Happy Birthday to me !

I love food and more important I love cooking food. Mom asked what I wanted for my birthday dinner. Since I don't have one favorite dinner, I said it would be fun to try something new. Mom did her research and selected Goat Cheese & Herb Crusted Lamb Chops with Curry Parsnips and Artichokes. EVERYTHING was delicious.


We are a little late in cooking with Parsnips but really enjoyed them. Caren, I look forward to trying something new with Chick Peas.

Who doesn't love a good garbanzo?

Awesome choice Caren. Sara tried a Chick pea and Pasta recipe from Everyday Food (thanks Andrea) that was pretty tasty. I've always wanted to make some Hummus, so Sara froze the leftover garbanzos.

I've included a picture of what is left. I used way too much olive oil and did not have a good food processor (blender didn't quite do the job). I tried to flavor with sun dried tomato, but mostly just got Olive Oil flavor.

I will definitely try again; and still have some peas from the freezer (also in the picture).

Chick Peas

Chick peas. Sorry I am so late with my posting. I hope that you still have time to make a tasty something.

Parsnips without pictures

We make a salad about once a year that we have taken to calling Russian Potato Salad. It could also be called a beet salad, but really it is full of boiled root vegetables-- carrots, beets, potatoes. This year, inspired by the blog, I added a parsnip and a turnip. The turnip added a flavor that I'd been missing. My experience with the parsnip was similar to Laurens- it was pretty mushy when hot and cooked, but then had good texture in the salad after refrigeration.

Bonus points to us because we got John Ritzman to eat parsnips and turnips on his birthday and go back for seconds before learning that they were in the salad.

We will roast our second parsnip today-- as a straight roast without boiling (good tip though, Glory!)

Gallop Results

Apparently the DC air has gotten to me and I am making all of my decisions based on the latest polling data...
so, if you are interested in inviting a friend to read the blog, just send me their email address and I will forward on an invite

friendly reminder: Caren you are up:)

Parsnips huh??

We were a little slow on the parsnips this month, not for a lack of enthusiasm but rather a lack of time. We have had them in the fridge for about 2 weeks or so - and they held up very well, so that is good to know. Anyhow, as I searched for a recipe I found mostly recipes for roasted parsnips. Ryan and I are big fans of roasted root veggies with oregano, basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper - a regular in our home. I typically soft boil the potatoes, yams, parsnips, carrots - or whatever I am using, before I roasted them just to make it a bit faster. While they are boiling, I heat the oven to 450 degrees with a glass dish in the oven with enough oil in the bottom to cover. Heating the oil in the dish sears the veggies when you dump them into the pan after boiling them. This gives the veggies that crunchy/sweet outsides and edges that are so tasty on roasted vegetables. The parsnips boiled a bit faster than the red potatoes and were a bit mushy. I was concerned they would be too soft, but after they were coated in the hot oil, and got that crunch, they were great!
Adding the parsnips to the mix was wonderful. They definitely had the carrot thing going on - but I thought there was an underlying tone of something a bit 'herby' - perhaps fennel, I don't know.
I can't speak for Ryan, but I really enjoyed the parsnips and will keep them in the fridge as a regular in the roasted root veggie side dish.
Thanks for the challenge dad!

SALPICON OF BEEF

After Brian's Easter post, I thought I would share a dish Ryan and I enjoyed so much we have made it twice in the month of April.

Salpicon of Beef - courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

2 lbs flank steak cut into 2 equal pieces
1 white onion, thickly sliced plus ½ white onion, thinly sliced, and ½ cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
6 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 TBSP dried oregano
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
½ C olive oil
¼ C fresh limejuice
4-pickled jalapeno finely chopped with 2 TBSP pickling liquid
½ C cubed Monterey Jack cheese (1/2 inch cubes)
½ C Cilantro
Romaine Lettuce
1 Avocado

Put the flank steak, thickly sliced onion, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a large pot or saucepan and add water to water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat so that only a few bubbles occasionally rise to the surface. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface and add the oregano and 2 teaspoons sea salt. Let simmer until a piece of the flank steak shreds easily, 30-45 min.
While the beef cooks in a frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the thinly sliced onion and sauté until translucent - about 4 min. Stir in live juice and shills and pickling liquid and simmer until the flavors are well mingled, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When the beef is tender, remove the pan from the heat. Let the beef cool in the broth then remove it from the broth. Measure out ½ cup of the broth and reserve. Save the remaining broth for another use.
Trim off any excess fat from the beef, then finely shred the beef. Put it into a bowl with the ½ cup broth and let stand until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the beef, about 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture, cheese, and cilantro. Season to takes with sea salt and pepper, and then toss together with your hands or a fork until well mixed. Let rest for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Make a bed of the whole romaine leaves on a platter Mound the beef mixture on the lettuce and garnish with the avocado slices, shredded lettuce, and finely chopped onion. Serve at room temperature.
Serving Tip: serve with warmed corn tortillas and guacamole.

The first time we followed the directions, the second time we used the crock pot shredded Jack cheese not mixed in but as a garnish - just to help with the reheating process for leftovers.

Enjoy!