cheesy corn chowder

nothing beats perfectly cooked corn on the cob, especially in the summer time for those family BBQs <3   but if you’re looking to change it up a bit (or trying to use up a massive amount of corn you have before it goes bad) this recipe is MONEY!  enjoy :)

ingredients

•     2 slices bacon, cut into pieces (we used Sweet Earth’s Benevolent Bacon <3)

•     1/4 c. (half stick) butter

•     1 medium onion, chopped

•     1 small yukon gold potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

•     5 ears of corn, raw, cut off the cob

•     1 red bell pepper, chopped

•     1 poblano pepper, charred, peeled, seeded & chopped

•     1/2 tsp. chili powder

•     1/2 tsp. paprika

•     1/2 tsp. dried oregano

•     1 tsp. salt + more to taste

•     1/2 tsp. ground black pepper + more to taste

•     1/4 c. all-purpose flour

•     3 c. vegetable or chicken stock

•     1 large bay leaf

•     2 c. whole milk

•     1 c. grated pepper jack

•     2 c. grated sharp cheddar

•     2 scallions, thinly sliced

method

1.     in a large pot cook the bacon until crispy and the fat has rendered.  remove bacon.  once cooled you can crumble and set aside till later. 

2.     add butter to the pot and melt over medium heat.  add the onion and potato and cook 3 min.  

3.     add the corn, bell pepper, poblano pepper and reserved bacon.  season with chili powder, paprika, dried oregano, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper.  cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 min.

4.     sprinkle in the flour and stir well to combine.  add the bay leaf and pour in the stock. cook 5 min until thickened.  reduce the heat to low, stir in the milk, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 min or until the potato is cooked all the way through.

5.     remove from the heat and stir in the cheeses and green onions.  season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

published 8/26/17
Cooking For Now

fresh cherry pie

my oh my, this cherry pie is to DIE for!  making a pie from scratch is a labor of love but totally worth it.  buying fresh, local and organic ingredients is key to any delicious recipe.  

i hope yall can give this recipe a try!  the cherries i get are already sweet so this recipe uses less sugar than a lot of other recipes i’ve come across.  i recommend tasting your cherries and adjusting the sugar amount as you see fit :) enjoy!

ingredients:

•     2 pie crusts (use your favorite)

•     5 c fresh cherries

•     1/2 c granulated sugar + more for topping

•     3 tbsp cornstarch

•     1 tsp vanilla extract

•     1 egg

method:

1.     wash and the pit cherries (i used the eye remover from a vegetable peeler–insert the eye remover into the top of the cherry and rotate until the pit pops out). 

2.     place cherries in a pot over medium heat.  cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 min or until the cherries are slightly softened and have released their juices.  

3.     meanwhile, mix together the sugar and cornstarch.  remove cherries from the heat and stir in vanilla extract and sugar-cornstarch mixture.  return to a low heat and cook until thickened—it should be the consistency of canned cherry pie filling.  if the mixture gets too thick add water, a small amount at a time, until the desired consistency.  remove from the heat and allow to cool.

4.     preheat the oven to 375ºF.  

5.     line your pie dish with the first pie crust and fill with cooled cherry filling.  arrange the second pie crust on top as desired (my fav is the lattice top!) and crimp the edges.  

6.     whisk the egg and brush a light layer over the top of the crust.  top with a light sprinkling of sugar then place it into the oven.  bake at 375ºF for 50-60 min or until crust is golden brown.  cover the edges as needed to prevent burning.

7.     allow to cool and set up at least 2 hours (it’s even better the next day!) then enjoy with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Dumpling Galaxy part 1

i’ve mentioned this before but i’ll say it again:  if i’m damned for anything its definitely for my predisposition to gluttony.  “going to hell in a steamer basket,” is that how the saying goes?  i joke about this all the time but i never knew how much i loved food until last night…

photo by Ed Anderson

preface:

one of the dishes i can no longer eat (because i’m pescatarian) is xiao long bao or soup dumplings.  traditionally these little bundles of joy are made with ground pork, various aromatics and pork fat or a meat based aspic that, when cooked, creates a rich and flavorful broth encased in a thin dumpling skin. its so so so goog!  words cannot express how deeply and utterly sad i felt when i first thought “i’ll never be able to eat soup dumplings again.”  i’ve never told anyone about this before but i wept at that very moment.  in vein i googled recipes for or restaurants that serve vegetable or seafood soup dumplings. when my search results yielded nothing i became convinced that i’d have to create a recipe and make them myself…but how?

last week, Honey and i celebrated our 1yr anniversary.  as a gift, i received the Dumpling Galaxy cookbook by Helen You.  low and behold, the first dumping recipe was for pork soup dumplings—jackpot!  i spent the entire night coming up with vegetarian & pescatarian versions based on Mrs. You’s recipes.  afterwards i wanted to reach out to Helen You, share my recipe ideas and ask if they were even possible to make.  i didn’t find any contact information but i did discover that her restaurant, Dumpling Galaxy, was located in Queens, NY—double complete rainbow jackpot!

photo by Brian Hoffman

chapter 1:

last night, Honey and i made the highly anticipated trip to Dumpling Galaxy (42-35 Main St, Flushing, NY 11355).  its a beautiful and extremely clean space located in The Arcadia mall, decorated in modern Chinese ornamentation and filled with good vibes.  the vast menu highlights over 100 types of dumplings and other traditional Chinese fare.  needles to say, its impossible to make this a one time dining experience—we’ll have to go back several times to sample everything we want.  here’s what we tried this trip:

shrimp, scallop and crab meat signature dumplings

cod fish with fish roe signature dumplings

dried octopus and chive dumplings

eight treasures & pear dessert dumplings

the savory dumplings were served with a raw garlic sauce and a vinegar-soy sauce (both recipes are included in the cookbook).  the shrimp, scallop and crab meat dumplings were juicy, tender and sweet, and balanced perfectly with a small dip in the raw garlic sauce.  the cod fish with fish roe dumplings were extremely savory and smooth. i loved them way more than expected!  the flavor is perfect as it stands but these dumplings coupled well with a small dip in both the garlic and vinegar-soy sauces.  the dried octopus and chive dumplings (i believe made with cod fish, i’ll have to consult the cookbook) offered a lovey texture variation; the chewy (but not tough) octopus paired nicely with the smooth cod and fresh green chive filling, and went perfectly with the vinegar-soy sauce!  last but certainly not least were the dessert dumplings.  the eight treasures held within these perfect pockets of piquancy include toasted walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and raisins, married together with juicy asian pear.  the sweet liquid that burst forth was like warm cider at Christmas and the flavor and texture of the filling was akin to baklava—seriously one of the best things i’ve ever eaten (and lucky me, this recipe is in the cookbook)!

my one regret is that i didn’t bring the cookbook along with me—it turned out Helen You was in the kitchen that night!  however, she graciously met with us and agreed to autograph my cookbook the next time we came into the restaurant.  Helen You is a fascinating being, full of warmth, humor and a passion for her cooking—a true artist in the kitchen.  Honey and i mentioned our love of soup dumplings and our plight of not being able to enjoy them anymore due to our dietary restrictions.  Mrs. You’s face lit up and she said, “i will make you something special. just give me a minute.”  with that, she returned to the kitchen.  a short while later, she reemerged with a steamer basket filled with the cutest and most beautiful dumplings i’d ever laid eyes on—VEGETABLE SOUP DUMPLINGS!

i nibbled a small hold in the paper thin dumpling skin and carefully slurped out some of the soup.  my eyes began to well up, this time with tears of undocked joy.  the deep, full-bodied broth washed over my tastebuds and enveloped me like a hug from God herself.   to my further amazement, the vibrant vegetables inside were whole—whole kernels of corn, freshly chopped broccoli, chives, etc—not some homogenous mixture i thought soup dumplings depended upon.  in this moment, a door of my food-soul opened and the possibilities of soup dumpling variations became endless.

i’d like to thank Helen You for her generous hospitality and the fire of inspiration she has lit within me.  i will practice hard on my dumpling making skills—i feel blessed and lucky to have this cookbook and i’ll be able to compare my dumplings with the real thing—perhaps one day Mrs. You can critique my work and give me a cooking lesson ;)

Cooking For Now
published 6/16/17

holy shrimp burger!

holy shrimp, this burger was so freaking goog!!!  i hope y’all can try out this recipe as it is my new flavorite thing ever and probably my go to meal for summer 2017.  the kool thing about using ground shrimp as a base is you can season it and fix it up in so many ways and its such a nice change of pace from the usual beef patties (not that i’m eating red meat anymore but…whatevs).  try seasoning the ground shrimp with green onion, soy sauce and sesame oil for a little Asian flare or top it with watermelon salsa for some refreshing summertime flavor.  think of your favorite shrimp dish and turn it into a burger—you can’t go wrong!

for me, this recipe made 4 english muffin sized burgers so feel free to adjust the measurements to suit your buns ;)  also, i don’t own a grill (its illegal to have one in my nyc apartment :ppp) so i pan seared my patties.  the mix is a little sticky so i’m not sure how it would hold up on a grill….it might need more bread crumbs to make a firmer patty? idk so grill at your own risk!

happy eating y’all :)

ingredients

shrimp patties:

•     1/2 lb ground shrimp

•     1/4 c (1 small stock) celery, finely diced

•     1/4 c (1-2 stems) green onion, finely sliced

•     1/2 c bread crumbs

•     1 tsp fresh lime juice

•     1/2 tsp Columbia Seasoning

sweet slaw:

•     1/2 c purple cabbage, finely shredded

•     1/2 c green cabbage, finely shredded

•     1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced

•     2 tbsp celery leaves

•     1/2 Tbsp sugar

•     1/2 tsp salt

•     1/4 tsp pepper

•     1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard

•     1/2 Tbsp olive oil

•     1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

spicy mayo:

•     3 Tbsp mayonnaise

•     1/2 tsp chipotle powder

•     tomato slices

•     buns (i used Stone & Skillet Savory Herb & Roasted Garlic Artisan English Muffins)

•     olive oil

•     butter

method

1.     mix the mayonnaise and chipotle powder together and chill until ready to use.

2.     mix the slaw ingredients together and chill until ready to use.

3.     mix the shrimp patty ingredients together and form into patties.  wrap patties individually in parchment or plastic wrap and chill for 30 min.

4.     heat a skillet over medium heat.  add a small amount of olive oil and butter and cook until the sizzling butter subsides.  add your shrimp patties and cook for 3 min. on each side or until golden brown and cooked through.  remove and cover with foil, allowing the patties to rest.

5.     lightly toast your buns in the skillet then serve with spicy mayo, shrimp patties, tomato & sweet slaw.  enjoy!

published 5/29/17
Cooking For Now

parmesan baked flounder – dinner 4/26/17

omg y’all… tonight’s dinner was SO easy and SO GOOG! that’s right, i said “goog.”  Honey and i were having a special night–for no reason at all, just cuz we love treating ourselves xoxo–and i came across this Food & Wine recipe for baked flounder with parmesan.  i jumped at the chance to make it and lightly adapted it to my own taste, seasoning it with our favorite Columbia Seasoning mix and pairing it with proper fixins like oven roasted green beans, rosemary-olive oil brown rice & quinoa, and a BONE DRY white wine from France *swoons*

Ingredients:

(serves 2)

for the brown rice & quinoa

• one box Near East Rosemary & Olive Oil Quinoa Blend.

for the green beans

•     1/2 – 1 lb fresh green beans (we like our greens so i tend to make a lot)

•     1 -2 tbsp olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the beans and the pan)

•     1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

•     salt & pepper to taste

for the fish

•     2 flounder filets

•     1/2 tsp Columbia seasoning

•     2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

•     1 tbsp olive oil + more to grease the pan

•     1/4 c panko bread crumbs

•     1/4 c s finely shredded parmesan cheese

•     juice from 1 – 2 slices of lemon

•     1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

method:

1.      pre-heat the oven to 425ºF.  With olive oil, lightly grease a baking sheet (for the green beans) and baking dish (for the fish).

***you can use the same baking vessel for the fish and beans since they cook at the same temp & time, but we make so many beans, there’s no room in the pan lollll…

2.     cook Quinoa Blend according to box instructions and set aside, covered.

3.     while the quinoa blend is cooking and the oven is heating up, clean and de-stem the green beans.  lightly coat with olive oil and season with minced garlic, salt & pepper.  place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and set aside.

4.     season the flounder fillets with Columbia Seasoning and place in the prepared baking dish.  in a bowl, mix together the melted butter, olive oil,  panko and parmesan.  divide evenly and sprinkle over the flounder filets.

5.     place the flounder and green beans into the oven and bake @ 425ºF for 15 min. or until the beans and fish are cooked and golden brown.  season lightly with a squeeze of fresh lemon and garnished with fresh parsley (in hindsight i WISH i had fresh parsley, hence why it isn’t pictured, but it would’ve been a BMAF ingredient. . . c’est la vie, n’est pas?)

6.     serve with a SOOOOPER dry white wine and enjoy!

Cooking For Now
published 4/26/17