Night #5- Vietnamese

Toppings for banh mi

Our version of banh mi with chicken meatballs

 As we continue to go around the world, so to speak, we landed in Vietnam last night.  We made banh mi sandwiches and salad.  They both were flavorful and different.  For the banh mi, we used the leftover potsticker filling and turned them into meatballs; just added 1 egg and 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs to the mix.  I cooked it in the oven for 40 minutes, flipping half way through, in a baking dish.  To make the sandwiches, just take store-bought French bread, and spread with a spicy mayo (2 tablespoons mayo, 1 teaspoon siracha, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire, and 1/2 lime juice).  Add the meatballs and then top with whatever condiments you like (I used cilantro, basil, green onion, shredded carrots, and cucumber).  For the salad, it was simply: lettuce, radish, cucumber, shredded carrot, and store-bought ginger dressing.  It was a fun dinner and delicious!

Ready to start building sandwiches

Salad with ginger dressing

Night #4- USA!!

Pancakes and Syrup

It was hard deciding on what to make for our USA night, but we ended up choosing a childhood favorite of both Ryan and mine....breakfast for dinner! I hate to brag, but I really do make a killer pancake.   So to celebrate the USA's medals, we chowed down on some pancakes and sausage.

Ingredients for pancakes:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter (plus more for cooking and serving)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups half & half (you can use milk too, but half & half really makes them thick and fluffy)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, melt 3 tablespoons butter and add the remaining ingredients to that bowl.  Slowly wisk wet ingredients into dry.  You can make batter ahead of time or start cooking.  Scoop out desired amount of batter (I use 1/2 cup) into a frying pan on medium heat with some melted butter.  Cook on first side until lots of bubbles have formed, and then flip.  Serve with butter and real maple syrup (don't bother with the fake stuff!). 

Night #3- Cuba!

Last night we attempted to make our own version of Cuban/Caribbean meal.  We made Cuban sandwiches and corn & avocado salad/salsa.

Ingredients for Cuban Sandwich:

1 loaf of Cuban bread

1/4 lb. sliced roasted pork (we used the Publix deli brand)

1/4 lb. thinly sliced ham

1/8 lb. sliced cheese (I prefer swiss, while Ryan likes American)

Sliced dill pickles

2 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons butter or cooking spray

Combine the mayo and mustard and spread on the bread (you can cook a giant sandwich and then portion it out or make separate ones), then add meat, cheese and pickles.  Spread room temperature butter on bread and then cook on a panini press (or on a frying pan with something heavy on top of the sandwich.  Cook until cheese is slightly melted and bread is crunchy.

Cuban sandwich

Ingredients for Corn & Avocado Salad:

2 cups frozen corn kernels thawed

2 diced avocados

Juice of 2 limes

2 minced green onions

1 minced jalapeno, seeds removed

Salt to taste

corn and avocado

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it tastes, I recommend at least 1 hour.  Serve as a salad or with tortilla chips as a salsa.

Night #2- Japan

This is starting to get fun!  Another perk of staying home is that I have more time (and energy) to cook more involved meals.  Last night we fixed foods inspired by Japan (disclaimer: I am not claiming to cook 100% authentic...it's my spin on stuff).  We made gyoza (potstickers) and rice bowls...both came out really well, but I think the gyoza was a clear favorite.  

Fried Goyza (potstickers)

Ingredients for Gyoza:

1 pound ground chicken (typically it's with ground pork, but I couldn't find any at the store)

4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 chopped Napa cabbage

1 clove minced garlic

2 green onions minced

black pepper

1 teaspoon dried ginger

Wonton wrappers

Vegetable Oil for frying

In a bowl, mix together everything (except wonton wrappers).  Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavors come together.  To make the gyoza, fill each wonton wrapper with about a teaspoon of the chicken mixture and then brush the edges with water, fold one corner to the opposite corner and press down to make a seal (hard to explain, but they have good directions on the back of the wonton package).  Once gyoza are formed, heat the vegetable oil (enough to barely coat the bottom of the frying pan) on medium-high heat.  Add the gyoza to the heated oil, be careful not to overcrowd or else they will steam and not fry (I had to do two batches).  Fry on each side for about 2-3 minutes each, or until slightly browned.  Once fried, place on a paper towel-lined plate to get rid of any excess oil.  Serve with dipping sauce (recipe below).

Note: This will make way more filling than you need, so freeze the rest for next time!

Ready to eat!

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce/Marinade:

4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

2 garlic cloves minced

1 teaspoon (or more depending on taste) of siracha sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix together, even better if made the day before.

Ingredients for Rice Bowls:

1 pound flank steak

1 avocado sliced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 green onions chopped

1 bag of baby spinach sauteed in olive oil until just barely wilted

2 cups of cooked rice

Assembly line for rice bowls

For steak, marinade in recipe above for at least 5 hours (usually best overnight).  Grill on high heat for 7-8 minutes per side for medium-rare.   Assemble rice bowl with whatever toppings you like.  For a lower-carb option, serve with butter lettuce instead of rice to make a lettuce wrap. 

Olympic National Meals! Night One.

Night one featured foods inspired by the country of France.  When (not if) Ryan and I become super rich (haven't exactly figured the logistics out on that) we want to move our family to France.  We love everything about it (food, wine, culture, history, people, fashion, beauty, etc.), so it only seemed right that on the first night on our Olympics-inspired meals, we chose France.  We made something that we've never made before...coq au vin and lemon-thyme bars for dessert.  It turned out even better than I could've imagined! It did take awhile and had many steps, but it was well worth it!

Ingredients for Coq Au Vin:

1 whole cut-up chicken

6 slices of bacon, sliced into lardons

1/3 bottle of red wine (we used cote du Rhone)

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup marsala wine

1 pound of carrots (we used baby carrots because that was on sale at Publix)

2 large onions (1 diced and the other sliced)

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup flour

2 cloves minced garlic

Salt & pepper

1 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

Parsley for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 325.

To start with, cook the bacon in a dutch oven at medium heat until crispy (about 10-15 minutes); meanwhile pat chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour.  Once bacon is cooked, remove bacon and set aside, but leave the fat behind.  Add the chicken and brown chicken on both sides (about 10 minutes per side) at medium heat (chicken will finish cooking later), remove chicken from dutch oven.  In the same dutch oven, add the diced onion and carrots and thyme and cook until onion is softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the marsala, red wine, and stock, and some more seasoning.  Cook until liquid starts to boil, add the chicken back in, making sure it is completely submerged (add more stock if needed); place dutch oven in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

In a frying pan, add butter, oil, remaining onion, and mushrooms on medium heat.   Stir until butter is melted and then turn the temperature down to low.  Continue to cook and stir about every 10 minutes, for the same time as the chicken.  

Coq Au Vin

After, an hour, take the dutch oven out and put back on  a medium-low burner.  Check that the chicken is cooked (by this time, it should be falling off the bone).  Add the remaining flour to the onion/mushroom mixture and stir to get rid of any lumps. Add that into the dutch oven (this will thicken the sauce).  Add parsley and the cooked bacon to the dutch oven.  By this time it is ready to go, but you can continue reducing the liquid to get it to the desired consistency.  Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley. 

Vive La France (except when beating the US 4x100 men's swimming relay)

Lemon-Thyme Bars:

This recipe was taken from Giada on the Food Network.  Ryan made this one, and it turned out wonderfully!  Who knew I had a talented pastry chef as a husband!

Here's a link to the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lemon-thyme-bars-recipe/index.html

Lemon Thyme Bars

Let the Olympics (and the cuisine) Begin!

We get really into the Olympics at our house, and have been looking forward to these summer games for quite some time now.  We've decided to celebrate the Olympics at home, we will be cooking worldly-themed meals.  Check back for updates, pictures, and recipes!  Gladly accepting any suggestions.  Countries we have in mind already are France, Greece, Japan, SE Asia, Italy, & Mexico...but looking for more ideas!

Chase v. Bon Appetit

Our version

Bon Appetit's version

Every month we get countless magazines (thanks credit cards rewards) that feature lots of recipes.  Most of the time, we'll read them and think, that looks good; but very rarely do we actually make them.  This latest issue of Bon Appetit had some really wonderful recipes using lots of summer produce.  We spent a ridiculous amount of money on organic fruits and veggies this weekend (mostly for Carter), so we made a few of the Bon Appetit recipes.  We made the cover recipe, toast with tomatoes, herbs, and feta.  We did ours on leftover hamburger buns, but it was still delicious and made a great snack.