2010 Year in Review: Favorite Recipes December 31, 2010
Posted by elly in misc..17 comments
2010 was a fabulous year. Obviously, the biggest standout for me was the birth of our amazing son, Zachary, who is now almost 9 months old. I can’t believe he’s nearly a year old already! He’s really the best kid (and the cutest, obviously :)) and so far, he loves to eat pretty much everything…except broccoli. He really is his mother’s son. He’ll eat it if we trick him and mix it with his favorite, squash or sweet potatoes. But that’s it! Who can blame him?
This year was also a delicious one. I’ve always enjoyed doing year-end recaps on my blog. They give me a chance to look back at all my posts from the year and pick out the ones that stood out the most, and that will be made again and again. I love looking at the recaps on other blogs, too, and I think they are a great way to highlight recipes you think readers should try, or a way to point out some favorites to newer readers who may not have had a chance to go through your archives yet.
I decided to use the same format as last year, which is posting your favorite recipes (based primarily on hits) as well as mine. Some of the recipes overlap, which I guess makes them doubly awesome. Many of these actually come from my 30 x 30 list, so I’m really glad I made that list to push myself to make certain things. Feel free to also check out my favorite lists from years past.
I hope you enjoy revisiting some of these recipes! And, I wish you a wonderful new year!
Your Favorite Recipes
- Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce
- Braised Lamb Shanks
- Mashed Cannellini Beans
- Slowcooker Pulled Chicken
- Pork Chops with Mushrooms, Dill, and Sour Cream Sauce
- Chorizo and Black Bean Breakfast Burritos
- Greek Baklava
- Chipotle-Honey Glazed Chicken
- Chipotle Beef Tacos with Caramelized Onions
- Caramelized Chipotle Chicken
My Favorite Recipes
Sablés. Okay, so, technically, I made these in 2009, but they didn’t appear on the blog until 2010. These are some of the easiest and best cookies I’ve had. Buttery and delicious!
Bucatini with Kale Pesto December 29, 2010
Posted by elly in healthy, pasta, vegetables, vegetarian.9 comments
This time of year, whenever I write “green veg” on the grocery list for a trip my husband takes, he inevitably comes back with kale. He really loves it, and it’s one of the few green vegetables in season at the moment. I like it, too, but there are only so many different ways I can sauté it and braise it before I’m over it.
Last week, I had a huge bunch of kale staring me in the face again, and no real dinner plans. That’s when I decided to make a kale pesto so that I could use it in a new way (new to me, that is) and the bonus, of course, was that I got to eat pasta for dinner. :)
This made a LOT of pesto, so I was able to freeze quite a bit for a some quick dinners down the road. The pesto was delicious and a nice change of pace from the standard basil version. It had a heartier flavor, and some bitterness to it (though boiling the kale will get rid of much of the bitterness, and the lemon juice brightens it up). I decided to go with walnuts rather than pine nuts, which were a great complement to the kale. I topped the pasta with some chicken I quickly cooked in a skillet, to add a little more protein to the dish.
Kale Pesto
Enough for about 1 lb. of pasta
1 large bunch kale, coarsely chopped and thick stems removed
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese
juice of 1 lemon
zest of half a lemon
good quality extra virgin olive oil
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the kale. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender and most of the bitterness has been removed. Drain.
Place the garlic and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the kale and process until well combined. Add the cheese , lemon juice, and zest, and pulse just a few times to incorporate. Drizzle olive oil through the feed tube, continuing to process, until your desired consistency (I’ve always been a fan of a thicker/less oily pesto myself). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine the pesto with hot cooked pasta, drizzling in a little extra oil if desired.
Dolmades for a Virtual Holiday Party December 21, 2010
Posted by elly in appetizers, greek, healthy, rice and grains, vegetarian.19 comments
One of my favorite food bloggers, Annie of Annie’s Eats, reached out to a few of us fellow bloggers about having a virtual holiday party. When you meet so many great people online that share your love of food, it really is a tragedy that you’re too far away to invite most of them to share in your real-life holiday get togethers, isn’t it? So, of course I was on board with a virtual eating extravaganza! The six us (Annie, Kelsey, Nikki, Josie, Tara, and myself) decided to host our own little shindig via our blogs.
Two of us tackled appetizers, two made cocktails, and two made desserts. I decided on an appetizer for my contribution. No way I was touching dessert in the presence of some dessert goddesses! :)
I went with a Greek appetizer of dolmades, which are stuffed grape leaves. They can be stuffed with meat or made vegetarian, with just rice and herbs, which is what I did here. If you want, you can make these with avgolelmono sauce (similar to my favorite meal ever, lahanodolmades), or just serve them as-is. The great thing about serving these as appetizers is that they’re great at any temperature. In fact, I just eat the leftovers straight from the fridge. I used to not be the biggest fan of stuffed grape leaves, but I’ve since turned over a new leaf (ba dum ching!) and now I really enjoy them.
Nikki from Pennies on a Platter decided to share her baked fontina. Hello! Who can resist ooey, gooey, bubbling cheese, especially when paired with some nice crusty bread?
Annie from Annie Eats made these absolutely gorgeous candy cane macarons. I’m such a sucker for anything minty during the holidays. Oh, who am I kidding, I couldn’t resist these any time of year.
Josie from Pink Parsley shared these awesome looking creme puffs loaded with raspberry pastry cream. I’m a bit of a creme puff fanatic and I’m pretty sure that if we were together for real, there would be none of these left after I polished them off.
Of course we needed some boozy beverages to wash down our delicious eats.
Tara from Smells Like Home brought these lovely cranberry-lime bellinis. I looove the combination of cranberry and lime. I also love booze. Like, a lot. Tara even made a virgin version of these to share.
And finally, Kelsey at Apple a Day made these gorgeous sparkling pepper berry cocktails. So festive! I have no doubt that with the unique peppery twist of these cocktails they are really complex and delicious.
I had a lot of fun throwing this virtual get together with such a great group of bloggers. I hope you visit all of their blogs and check out these (and other) fabulous recipes! And, of course, I wish you some wonderful holiday parties, virtual or otherwise, this time of year.
Dolmades
Makes about 25
6-8 oz. jarred grape leaves (about 25 leaves)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup rice
2/3 cup broth + additional for cooking dolmades
1 lemon
3 Tbsp. chopped dill
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 batch of avgolemono sauce (optional)
Additional lemon wedges for serving
Cook the grape leaves in a large pot of boiling water for 5 or 6 minutes, or until pliable. Drain and cut off any tough stems.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the rice and stir until slightly toasted and coated in the oil. Stir in 2/3 cup vegetable or chicken broth and the juice of half a lemon. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the broth has been absorbed by the rice. Off the heat, stir in the dill and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place a grape leaf on your work surface, dull side up, with the stem at the bottom. Spoon about 1 Tbsp. of the rice mixture at the bottom of a grape leaf. Fold up the bottom of the leaf, fold in each side, and then roll up, cigar style. Place in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Continue doing this with the remaining grape leaves, placing the rolled dolmades in a single layer on the bottom of the Dutch oven, if possible, layering in concentric circles if necessary.
Add enough broth to come up about 2/3 of the way of the dolmades.* Squeeze in the juice from the other half of the lemon. Then, slice the lemon and place the lemon slices on top of the dolmades. Put an inverted plate over the dolmades (to keep them from coming up and unraveling). Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the Dutch oven, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the dolmades are tender and the rice is cooked.
Make the avgolemono sauce, if using.
*If you plan on making avgolemono sauce, you will want to add enough liquid to come just above the top of the dolmades.
Green Chile Hominy Casserole with Chorizo December 15, 2010
Posted by elly in mexican/tex-mex, pork.18 comments
I’m kinda sorta a chile fanatic.
It’s no secret I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food, both of which are abundant with chile peppers. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that my front gas burner has touched more poblanos than the stock guy at my local grocery store.
The Homesick Texan also has a love for chile peppers, which is probably why I’m so drawn to many of her recipes. I’ll just ignore the part about how she uses cilantro all the time. :) This recipe caught my eye immediately, and I made it shortly thereafter. It’s a well-known fact that anything with chorizo is delicious. Plus, it’s a casserole. Honestly, I don’t make them very often, which is a shame, because they’re really convenient.
This recipe was a trifecta of awesome: spicy, creamy, and cheesy. In fact, the jalapeños I bought for this may have been the hottest ones I’ve ever bought. I always hear about how people burn their hands when handling jalapeños, but I’ve never had that happen, despite handling them quite frequently. This time, however, my hands were burning for like 36 hours. I was actually afraid to give my son a bath!
Besides the lethal jalapeños (which really only made this better), the only issue I had with this recipe was that it did turn out fairly greasy from the chorizo, despite my best efforts to drain all the grease off. Next time I’ll just spoon the chorizo onto some paper towels to absorb the extra grease before adding it back into the casserole (which I’ve noted in the recipe below). I did use more chorizo than the original recipe called for because it’s what I had on hand and I figured I’d bulk the servings up a bit. I also eliminated the cilantro (but topped with green onions) because I can only handle things that taste like potpourri in small doses. ;)
I really liked this dish and it made even better leftovers.
Green Chile Hominy Casserole with Chorizo
Adapted from The Homesick Texan
Serves 4-6
2 poblano chiles
1 tsp. canola oil
3/4 lb. Mexican chorizo, removed from casing and crumbled
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 jalapeños, seeded and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (15 oz.) cans of hominy, drained
8 ounces sour cream (light is fine)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
(1/2 cup cilantro, chopped)
2 tsp. lime juice
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
sliced green onions, optional
Place the poblano chiles directly on a gas flame or under the broiler, turning occasionally, until blackened. Put the charred chiles in a paper sack or bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam. Once cool enough to handle, rub off the skin, remove the stem and seeds, and dice the chiles.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Heat an oven-safe pan (preferably cast iron) over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, cook the chorizo until brown, about 8-10 minutes. With a slotted spatula, remove the chorizo and place on paper towels to drain. Drain any excess grease from the skillet, leaving about 1 teaspoon. Add the onions and jalapeños to the skillet and continue cooking on medium-low heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
Remove the skillet from the heat and add the diced poblano chiles, cooked chorizo, hominy, sour cream, cumin, cayenne, cilantro, lime juice and half of the cheddar cheese. Stir until well combined, taste and add salt and black pepper and adjust seasonings. Top with remaining the cheddar cheese and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Top with green onions, if desired.
Winner: 4 Year Blogiversary Giveaway December 13, 2010
Posted by elly in misc..1 comment so far
The winner of my my 4-year blogiversay is Peggy! Congrats, Peggy! I will be emailing you with the details of your win soon. :)
Mujaddara – Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions December 9, 2010
Posted by elly in beans and legumes, healthy, middle eastern, rice and grains, vegetarian.21 comments
Oh, mujaddara, how I love thee. Who would ever imagine lentils and rice to be so good? But, they are. This is one of my favorite Middle Eastern dishes (and it should be one of yours, too). Mujaddara consists of onions that have been caramelized and lentils and rice that have cooked together with the caramelized onions. It can be served as a vegetarian main dish or as a side. Traditionally, it’s only flavored with salt and pepper, but I think cumin and bay complement the ingredients so well, so that’s how I make mine.
I cook the rice and lentils together (some cook the lentils beforehand and mix at the end) because it’s easier and I feel like the flavors meld better. However, the only issue with this is that the amount of liquid you need is not an exact science, so you may or may not need to add a little more as you go. Don’t worry, it’s a very forgiving dish. Certainly not the most beautiful dish, but very forgiving. And delicious.
Mujaddara
Printer Friendly Recipe
1.5 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, cut in half and then into slices
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 cup brown rice
2.5 cups water or broth (or a combo)*
Heat a deep saute pan or medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the onions. Cook for two or three minutes over medium heat and then reduce to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are a dark golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Stir in the cumin, bay leaf, lentils and brown rice and saute for a minute before adding the liquid. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer until the rice and lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
*Add more liquid as you are cooking the mujaddara, if necessary.
30 by 30: Fettuccine Alfredo with Blackened Chicken December 6, 2010
Posted by elly in 30 by 30, italian, pasta.11 comments
I’m afraid to say that heavy cream has become a bit of a common item in our household. Between my affinity for homemade ice cream and my calorie-laden 30×30 list, it’s almost become a staple. As you can imagine, this is not a very good thing. Well, let me rephrase – it’s not a good thing when it comes to dropping this still-remaining 20 lbs. of baby weight, but it is a good thing because, well, it’s heavy cream. And heavy cream is a very good thing.
I’ve always loved fettucine alfredo, but I pretty much never allow myself to eat it. But then, that’s one of the reasons it made it on my list to begin with – everyone should indulge in some of their favorites at least once in a while. To make myself feel a wee bit better, I added some blackened chicken to add some protein to the dish.
This was so good. So, so good. Mine ended up a wee bit thick but it’s my own fault for becoming distracted while stirring the pasta with the cream (apparently, it is a real possibility to get distracted even with a 2 minute task when you have an 8 month old), and using the last bit of cream I had on hand for this recipe. Still, it was creamy and delicious and luxurious. I wish I could say I’ll make this all the time – but I won’t. I will make it when indulgence is in order, though.
Fettucine Alfredo
Serves 4
From Michael Ruhlman
1 cup cream
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into a few pieces
freshly ground nutmeg to taste
12 oz. fresh pasta
2 oz. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
In a pan big enough to toss the pasta, bring the cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg to a simmer, then lower the heat and whisk or swirl in the butter, a chunk at a time. Turn off the heat.
Boil and strain your pasta. Toss the pasta in the cream. Sprinkle three quarters of the cheese over the pasta, tossing it to melt and distribute the cheese. Add a little more cream or milk if you’ve let it get too thick. Serve, sprinkling additional cheese on each.
4 Year Blogiversary Giveaway! November 30, 2010
Posted by elly in misc..274 comments
I’m celebrating my 4 year blogiversary today! It’s hard to believe this little ol’ blog has been around for 4 years. In that time I’ve accumulated 2000 subscribers (uhh, what?!) and written 470 posts. I’ve had so much fun with elly says opa, and I hope you have, too. I’ve really expanded my horizons with regards to food/ingredient combinations, I’ve met so many amazing people (bloggers and otherwise), and I’ve accumulated way more kitchen tools and cookbooks than any normal human being should.
I’m planning to get a blog redesign soon (though I’ve admittedly been incredibly lazy when it comes to this), so look for that in the (hopefully) near future, too.
Anyway, let’s celebrate with a giveaway! I’m giving away some of my favorite things, Oprah-style. Well, if Oprah weren’t loaded, that is. :)
Here’s the deal: One reader will win one of the following 4 items/packages. The winner will pick which of the four prizes s/he wants. In addition to the selected prize, I will be also be including a $20 gift card to one of my favorite stores, The Spice House (don’t worry, you can order online, and I’ll give you some of my favorite recommendations too :)
Here are your options:
1. The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz + fancy schmancy ice cream scoop
I love ice cream and I love David Lebovitz. ‘Nuff said.
2. Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless + tortilla warmer
This is, by far, one of my favorite cookbooks (if you couldn’t tell by all the posts about it). All the recipes are simple and delicious.
3. 12″ Cast iron skillet + handle mitts
If you read this blog at all, you know I’m in looooooove with my cast iron skillet. I use it for everything from searing meats to making cornbread, to fritters, to hash browns. It’s pretty much the greatest piece of cookware.
4. Immersion blender
I use my immersion blender for everything from soups to smoothies to pureeing baby food.
(Images are all from Amazon.)
To enter, just tell me which of the 4 things you’d like, and why (and feel free to tell me what you’d like to spend your Spice House bucks on, too, if you’d like). The giveaway will end on Sunday, December 12th so enter before then.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins November 23, 2010
Posted by elly in breads and muffins, breakfast/brunch, pumpkin.16 comments
These pumpkin cream cheese muffins are delicious. They’re like eating pumpkin cake with built-in cream cheese frosting, but since they’re called “muffins” you’re allowed to eat them for breakfast. These muffins are a copycat version of the ones Starbucks carries. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve never had a pumpkin cream cheese muffin from Starbucks, but I feel pretty confident that these would surpass them in my book. Here’s why: sweetened cream cheese.
I’m weird when it comes to cream cheese. Cream cheese is great. It is, in fact, one of the greatest foods. However, plain cream cheese must be paired with savory food and sweetened cream cheese must be paired with sweeter items. There’s no getting around this. If you don’t believe me, ask my poor husband who came home with a cinnamon raisin bagel with plain cream cheese for me one day. A no go. In order for cream cheese to be on a bagel, it must be a savory bagel (think sesame, everything, or onion).
This is largely why I’ve avoided this particular Starbucks muffin. But then I saw Annie’s version, where she sweetened the cream cheese (smart girl, that Annie), and all was right in the world. I also added a little vanilla to make it even more cream cheese frosting-y.
This made more than 24 muffins for me. I had enough batter for an extra 5 muffins, but I had already doled out the cream cheese, so I just baked those on their own. I ended up giving some away and also freezing some of these for fear I would eat 5 per day until they disappeared. I altered the recipe slightly to accommodate for two things I don’t stock in my kitchen – vegetable oil and pumpkin pie spice. If you have pumpkin pie spice, you can go back to the original version for the amount.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Adapted from Annie’s Eats/Bakespace
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the muffins:
1 cups AP flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1.5 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1.25 cups canola oil
For the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. flour
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
To make the filling, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until combined. Shape the mixture into a log (about 1.5″ in diameter), with the aid of plastic wrap, and wrap the log tightly. Reinforce with tin foil or place in a plastic freezer bag and freeze for 2 hours or longer, until firm.
To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 and line muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or a large bowl), mix together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and oil on medium-low speed, until blended. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to do any last incorporating of wet and dry ingredients.
To make the topping, whisk together the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner. Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffins, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle each muffin with a small amount of the topping mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Gratin Dauphinoise November 19, 2010
Posted by elly in 30 by 30, potatoes.10 comments
I have a love affair with gratin dauphinoise. I suspect most people do, too, because what’s not to love about potatoes enrobed in cream and gruyere? It is very, very rare for me to indulge in a dish such as this one (at least home), but I guess indulgence is part of turning 30 soon. :)
When I added these potatoes to my 30 by 30 list, I already knew I’d be heading to my Anthony Bourdain cookbook for the recipe. I halved the recipe–a recipe which is supposed to serve 4–but definitely ended up with 4 servings myself. So unless you plan on eating a whole lot o’ potatoes, I think you’ll find the version below makes 4 more than adequate servings.
This dish is unsurprisingly delicious. I honestly can’t remember what main dish we had these with because, really, who cares? This gratin was the star of dinner that night.
Gratin Dauphinoise
Serves 4 (according to me) or 2 (according to Bourdain)
Adapted from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook
4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices
1 cup heavy cream
5 garlic cloves, slightly crushed, divided
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of parsley
salt and (white) pepper
freshly ground nutmeg (go easy)
1/2 Tbsp. butter
2 oz. grated gruyere cheese
Preheat the oven to 350.
Place the potatoes in a pot and add the cream, 4 of the garlic cloves, and herbs. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and discard the garlic and herbs.
Use the remaining clove of garlic to rub around the inside of the gratin dish. Butter the gratin dish, too, so that it is evenly coated. Pour the potatoes and cream into the baking dish and top with the grated cheese. Cook for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are brown and bubbling. Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving.
elly says opa! 