Quinoa Satay

No, this is not a post with quinoa somehow impaled on a skewer. Rather it is the use of leftover beef satay, served over quinoa with red spring onion and broccoli*.

I love Thai satay of all kinds: chicken, shrimp, beef - all are tasty, and all would work in this dish. (Just use the chicken stock if you make it with chicken or shrimp, rather than the beef stock I use here.) When I order-in, I frequently get extra orders just so I can have leftovers. And while meat on a stick is very tasty and can make a quick protein snack, this is a way to make a more rounded out meal out of your leftover satay.

*Yes, I make a lot of dishes with broccoli. I happen to really like broccoli, it's very healthy, and I can usually get 2 bunches for about $2-3, so it's a fairly cheap vegetable for how many servings it yields as well. Subsitute whatever you like. Snow peas, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, bok choy, or bamboo shoots would all go very well in this dish as well.

I start by steaming a bit of broccoli for 2-3 minutes in a few TBSP of water with a pinch of salt. When I remove the lid, most of the water has already boiled/evaporated away, so I add a generous splash of olive oil, reduce the heat to medium, and this time threw in some chopped red spring onion. 

Sadly, that is not a ramp, just a spring onion I chose for it's lovely color, and to add a bit more flavor to the dish. It has more kick than a scallion, but is milder than an onion, like a shallot.

Cook with some of the white/red bulb base, finely sliced, and finely chop some of the green scallion-like tops for garnish.

Since I was just cooking for myself, I only used one satay skewer (even tho I show 2 here.) Removing the beef from the stick, I then slice each piece into more manageable bites.

Toss your meat of choice in with the broccoli and onion (which has cooked down a bit) and add just enough of the matching stock (in this case beef) to cover the bottom of the pan.

Turn the heat back up to medium-high to reduce.

The point of the stock is that it will rehydrate and heat through the slightly tired leftover beef, and also allow the wonderful seasonings on the outside of the meat to flavor the vegetables as well, and create a very small amount of sauce.

By now my quinoa has finished cooking. As always, rinse it very well in a fine mesh strainer before cooking it, and I season (this was 1/2 cup dry) with about a tablespoon or so of standard cooking olive oil (you don't want a super fruity flavor competing here) and salt to taste. The salt I add to the water at the start of cooking, and the olive oil I add when there is barely any liquid still covering the cooking quinoa.

I use the quinoa as a base and then pour the rest of the dish and minimal sauce over the top.

Start to finish this is another healthy 15 minute meal.

If you make it for a group it might take a bit longer, only because you would be using more liquid in the last stage of cooking and so it would take a bit longer to reduce down, but even then it probably only takes 20 minutes.

If you know the secrets to the seasonings on a Thai satay dish, by all means add a bit when you add your meat of choice. I can only guess one or two, so I just let the ample flavor that is already there dilute a bit into the sauce, and it still comes out very tasty.

Enjoy.

Quick Quesadilla

No one likes Hospital Food, so of course I bring something tasty every time I visit. This time I thought, what with the boring repetition of meals like "pot roast" hockey pucks in molten brown goo, I'd spice things up a little bit and make a quick Mexican quesadilla.

First I spray what will be the outside of the flour tortilla with a bit of olive oil cooking spray and place that side down in a non-stick skillet.

I start it (in the cold skillet) with a layer of sliced muenster cheese, and then added a mixture of leftover roast chicken and tomatoes. 

Notice: only on one side of the tortilla.

Since transplant patients cannot have raw fruit or vegetables, I washed the tomatoes well, chopped them, seasoned them with salt, and then sautéed them in a bit of olive oil and a few tablespoons of chicken stock for about 3-4 minutes, until the liquid has boiled and basically evaporated. When it is almost evaporated I toss in the chicken, fresh cilantro (no raw fresh herbs...sigh), and a pinch of cumin. This way everything is flavorful, and the tomatoes have cooked enough to  kill anything nasty but still have most of their fresh tomato taste.

Another sneaky tip:

Instead of buying a can of black beans that needs seasoning and effort, I buy a can of black bean soup (I like Goya's) and sift some of the beans out with a fork. Then I get to have the soup later as well, and I admit my favorite part of black bean soup has always been the broth, so if it's not jam-packed with beans when I eat it, I'm not displeased.

Sprinkle the beans over the chicken, tomatoes, and cheese.

Top with more muenster cheese, fold the other half of the tortilla over, and crank the heat to medium-high.

Cook until you see the cheese starting to melt and then flip.

When all the cheese is melted and the tortilla has gotten browned and crispy, you know you're ready to eat.

Or in this case, wrap it in some tinfoil and run it up to the hospital!

This would also make a good picnic lunch with the warm weather starting to show its sunny face.

Potato Leek Poundage

"Poundage" because this soup is packed with some extras to help put some weight back on my dad. Most people are usually trying take off a few pounds here and there, but if you have someone you love who has been ill and has lost weight, this is a very comforting soup that can help bulk them back up.

I brought this to the hospital the other day (really, any outside food is appreciated if you're stuck in the hospital) and it was a hit.

I started out with a typical potato-leek soup recipe: 2 medium leeks and one small onion, chopped and sweating in olive oil and about 3 TBSP of butter. (Remember, I'm trying to make this rich!)

Season with salt once they have started to sweat and soften.

Then I added about 1/2 cup of white wine and let that simmer for a few minutes.

To that I added about 6 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes. (Next time I think I will use a mixture of Idaho potatoes and Yukon Golds, just for a different flavor and texture.) Top with about 4 cups of chicken stock, or however much it takes to cover the potatoes.

An odd addition to this was a can of white beans, because while I was trying to make this a calorie-heavy soup, I also wanted some nutrition to it. The beans add both protein and fiber.

Lastly I threw in a bay leaf for good measure and set the pot to simmer, lid on, for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes were soft enough to purée.

(Remove the bay leaf first!)

Once puréed (I find an immersion blender is easiest), I added about 1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese (because that's how much I had left) about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, and about 3/4 of a cup of mascarpone cheese instead of cream (made in Vermont, so pasteurized and therefore transplant-safe.) Season with salt (or garlic salt if you prefer) to taste.

Garnish with chopped chives (and yes, that has a dollop of mascarpone in it as well) and you're all set.

Another tasty garnish option is a drizzle of good olive oil.

Those options of course was not enough for me tho, so I crisped up some prosciutto and used that as the extra garnish for the portion I brought to my dad.

Cute note: While he was happily chowing down on his soup, he stopped and looked at me and said,

 "Wait, you said this is potato leek soup, right?" 

To which I replied in the affirmative.

"But, there's meat in it."

"I thought you'd like that little extra touch, Dad."

"Oh... it's good!" and he kept eating.

He has no idea just how many "extras" I put in his soup for him.

Whatever works!

Teriyaki Burgers

This recipe came about while I was trying to come up with meals to make for my father who, after a recent lung transplant, now has a circumscribed diet: No meat that is not cooked all the way thru (goodbye rare steak!), no unpasteurized cheeses, no deli meats, and no raw fruits or vegetables. The trick I'm trying to work on is how to make well-done steaks, burgers, and pork still be juicy and flavorful for a man who used to order his steaks all-but still mooing.

Happily, this recipe was a total success.

Since I was making this to be stored in the freezer for multiple easy dinners for my parents I used 2 lbs of ground beef, which is enough to serve 6-7 people.

 (Make sure the beef is 80-85% lean, if not fattier. You need the fat for flavor!)

To the ground beef add just shy 1 cup of teriyaki marinade, 6 small scallions finely diced, & 2 inches of grated fresh ginger root.

The dark stuff is the ginger that has soaked in teriyaki.

Mix well and form into patties.

If there is extra liquid at the bottom of your bowl, pour it out and use less next time. Too much liquid will make the burgers fall apart before you can cook them. 

If they really seem too damp to you, add 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs to absorb a bit and 1 egg to bind the mixture before forming the patties.

(Yes, when I made this a second time I was left with one runt... which was a delicious snack! Or alternately, a test burger to make sure it's to your liking.)

Ideally you want these to sit and marinate for a few hours before cooking them so the flavors can really sink into the meat.

The result should be some very zippy and juicy burgers, even if you've cooked them to well-done.

I served this up on a sesame brioche bun with some agave & ginger carrot sticks instead of fries because a) I didn't have any potatoes on hand and b) I really love fresh ginger, so it wasn't overkill for me at all.

If fresh ginger is too strong for you, halve the amount you put in your burgers for a subtler zing.

If you know anyone who has to have their meat well-done, try this out.

It's a winner.