildly sweetened, far less sugary than the Baker’s stuff. I daresay you could use straight-up unsweetened if you wanted. I had to make this in two half-batches because I only have six popsicle molds, but it was no big deal—I made the full amount of roasted strawberry puree and stored half of it in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days, where it held up just fine until I was ready to make the other popsicles, at which point I concocted the rest of the coconut mixture.

1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lime, divided
1 (15-ounce) can whole-fat coconut milk or coconut cream, well shaken
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle coconut onto a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes (keep a close eye on it). Remove from oven and place coconut in a small bowl to cool.

2. Place strawberries on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven to roast until fragrant and soft, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the strawberries to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and juice of half a lime. Blend until smooth.

3. In a small bowl, stir together coconut milk, remaining lime juice, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir the toasted coconut into the milk mixture.

4. Dollop a spoonful of strawberry into the bottom of each popsicle mold. Stir coconut milk and add to the popsicle molds, filling them about 2/3 full. Spoon more strawberry into each mold and top with remaining coconut milk.

5. Add popsicle mold sticks and lids. Freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.

Yields: About 10 popsicles
Time: 40 minutes (plus 6 hours to chill)
Leftover potential: Of course. Ours were eaten within a week, but they should keep in the freezer as long as you like (within reason).

STEAK SANDWICHES WITH PICKLED ONION AND HERB AIOLI

I’m determined to get caught up with this thing, which means you’re going to have to put up with nonseasonal recipes for a little while longer. This one is from Cooking Light, and while it seems pretty plain at first glance—bread, meat, greens, onion, and mayo—it definitely adds up to more than the sum of its parts. I usually find steak monotonous, but the peppery arugula, sweet and briny onions, and citrusy herbed aioli jazz things up. The aioli is actually my favorite part, and I say this as a recovering mayonnaise hater of long standing. To me, concocting my own mayo makes all the difference, and when you spike it with garlic, herbs and extra lemon, it’s irresistible. I knew this recipe would be a surefire hit with A, who loves red meat and sandwiches in equal measure, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it too, and as a bonus it wasn't hard to throw together. I’ve made it twice already, and it’s likely to keep popping up on our menu through all seasons.

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe. I always find myself corrupting the finicky purity of Cooking Light recipes, but my only less-healthy change here was to add salt to the onion pickling mixture, because I think pickles should be at least somewhat salty. (I ahbor sweet pickles, so the 2 tablespoons of sugar seemed excessive to me, but I went with it as written and while I wouldn’t snack on the onions by themselves, they really work on the sandwich, their sweetness offset by the other ingredients.) Other than that, I merely swapped in basil, which seems more appropriately summery, for the tarragon, which I dislike. And it seemed a bit awkward to make one giant sandwich and then slice it into fourths—plus I wanted to save half of the food for leftovers the next day—so instead I just cut the bread into fourths to begin with and assembled the sandwiches separately.

¼ cup water
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra to taste
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup canola mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound flank steak, trimmed
1½ teaspoons olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 12-ounce French baguette
1 cup arugula leaves

1. Combine first three ingredients plus 1 teaspoon salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave on high 2 minutes or until boiling. Stir in onion. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

3. Combine mayonnaise and next four ingredients (through garlic). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Rub steak evenly with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place steak on grill rack; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak across the grain into thin slices.

5. Cut baguette in fourths crosswise, then cut the pieces in half lengthwise. Place bread, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted.

6. Drain onion mixture and discard liquid. Arrange one-quarter of the steak evenly over each of the four bottom baguette pieces; top evenly with onion and arugula. Spread mayonnaise mixture over cut side of each top baguette piece and place the top pieces on the sandwiches.

Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes
Leftover potential: OK, if all components are stored separately and only assembled just before eating.