TURNIPS WITH BUTTERY CHANTERELLE MUSHROOM STUFFING

Who eats turnips? We never did when I was a kid, and as far as I know, none of my friends mom's made them either.  I never even tasted a turnip -- that I know of -- until I was in my 30's.  They're not bad. Nothing special in my opinion, but not bad. I guess most people just mash them? Personally, I'd rather have mashed potatoes. 

There is a very nice restaurant in Los Angeles called Providence. It is the first, and so far only, place I have ever had a delicious turnip. They took baby turnips and stuffed them with mushroom stuffing. It was so unique tasting, and so fantastic that every time I see a turnip now I think of Providence. 

Here is a similar preparation...

Get the smallest turnips you can find. 

I use an apple core tool and carve out the center. If they don't stand up well, which most won't, cut a small slice off the bottom so they have a flat surface to stand on and don't roll around spilling the stuffing. 

 
The stuffing will be done before the turnips, so I suggest steaming them for about 5-10 minutes until they are about 1/2 cooked. Be careful not to overcook them, we just need a little head start so they are cooked through when done. I find they overcook easily. You can go from hard to mush in very little time, so just keep checking them with a fork and you want them to be softened a bit, but definitely still firm.  

I took one large Chanterelle mushroom and cut it into a very small dice, along with 2 large cloves of garlic. Then I melted about 4 tablespoons of butter and sauteed them until the garlic was cooked and fragrant. 

Once the garlic and mushrooms were brown, I added some salt, pepper and enough bread crumbs to bring the stuffing together. 

I stuffed the turnips......

And baked at 350 for about 30 minutes until the stuffing was brown and crispy.

I'VE NEVER LIKED GROUND TURKEY MUCH, BUT THIS WAS EXCELLENT.

Ground chicken is so much better than ground turkey, in my opinion. But the other night I didn't have any ground chicken, all I had was ground turkey -- And why do I even buy it when I don't care for it? You got me. -- so I had to make it work.

At first I was thinking something along the lines of a Lebanese kibbeh styled thing, but what I ended up with was just a unique meat & vegetable cigar shaped meatballthingamajig. 

1 package ground turkey (usually between 1-1.5 lb.)

1 bunch swiss chard, cooked & chopped

1/4 large onion, cooked with the chard and also chopped

2-3 large cloved garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 eggs, scrambled

salt & pepper

Obviously the biggest problem with ground turkey is that it's often tough and sorta flavorless. So you need to infuse it with as much moisture as possible (vegetables work well) as well as fat for flavor (the butter). And a lot of egg will also lighten the texture, and make it more tender. 

So it goes together like this:

Boil the chard and onion in lightly salted water until tender. Drain and squeeze as much water out as you can. Then chop it up small and drop it into a mixing bowl. 

Add the turkey to the mixing bowl, the 2 scrambled eggs and your salt and pepper.  

Then take the 2 tablespoons of butter and the 1 tablespoon of oil and the chopped garlic and saute on med-low heat until garlic is fragrant and golden brown, cooked through. I like lots of garlic :)  Add garlic, butter and all, to the meat mixture and mix all ingredients together. 

In a sauce pan (I use the same one I cooked the garlic in) cover the bottom with oil and heat.  The meat mixture is quite wet so it's hard to form into meatballs but you can do patties or cigar shapes. Carefully place them in the pan, and brown on all sides. Try not to overcook; leave them in there for just long enough to cook through and brown the sides and they will be tender and will almost melt in your mouth. 

Great for lunch or a snack. Slice it and serve over a salad. It's also a good way to trick the kids into eating swiss chard!  We had them for dinner with some fluffy basmati rice.

BITTER MELON WITH CRISPY BACON AND FRIED EGG

If you've never had it, bitter melon can best be described as probably the most bitter food you've ever had. It is actually a fruit, and it grows in tropical climates. It's season is April to September, but these days you can find it year round in some Asian stores, and places like Whole Foods.  It is considered the most bitter vegetable. The texture is similar to a bell pepper. 

If you can tolerate bitter food, the nutritional benefits of this ugly little thing are definitely impressive. Bitter Melons are rich in iron. They have twice the beta carotene of broccoli, twice the calcium of spinach, twice the potassium of bananas, and contain Vitamins A, C, B1 to B3, Phosphorus and good dietary fiber. Like most bitter-tasting foods, bitter melon stimulates digestion. It also has been shown to lower blood sugar levels and is widely used to control diabetes. 

There is a very authentic Japanese Restaurant here, Kappo Honda, that we go to often. The first time I ever had bitter melon was there. They saute it with thinly sliced tofu, fried egg and bacon. It is delicious, and I never considered myself to be a fan of bitter food, but this I just LOVE! I often get a second order of it just because I love it that much. The extreme bitter of the melon is perfectly balanced by the egg and tofu and the fat, salt and smokiness from the bacon somehow makes an absolutely perfect neutralizer. It doesn't remove the bitter element, but it just makes it so GOOD!

Although I do not make it as good as they do, I am still going to share my interim recipe for the dish, which is certainly excellent in my opinion. :)  This makes lunch for 2 people, or this could be a side dish for 4 if added to a dinner. 

The melon is long like a bumpy cucumber. Wash it, and there is no need to peel it. The skin is tender and edible. Cut it in half, and core out the seeds and membrane - it is very easily removed with a spoon. 

For this recipe, use 1/2 of the melon. The whole thing could be too overwhelming for a bitter melon newbie. Chop into bite sized pieces, and to eliminate some of the bitterness, blanch in lightly salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes and then drain and drop into ice water to keep the vibrant green color and stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. 

Cut 6 pieces of bacon into bite sized pieces, and cook in a pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pan and set aside and add 4 eggs to the remaining oil and bacon fat. Lightly scramble the eggs, letting them get as crispy at the edges as possible. You could also add tofu chunks if you wish, up to 4 ounces.  

When the egg is done, add the melon and bacon back into the pan (and more olive oil if needed) and saute until the melon is heated and lightly browned.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

I really think the salty smoky flavor of the bacon is what makes the perfect pairing for the bitter component -- so I bet this would also be good with Chipotle & Adobo sauce if you don't want to use bacon? 

CROQUE-MONSIEUR w/GRUYERE & CROQUE-MADAME

I picked up some Gruyere cheese the other day, so naturally the first thing I thought of was a Croque-Monsieur! And since this was going to be our dinner, I added a fried egg, which then made it a Croque-Madame - A little heartier version. 

HOW TO MAKE A CROQUE-MONSIEUR

It's so simple - basically take white bread, add a dollup of mustard.....

I also like to add some Béchamel sauce inside - I swirl it around with the mustard. If you didn't have Bechamel you could probably use a little real mayonnaise and it wouldn't hurt anything. Or, just use mustard only. Your choice.

Add a slice or 2 of thin sliced ham. It's not traditional to pile up a big stack of ham. Just a thin layer is all you need. On top of the ham, add a thin slice of Gruyere or some shredded Gruyere, and top with the other piece of bread.

Now, you can do this 2 ways. Assemble the sandwich and cook it in the oven, turning as it browns, but I just find it so much easier to grill it in a pan with a little butter, and then finish under the broiler.

Once browned, I remove it from the pan and spread on a little more Bechamel. 

Then a good amount of shredded Gruyere.

Finish under the broiler until cheese is bubbly and brown.

For a Croque-Madame, follow the steps above, then add a fried egg on top. 

Because it was dinner, I served it with a salad dressed with olive oil and lemon, and made some tomato soup. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The first breakfast, first meal, of 2009.

DUCK FAT ANYONE? NO REALLY, I HAVE A TON OF IT!

Anyone else overindulge in goodies this Holiday? I tell you, I have eaten my fair share of good, fattening food. And not even really sweets, just things like scalloped potatoes with cream & butter, creamy soups, fatty steaks.... Boy-o-boy. And then last night I roasted a duck. And you know, the amount fat that is in duck skin is just beyond words. This is what came off of my duck last night -- over 2 cups -- and believe me when I say that there was plenty left in the skin! And who can resist that! Crispy duck skin... oh MAN.  (yes, of course I kept the duck fat! it's in the freezer.) 

Last night's dinner was the last straw though. Seriously. I just can't take much more. I haven't gained any weight, but I know I'm pushing my luck. We have dinner reservations at Port on New Year's Eve, and I'll totally be having the filet and lobster, but other than that I am going to try and get back to a more healthy menu. Get back to our normal eats! I feel almost like I do after spending a few days in New Orleans. You just hit that fat overload.

 
So tonight, it's mashed potatoes with kale and salmon. I chopped the kale very small, then boiled it in water with 1/4 cup red wine, a little salt and some granulated dried garlic. Then I processed the potatoes through the ricer, added the kale and some chicken stock to make it creamy.  

Once mixed, I added a few tablespoons of fresh grated Gruyere for flavor and richness, since a little goes a long way. That's it. No butter, no cream. It was refreshingly light, fluffy, and just delicious. Even my toddler scarfed it! 

Then just salmon, simply grilled with salt, pepper, garlic and lemon. :)  Ahhhh....  It's like an ice cold glass of water on a hot day. Refreshing!

COCKTAIL HOUR ~ LAVENDER LEMON MARTINI

Don't be frightened. It's better than you think. Like lemonade with just a hint of lavender in the background. And It's not lavender massage oil you're using, this calls for fresh leaves. The edible kind. I prefer the tender new growth personally. The flavor is just barely there, and the lemon really brightens and lightens the warmth of the lavender. You can find fresh lavender in some health food stores, and I have also seen it at Whole Foods. I picked mine while out on a walk the other day. Don't like booze? No problem! This is awesome with Perrier too!

So, Merry Christmas everyone! It's been pretty busy, and we've been gone a lot, so there hasn't been a whole lotta cooking going on here lately. And what I have cooked is just the average boring stuff you throw together when you're hungry and have no energy and very little time to get food on the table, definitely not blog material. Hey... here we had buttered noodles, and here we had an omelette. Big whoop.  So instead of letting the blog sit here dormant, I just decided to do another cocktail post. Because it's slightly possible that people might be looking for cocktail recipes for holiday parties, right? 

LAVENDER LEMON MARTINI

Why lemon and lavender? I have no clue where I got the idea, but it just works. 

~2 oz Belvedere Vodka

~4 teaspoons simple syrup (50% water 50% sugar dissolved)

~2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

~1 heaping teaspoon fresh lavender leaves. I suppose you could also use dried?

~paper thin lemon slices for garnish

Add crushed ice, vodka, lemon juice & syrup to shaker -- massage lavender leaves lightly to release the oils and add to shaker also. If your lavender seems really potent (there are different varieties), cut to half teaspoon or less -- you can always add more later. The point is to have a very faint lavender aroma in the background, not for this to taste like you're eating a Glade air freshener. So anyway, shake well.... Serve in chilled glass. Garnish with the paper thin lemon slices. 

For a NON-alcoholic version, use 7-up or sparking water instead of the vodka. 

COCKTAIL HOUR - CHRISTMAS FUDGE MARTINI

I really don't make cocktails often. Maybe a glass of wine now and then, but I'm so not a mix-master of any kind. But for some reason I have been in a martini mood lately. But not traditional martinis, nontraditional ones. Hence the Acai Berry Amazon from the other day. 

Today I was looking at a plate of fudge my husband got from one of his customers and the next thing you know I had out the Bailey's, milk, and the shaker. 

White Christmas Fudge Martini

1 ounce Stoli Elite Vodka (or my favorite, Belvedere)

2 ounces Bailey's Irish Cream

2 ounces Milk

Whipped Cream (optional)

1 piece of any kind of Christmas Fudge

Add liquids to shaker. Add ice and shake well. Pour into martini glass and garnish with fudge and whipped cream.

Kids obviously can't have Bailey's, but they CAN have whipped cream on their hand! 

COCKTAIL HOUR -- ACAI BERRY AMAZON MARTINI

Acai Berry is all the rage. Well, in California anyway.

It has powerful antioxidant capabilities. Some believe it promotes weight loss. The juice, in my opinion, is delicious.  

Acai Berry supplements are sold in most vitamin shops, but the juice is not that easy to find. The berries are highly perishable, so you will only find it in pill or juice form. I found this juice at Whole Foods.

Acai Berry Martini

Makes 2 - 3 oz. Martinis

2 oz. Acai Berry Juice

2 oz. Belvedere Vodka

2 oz. Hendrick's Gin

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon lime juice

Add sugar, vodka and gin to shaker. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add ice and lime juice and shake vigorously. Pour and serve with a lime twist garnish. 

For a non-alcoholic martini -- substitute sparkling water or 7-up in place of the alcohol.