Spicy Pico de Gallo

Note: This article was published originally on June 7, 2005, in one of my previous attempts at a food blog. I am still a major fan of pickled jalapeño slices in myriad applications (especially the classic: on nachos). The liquid in the jar is also great for spicing up dishes without introducing “chunks” (think that spicy cheese goo they give you with chips at Taco Bell). Nowadays, if I were at home, I’d be most likely to make any sort of salsa like this in my food processor. I’ll have to share a good recipe for that sometime when I have access to my Rick Bayless cookbook again.

Making fresh salsa has often been an exercise in frustration for me. While I don’t mind fresh salsas being mild — there’s plenty of flavor from the uncooked, uncanned vegetables that’s often not found in ketchuppy bottled salsas — my mom prefers it to be spicy. (Of course, the problem of pleasing the many varied palettes in this house is always a running theme when I cook at home.)

Last summer, I tried making salsa from recipes, using dry spices, hot sauce and fresh chiles as suggested to achieve a spicier flavor. But naturally, there were problems. The cumin turned off Mom, who dislikes Mexican food. The hot sauce was spicy, but it gave the salsa a strange, viscous feel. The exotic purple jalepenos were pretty but lacking in heat. And don’t get me started on the mushiness that resulted when I tried blanching the tomatoes to remove the skins.

But there’s a happy ending, as I finally hit upon what’s now my secret salsa ingredient — pickled jalepeno slices. I know it might sound odd, but what’s great about those jars of jalepenos in vinegar is that you know right from the label how hot the jalepenos inside will be, which is hard to guess from the ones in the produce department without taking a bite. Plus, they save a nice bit of work by being pre-sliced and are tasty on nachos.

As for the name, I’ll admit that I don’t know precisely what the difference is between pico de gallo and what we Americans call salsa. But when I see pico de gallo, it’s usually a fresh mix of chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro. I threw in the jalepeno slices to add some heat, and since I had no cilantro, scallions (a.k.a green onions, a.k.a. spring onions) pinch hit.

Spicy Pico de Gallo
Source: Colleen’s Cookbook
Yield: 2 servings

• 1 beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped
• ¼ Vidalia onion or other large, sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• 10 slices pickled jalepeno, halved
• 2 pinches kosher salt

Put all of the vegetables in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and stir. Allow the pico de gallo to rest for about 5 minutes to allow the salt to extract some juice from the vegetables. Serve with chips or use it to garnish main dishes.

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Banana Coconut Muffins

Note: This recipe was originally posted on June 23, 2004, on my very first attempt at a cooking blog over at Blogger. Amazing, how time has passed. My dear boyfriend posted a recipe to that site on the same day, and precisely three years later, we were married.

 

This recipe incorporates two of my favorite things: using up bananas too mushy for other uses and using coconut!

 

Banana Coconut Muffins
Makes 8
Active time: 10 minutes
Start to finish: 45 minutes

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (3/4 cup)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

 

Special equipment: a muffin tin with 8 (1/2 cup) muffin cups; paper liners

 

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin cups with liners.

 

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the coconut in a large bowl until combined well, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened (don’t worry about lumps).

 

3. Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut. Bake until muffis are puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

 

From the May 2004 Gourmet magazine.

 

Note the Second: What the heck, I’ll post Scott’s recipe from June 23, too. Two for the page of one!

Artichoke Dip

• 1 can artichoke hearts
  
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  
• 1 cup mayonnaise (approximate)
  
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  

Drain and chop artichoke hearts. Add parmesan and enough mayonnaise to keep the artichoke and parmesan together. Sprinkle on garlic powder. Mix and spread in an 8 by 8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (or until cheese melts). Serve with water crackers, Italian bread, French bread or similar. Enjoy!

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Chicken with Ginger

Note: This entry was published first on June 11, 2005. I have to say, my own description of this recipe is making me feel eager to try it again as it sounds pretty tasty. And me producing a pretty tasty stir fry isn’t exactly an everyday event.

 

Dinner tonight featured an Asian-style dish from the pages of Everyday Food magazine. I suppose it could have been made in a wok, but due to a shortage of saucepans, I had occupied the wok with boiling the frozen potstickers. It did fine in our 12-inch sauté pan, though.

 

As for flavor, it had that slightly sweet but pungent taste I usually associate with good Chinese takeout. The ginger wasn’t as spicy as I would have expected with half a cup floating around, but that might be because of the soaking.

 

If you’re fast with a chef’s knife, this dish should be easy for you. Myself, I guessed with all the measurements (I rarely measure when I’m not baking these days) to shave off some time to compensate for my always slow and methodical knifework.

 

Chicken with Ginger
Source: Everyday Food
Yield: 4 servings

 

• 1 three-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup sliced scallions

 

1. Soak ginger in cold water 10 minutes; drain.

 

2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat; brown chicken in two batches, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

 

3. In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, and garlic, stirring until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; cook over high heat until thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken; stir to warm. Remove from heat; stir in scallions.

 

Notes:

You can also serve this Asian dish over Chinese noodles, available in most supermarkets, or steamed rice.

 

Nutritional information per serving:

Per serving: 327 calories; 9.2 grams fat; 41.7 grams protein; 18.3 grams carbohydrates; 1.9 grams fiber

 

 

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Punchy Purple Chicken Salad

Note: This recipe was originally published on my old blog on June 12, 2005. Now some 20/20 hindsight — to poach chicken breast, place it in simmering broth (with an inch of cover) for nine minutes, then cover, turn off the heat, and let it rest in the hot broth for about 20 minutes, until it’s cooked through.

 

The red onion provides both the purple and the punch in this salad, which you might want to tone down with some lettuce, tomato and cheese on your sandwich. If you don’t like a strong onion flavor, try soaking the diced onion in cold water for about 10 minutes to make it milder (a tip often given by the Food Network’s Sara Moulton).

 

Another suggestion: This recipe (like any chicken salad recipe) would work well with leftover chicken or with chicken pulled from a rotisserie-cooked bird. Whatever you choose, be careful not to overcook the chicken like I did! I need a little more poaching practice, it seems.

 

 

Punchy Purple Chicken Salad
Source: Colleen Fischer
Yield: enough for two small or one big sandwich

 

• 1 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast half, cubed
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/8 tsp celery salt
• freshly ground black pepper

 

Stir together all the ingredients. Allow it to rest in the refrigerator for a half hour or more for the flavors to blend.

 

 

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Worms and Eyeballs

Note: Originally posted on my old site on June 14, 2005. I’ve made the noodles since then — still delicious!

 

I’ve found a new love: bucatini rigati. This perfect pasta resembles thick spaghetti, being long and cylindrical. However, the strands are hollow and have tiny ridges, both great features for picking up sauce. Combined with the substantial texture of the pasta (cooked al dente), it appeals to all my preferences.

 

As for the dish I used it in, it’s somewhat hit and miss, much like my track record with all of Rachael Ray’s recipes. Sometimes, she comes up with something delicious that’s a hit with everyone (such as her Apricot Chicken or her Bacon and Black Bean Smash), but on occasion, her recipes just look better than they taste (see Super Sloppy Joes).

 

In this case, the worms easily wriggled their way down my throat, but I choked on the eyeballs.

 

The “worms” are, of course, the bucatini, along with the matchstick-cut carrots, snow peas, red bell peppers and bean sprouts. With a light coat of soy sauce, it tasted like a fresher, less greasy and more delicious version of lo mein.

 

The “eyeballs” were chicken meatballs. I’ve had chicken dumplings, but I’ve never cooked with ground chicken. It definitely feels slimier than ground beef. The recipe here looks like it ought to be good, but I found that the ginger overwhelmed the other flavors, even though I think I ended up with less ginger than was called for. Especially with the milder, sweeter poultry in play, I had the uncomfortable sensation of eating a chicken cookie. Maybe it was the hoisin sauce, maybe it was using ground chicken instead of ground chicken breast (I couldn’t find it), maybe it was me using two pounds of chicken instead of 1 1/2 (it only came in 1-pound packages). But they were unappealing. Maybe beef or pork would have been better. Maybe.

 

However, the worms more than made up for the overly sweet eyeballs. If I make it again, it’ll be a nightcrawler-only affair.

 

 

Worms and Eyeballs
Source: Rachael Ray
Yield: 4 servings

 

• 1 ½ lbs. ground chicken breast
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger root
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 small red pepper, 1/4 finely chopped and the remainder thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, Chinese style barbecue sauce
• Salt and coarse black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• ¾ small red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup bean spouts
• 1 cup snow pea pods, julienne cut
• 1 lb. bucatini, cooked to al dente
• ¼ to 1/3 cup dark soy (Tamari) sauce, eyeball it

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

 

Combine chicken, garlic, ginger, scallions, finely chopped red bell pepper, hoisin and salt and pepper. Roll meatballs into the size of chicken eyeballs. Place balls on a nonstick cookie sheet and coat lightly with vegetable oil, about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Roll balls around with your hands to gently coat with the oil. Roast the chicken eyeballs 10 to 12 minutes in a very hot oven.

 

About 5 minutes from the meatballs coming out of the oven, start stir-frying the veggies. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the sliced red bell pepper, carrots, spouts and pea pods to hot pan. Stir fry 1 minute, then drain noodles and add them to the vegetables. Add dark soy sauce to the noodles and toss to combine and evenly coat.

 

Transfer noodles to a serving platter and top with chicken eyeballs.

 

 

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Omelet Sandwich

Note: I wrote this on June 21, 2005, for another food site I was toying with. It’s still one of my favorite recipes! If you’re looking to lighten it further, you can use turkey bacon, although it lacks something in unctuousness. Also, if you have trouble digesting hot sauce (cayenne often does a number on me these days), try picante sauce (which is a finely chopped salsa).

With a wedding to prepare for, it’s imperative that I start to clean up my eating habits. I’ve read that a wedding is often the only thing that kicks people into gear as far as healthy eating goes. The key will be keeping those habits after the wedding is over, naturally; the same article also noted that married people are heavier than single people. I have plenty of time (two years), but it’s healthiest to lose weight slowly anyway.

I’ve decided to try TV chefs’ recommendation to alter some of my favorite recipes to cut calories. My omelet sandwich seemed like the natural choice. I replaced the egg with a couple of egg whites (a savings of fat and calories without losing most nutrients) and the full-fat cheese with reduced-fat cheese (low-fat dairy products are supposed to enhance weight loss — at least the government is telling us so now).

Original recipe:
Two thick slices bacon: 80 calories, 6g fat
Two slices whole-wheat bread: 160 calories, 2g fat
Dash hot sauce: 0 calories, 0g fat
1 slice American cheese: 80 calories, 7g fat
1 egg: 70 calories, 4.5g fat
1 tbsp butter: 100 calories, 11g fat (8g saturated)
Total: 490 calories, 30.5g fat

Modified recipe:
Two thick slices bacon: 80 calories, 6g fat
Two slices whole-wheat bread: 160 calories, 2g fat
Dash hot sauce: 0 calories, 0g fat
1 slice 2% Milk American cheese: 60 calories, 4g fat
1 tsp spreadable butter with canola: 34 calories, 3.7g fat (1.5g saturated)
2 egg whites: 34 calories, 0g fat
Total: 368 calories, 15.7g fat

That’s a savings of 122 calories and 14.8g fat. I don’t generally like using unnaturally reduced in fat products, but the cheese here is still considered real cheese (albeit processed, but still real). It’s part of Kraft’s Deli Deluxe line, not the Singles line. As for the spreadable butter, it has as much fat and calories as butter but less saturated fat due to the canola oil. It has an advantage over margarine in that it has no partially hydrogenated oils, so it’s not an unnatural fat.

Also, the bacon in the lighter sandwich may have less fat and calories than stated, as I microwaved it rather than baking or pan-frying it. The paper towels soak up a lot of rendered fat.

Omelet Sandwich
Source: Colleen Fischer
Yield: 1 serving

• 2 slices whole-wheat toast
• 2 slices bacon
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1 slice American cheese

Cook the bacon, preferably by baking in a 400-degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Break each cooked slice in half. Toast the bread and put on a plate.

Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium-low flame. Melt the butter in the pan. Whisk the egg until foamy, then pour into the skillet. Stir the egg. As it begins to set, lift up cooked portions with a silicone spatula and tilt the pan to allow uncooked egg to flow underneath. Cook for about two minutes or until the egg is set. It may still look moist on top. Flip the omelet and slide it onto one of the bread slices.

Sprinkle the omelet with hot sauce if desired. Top with cheese slice and the bacon.

Notes:
Lower-fat version:

Substitute 1 teaspoon of butter or spreadable butter for the 1 tablespoon of butter (make sure you use a very slick nonstick pan), two egg whites for the egg, and reduced-fat 2% milk cheese for the regular cheese.

Nutritional information per serving:
Regular sandwich: 490 calories, 30.5g fat
Lightened sandwich: 368 calories, 15.7g fat

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