The Global Kitchen

Xuxu is just another name for chayote squash but xuxu is way more fun to say.

If you haven't had chayote it doesn't have a squash consistency but has the texture of a pear and a very mild flavor. I like it raw in salads.

Stir fried with the chile lemon sauce shrimp and cilantro makes xuxu great! This dish is so easy and so healthy. It tastes very fresh. Except for the chayote I always have the ingredients on hand. Guess I'll have to start buying chayote and put this on a regular rotation.

Recipe from Gourmet magazine, Sept 2009 is HERE.

Tonight was my turn to host supper club and the theme was Mediterranean. So I picked a four fork rated Mediterranean recipe from Bon Appetit's March 2004 issue. It's hard to say which Mediterranean country influences this the most. It's more of a flavor profile.

I will say it does deserve all the accolades on Epicurious. It's easy and full of flavor. The only alterations I made were to cut the olives and cherry tomatoes in half.

If you don't want to spring for wild mushrooms you could use button. But the wild mushrooms give the dish a more earthy flavor. I'll definitely make this again!

Recipe HERE

Oh and the green things next to the chicken are dolma (stuffed grape leaves). I love dolma and these were good but the recipe definitley needed tweaking. I do want to make a rice dolma one day.

I went to see Julie and Julia yesterday and LOVED it! Meryl Streep's Julia Child was unbelievably believable. It really did make want to get her book and try some of those recipes. I won't be boiling calves feet for aspic (blechh) but I would like to try the beef bourguignon once the weather cools.

Some say the Julie character is too whiny, and I see their point, but in her defense she did have a sucky job. And yes blogging is narcissistic but not nearly as much as Facebook and Twitter. Then again those two sites weren't around in 2002.


I cooked some dried cannellini beans today for salads after coming across THIS recipe on the 101 Cookbooks blog.

I'm not a huge carrot fan. I'll eat them in dishes but rarely all by themselves. These carrots were so good! I was worried the dish would be too sweet and I did not add all the honey the recipe called for. It was perfect and something I'll definitely make again.

Yeah I know I tagged this as vegan/vegetarian but read on.....

I confess I'm not a huge fan of green salads. I eat plenty of them, but I usually start with all the additions and nibble at the greens.

I bought a Mr Bento Lunch Jar and have been searching for tasty grain, noodle and bean salads for the main course container.

This recipe seemed right up my alley. It comes from Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I did replace the tofu with shrimp because I didn't want to bake. I used water instead of sake and skipped the extra sugar. And i used short grain brown rice.

It is really good and mild compared to the spicy dishes I usually eat. i'm thinking it would be a bitbolder with the sake. Next time.

Japanese-Style Rice Salad
MARK BITTMAN
Time: 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the type of rice
Yield: 4 to 8 servings.

1 1/2 to 2 cups short-grain brown or white rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1 small or 1/2 large red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded celery
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded carrot
1 cup firm tofu, preferably baked, optional
6 tablespoons miso paste
3/4 cup warm water or sake
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon mirin or honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or more to taste
2 sheets of nori, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds, toasted.

1. Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it's just done; white rice will take 10 to 15 minutes, brown 30 or a little longer. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.

2. Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl, and whisk together. Taste, and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt, if needed.

3. Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains.

4. Crumble nori over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

It's 115 degrees outside and I do not want to cook ANYTHING! When it gets like this I graze. Or make gazpacho.

But for the sake of the blog I managed to get my butt outside and grill some fish. I bought a large bag of cherries on sale and I have a bad habit of letting large amounts of produce go bad before I can consume it. I hate wasting food which is why I try to buy in small quantities.

This dish was definitely worth the trip outside to Hades. I'm not a dessert person so I was excited to find a savory cherry recipe. I even liked the fish with just the rub and no salsa.

I have leftover salsa and will probably use it on halibut or chicken over the weekend.

I first saw the recipe on my buddy Joe's blog, Culinary in the Desert, but the original recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, June 2008.

It's a pretty dish too isn't it?

I could eat an entire package of halloumi grilled or pan fried. But I showed restraint and made my last package last 3 meals.

It doesn't melt but it browns beautifully and gets "gooey". YUM-YUM-YUM-YUM-YUM-YUM-YUM-YUM!!!!

This recipe made a pretty good lunch. The best part was the cheese of course.

I used the beluga lentils because I like the protein punch. They're great in salads. But they're flavor neutral so if you can't find them other lentils will do. Persian cucumbers are small and tender but basically taste like cucumbers so you could sub an English hothouse or a regular cuke if you don't have access to the Persian. I think the Persian have a cooler fresher taste but that might be because of where I buy them. I also added chopped kalamata olives just because. The recipe says you can sub parm cheese but that would taste entirely different.

Recipe HERE

We just got back from an Alaskan cruise (Holland America Line) and had a fantastic time. Even if you think you are not a "cruise person" I encourage you to try it. You will not be disappointed.

There was plenty of halibut and salmon on the ship but my boyfriend ate no halibut and had salmon only once. So I decided since it's in season I'd do halibut since he missed out.

I've had chimichurri on steak many times but never on fish. Yum! It's a great compliment. I need to buy more halibut too as it's so good on the grill!

I highly recommend the chimichurri recipe I blogged about HERE.

Yum another grilled trout recipe!!! This time I used my grill basket, which I forgot I had until someone mentioned grill baskets on the Cooking Light boards. It's non-stick so cleanup was a lot easier. I didn't have to scrape fish skin off the grill anyway.

The trout was good, as it always is, but the best part were the beans! You could make these as a side for just about any meal. I was a little wary about the amount of butter but when it's browned it does have a nice nutty flavor. I would also like to cook some dried Rancho Gordo Runner Cannelini's for this next time. Canned worked fine but dried would be better.

I did make a couple of changes. I used white wine vinegar in place of balsamic because that's what I have. And I used a whole trout with the bones. I also put a few sprigs of rosemary in the cavity of the fish.

The recipe is from the July 2009 issue of Bon Appetit and can be found HERE.

This needs to be prepped the day before. Got that? Good! Because there have been times I've been all set to make a recipe and realized there was something that needed to be done way earlier.

This was deemed a restaurant worthy meal by everyone! Totally worth the price of the dry scallops I got at Whole Foods.

It comes from the book Fish and Shellfish Grilled and Smoked by Kearen Adler and Judith Ferto. If you are looking for an excellent seafood cookbook I highly recommend this one. I've made numerous recipes from it and they've all been outstanding.

Scallop tips: dry scallops work better than previously frozen, and watch them carefully! They're better slightly undercooked than overcooked. Direct high heat is best.

Grilled Scallops with Pancetta and Basil Aioli
serves 4

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbs cracked black peppercorns
1 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 lb sea scallops
1 cup basil aioli
4 thin slices of pancetta

A day in advance combine the olive oil, garlic, peppercorns and lemon juice in a resealable plastic bag and marinate the scallops overnight.

Make the aioli a day in advance (recipe below)

Prepare a hot fire

Meanwhile cook the pancetta in a skillet over med-high heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel.

When ready to grill remove the scallops from the grill and place on the grill for about 3 minutes before turning. If the scallops stick, cook them a little longer until they turn easily.

After turning cook a little longer until they are heated through, 1-2 minutes.

Spoon 1/4 cup of the aioli onto 4 serving plates and spread around. Arrange scallops on top and sprinkle with the crumbled pancetta.

Basil Aioli

The original recipe calls for nuking the yolks for 15 seconds. I tried this and ended up with cooked yolks. I make mayo and aioli's all the time with raw yolks and have lived. But if it bothers you or if you are elderly, pregnant, an infant or have a weakened immune system use pasturized egg yolks.

2 large organic egg yolks
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 anchovy fillets, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs chopped basil leaves
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and Tabasco to taste.

Whisk egg yolks together and whisk in add lemon juice through vinegar.

Slowly drizzle in olive oil whisking all the while. When mixture has thickened, season with salt and Tabasco to taste.

If the mixture gets too thick, thin with a little warm water.

Keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

After this I promise to lay off the Mexican recipes for a while. Three in a row is enough but Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines to eat in the summer.

Wendy sent me this as part of our recipe exchange. The original source is Mario Batali's babysitter.

I bought boneless skinless thighs and cut them into pieces. I served it on a warm tortilla with a shot of chipotle tabasco and some Crema Mexicana.

This is a definite repeater. It couldn't be easier!

Recipe HERE.

I love fish tacos! they just scream "summer!" to me. There's a restaurant down the road from me that makes the best fish tacos but I also like to make my own. You really don't need a recipe. Just grill up some firm white fish(I like mahi-mahi) and add to a tortilla with accompaniments of your choice. I like Crema Mexicana, salsa, red onions marinaded in red wine vinegar, and avocado.

I do like the marinade from THIS recipe and use it frequently. It's also the recipe that gave me idea for using the crema and the red onions.

It's a good thing I haven't eaten much today because I just devoured two servings of Melissa Clark's Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp. It is so easy, flavorful and there's minimal cleanup. I had mine with bread but when I make this the next 1000 times I'll probably serve rice as a side. Bread works too though.

I used a half teaspoon of ground cumin and coriander in place of the whole. That was the only change I made.

You really need to make this ASAP.

Recipe HERE

This was delicious!!!! Instead of cooking the trout in pans we cooked them outside on the grill. The rosemary really flavored the trout well and was perfect with the tomatoes. I served it over THIS tabbouleh recipe from my blog. In reviewing that recipe I realize I forgot the mint. Ooops. It was still very good and I would probably leave it out again since the rosemary in the fish recipe is pretty strong.

I chose the recipe because it's so easy-about 5 minutes of chopping the sauce, 20 minutes to prep the grill and about 3 minutes to prep the fish. Cook time was about 8 minutes total. And even though it's not listed as one of their healthy choices I still think it's a good choice. I love that the magazine tags the recipes except I keep reading "HF" as "High Fat" instead of "High Fiber".

The recipe for Rosemary Trout with Cherry-Tomato Sauce, courtesy of Bon Appetit June 2009 can be found at Epicurious HERE.

I first saw black garlic used on Top Chef and was immediately intrigued. Back then a Google search just turned up Blackgarlic.com. At the time there were no vendors listed so I emailed the company to try to get my hands on some. The end result was my last email went unanswered. I was annoyed.

I kept seeing little tidbits about it-namely that it was set to be the new trendy ingredient. I went back to the site they had added vendors so I ordered from Sauce N Spice. I was surprised at the speedy service. I ordered on a Thursday, choosing the cheapest shipping option, and received it Saturday morning.

It's ugly but lack garlic tastes very very good! It's a bit like balsamic vinegar with soft garlic undertones and a sweet aftertaste. The texture is like a roasted clove of garlic.

I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it but THIS RECIPE from STEAMY KITCHEN looked too good to pass up.

In a word it was phenomenal! It would be great with regular garlic but the black garlic took it to another level.

I also sauteed a clove with baby bok choy in sesame oil and a little soy sauce.

I love my new discovery! Now that I have an idea of what it tastes like I'll be using up my supply. Do yourself a favor and if your local Asian market doesn't carry this order some.

We had another adventure in seafood grilling last night. This recipe is also from Fish & Shellfish Grilled and Smoked by Karen Adler and Judith M. Fertig.

This was excellent and a definite repeater!!! I served it with crash hot potatoes and Italian bread.

Jim had the fire a little too hot and the hot side of our plank was charred so we quickly heated the other side and laid the fish on that. I was pretty diligent in checking the fish as I was worried it would overcook. But he got the fire cooled to where it cooked close to the recipe. Cooking time for our fish was only 30 minutes on the indirect heat. Keep checking until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

The original recipe calls for an oak plank and salmon but I had a cedar plank left over from last year's grilling season. The cedar will give the fish a different taste than oak of course. We also used arctic char in place of salmon as arctic char is a better choice for sustainability according to Seafood Watch.

By the way Seafood Watch is an excellent resource for information on fishing and farming techniques as well as which fish are the best choice at the seafood counter. I carry their downloadable pocket guide in my wallet.

Oak Planked Salmon Charmoula
From Fish & Shellfish Grilled and Smoked by Karen Adler and Judith M. Fertig.

1 salmon fillet about 2 1/2 lbs skin on
1/2 cup charmoula (recipe below)

Vegetable Medley

2 tbs fresh lemon juice
8 small ripe Roma tomatoes
2 med cucumbers peeled seeded and diced
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper seeded and diced
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup snipped chives
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Lemon, orange and lime slices for garnish

Soak plank in water for at least 30 minutes before smoking.

Rinse and pat salmon dry with paper towels and trim the fish to fit the plank if necessary.

Sprinkle the flesh side with charmoula. Combine the vegetable medley ingredients in a small bowl and mix to blend.

Prepare an indirect fire.

When ready to smoke place the plank over direct heat until it begins to smoke and pop 3-4 minutes. Turn the plank over and place the salmon skin side down, on the hot side of the plank. Top the salmon with the vegetables. Grill over direct heat for 4-5 minutes, then move the plank to the indirect side of the grill. Close the lid and let the salmon plank-smoke until it is opaque and begins to flake with a fork at the thickest part, about 45 minutes.

Remove the planked salmon from the grill and serve directly from the plank with the citrus on the side.

Charmoula

Charmoula is a traditional Moroccan herb and spice mixture that is excellent on fish and chicken.

1 large clove of garlic, peeled
2 tbs chopped Italian parsley
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 TBS ground cumin
1 tbs paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Process garlic through cayenne in food processor until smooth. Add lemon juice and olive oil and process into a paste

I've made this several times and everyone has loved it.

It's especially fun to see people who aren't accustomed to eating whole fish take in the presentation. People also seem to think you went to a lot of trouble when this is the easiest recipe evah!

Sorry about the blurry picture but I was at my bf's house and it looked fine on my little monitor.

Anyway the recipe is from Fish & Shellfish Grilled and Smoked by Karen Adler and Judith M. Fertig. It's an excellent book and I haven't had a failure yet. We had this with grilled asparagus and Italian bread.

Now the original instructions say to grill 8-10 minutes each side but I have never grilled them that long. I did 5 minutes on one side and 2 on the other. I think it all depends on how hot your fire is and I've developed a "fish-stinct" to where I can tell it's done. Keep testing.

Recipe

4 12 to 16 oz dressed rainbow trout (I always get bone in)
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
Fresh Italian parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Zesty Lemon Baste (recipe below)

Prepare med/hot fire

Place 2 onion slices, 2-3 lemon slices and a sprig of parsley in the cavity of each fish. Season with salt and pepper. (I put a dollop of the lemon baste in the fish too).

Grill until meat is opaque and just beginning to flake with a fork, turning once and brushing frequently with the lemon baste.

Serve garnished with lemon slices and parsley.

Zesty Lemon Baste
(You can also use lime orange or grapefruit juice)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
4 minced garlic cloves.

Combine all the ingredients and blend (I used my hand mixer)
Will keep well wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

A later note- I realize I blogged this twice! Eesh I really need to chack myself.

Once a week or so I roast a chicken and strip the meat for soups and salads. My normal method was to truss and roast using THOMAS KELLER'S PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE. Sometimes I'll season it with different herbs or a sprinkling of Penzey's Mural of flavor. I occasionally make a PSYCHO CHICKEN.

But now I am a convert to spatchcocked chicken. And I like the word, "spatchcocked". It cooks faster and turns out incredibly tender and juicy. I think once the weather gets too hot to roast this will be a great way to grill a chicken.

I can't really describe the technique except to say it's deceptively easy. I just watched THIS VIDEO a couple of times. I didn't trim the fat-instead I cut slits and tucked the legs in. I roasted at 400 degrees until the thigh temperature reached 170 and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. I do need a bigger roasting pan as mine isn't big enough for the flattened chicken. The foil lined baking sheet worked fine though.

Tom Kha Gai is my favorite soup on the menu of our local Thai restaurant. They serve it in one of those aluminum chimneys. It's usually the only thinkg I get.

Anyway I've been meaning to replicate it for a couple of years but never got around to it. I looked a lot of different recipes and took notes from each one but settled on measurements from THIS recipe on the Food Tastes Good blog.

I added a can of straw mushrooms, rinsed very well, and skipped the red bell pepper, salt and red pepper flakes. I made my own nam prik pao(Thai roasted red chili paste but I used a recipe from my Hot Sour Salty Sweet cookbook which doesn't call for palm sugar. My block of palm sugar was harder than cement and I would have needed a jackhammer to break it apart so I used brown sugar.

The end result was very close to what I get at the restaurant. The heat was just right for me. Gradual and flavorful.

I took the leftovers to work served over jasmin rice and it held up very well. I'm definitely making it again next week.

If you're looking for a great New Years Resolution dish this is a great place to start. Lean protein, leafy greens, tomatoes and whole grains are all things we should be eating more of.

I used Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage with Chipotle which gave the dish quite the kick. I'd like to try it again with basil pesto for a milder dish.

Sausage with Bulgur and kale
Weight Watchers Magazine - Jan/Feb 2009

1 (12 oz.) package fully cooked poultry sausage with roasted pepper and corn, cut up
8 cups fresh kale, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 1/2) can lo-sodium chicken broth
1 cup bulgur
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the kale and garlic to the skillet; reduce the heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the kale is wilted, about 1 minute. Stir in the broth, bulgur, salt, pepper, and sausage. Cover and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes.

3 Remove the skillet from the heat. let the mixture stand, covered, until the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur is tender, about 5 minutes. Fluff the mixture with a fork; stir in the tomatoes and cheese.

4 Servings (about 1 1/2 cups): 316 calories 6 WW Points

It's been cold and rainy here and I've been thinking chili would hit the spot. Chili is another food I used to hate as a kid. What was I thinking? It's hearty, filling and there are so many variatons.

People are fanatical about their recipes with secret ingredients and other tricks. I just found this recipe in Cooking Light back in 2003 and quit looking. I just wish I had the forsight to cook up some of my dried Rancho Gordo beans in place of the canned beans. Next time. A big glob of Daisy sour cream and some shredded cheddar and the bowl is finished.

This recipe makes a LOT of chili but the good news is it freezes very well.

Enjoy.

Recipe HERE