moscato mojito
Even though it was cold and grey in Houston today, I was in the mood for a summery drink! You might remember that I like mojitos and I’m always happy to have a new variation in my back pocket.
My mom is in town visiting me this week and we had cocktails the other afternoon at my favorite cafe near my house and they served something similar to this. We were determined to figure out how to make them, and so what if we had to drink two or three or four or five drinks in the process. This was basically in the name of science.
These mojitos are a little different than most in that they’re not made with rum — instead, you use Moscato, a sweet Italian wine. Moscato is slightly effervescent, but not quite as bubbly as champagne. I think its too sweet to drink on its own, but it is perfect for making mixed drinks!
Okay, so to make the mint simple syrup, combine 2 c water, 2 c sugar, and 3 c chopped mint leaves in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes covered. Then turn the heat off and let it steep for 15 minutes.
To make the drinks, muddle 4-5 torn mint leaves and the juice of one lime in the bottom of a glass. Fill half of the glass of crushed ice, then pour in 2 oz. mint simple syrup and 2-4 oz. lime juice. Use 2 oz. of lime juice if you like sweeter drinks or up to 4 oz. if you like them more tart. Then fill the rest of the glass with moscato.
Stir and serve!
spinach, bacon, and shiitake quiche
Have you ever looked in your fridge and seen this?
48 eggs!
And its not because I plan to dye them for Easter. We’ve been out of town lately and the CSA keeps delivering them and I had some from HEB and it just added up without me realizing it. I HATE to waste food so seeing them there bugged me because I was afraid they would go bad. Soooo, I decided to use as many as possible for last night’s dinner, which meant quiche!
Here’s a pic of the eggs from Burro Malo Farm that I had to share — I don’t know why one is blue, but it sure is pretty! Does anyone know why eggs turn blue? Is it the chicken? Do they taste different?
Also, we have this pretty dish that I have never used and I am not sure where it came from except that I sort of think it was my husband’s in college, which means it was my mother-in-law’s, but I don’t know why he would have brought a tart dish to college except that he is SUPER prepared for life. I love that about him. 🙂
Okay, so now that you have had a tour of my unused dishes and egg collection, here’s how to throw dinner together. Note that I made a pie crust, but this is a major, major anomaly. As much as I love scratch cooking, I just can’t get over how easy Pillsbury pie crusts are. But last night Whitney went running and I had time to pull the homemade crust together. You can definitely taste the butter (mmmmm!) and it was delicious, but next time I will probably use the premade crust. That’s life.
So anyway, if you’re going to make the crust, blend flour, salt, and sugar in processor. Add butter; pulsing until coarse meal forms. Whisk 1 egg and the cold water in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Pulse again just until moist clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and knead with your hands until the dough forms into ball. Butter a round tart pan. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan, then chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter large square of foil and press, butter side down, onto crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Using fork, pierce bottom of crust all over (about 10 times). Bake until golden, about 10 more minutes.
In a skillet, sauté the spinach until wilted then remove it to a cutting board a roughly chop. Set aside. Add the shallots, garlic and mushrooms to the pan with a little olive oil and sauté until the shallots are translucent. Remove from pan and set aside. Cook the bacon until crisp then crumble into small pieces.
Scatter the spinach, mushroom mixture, and bacon on the cooked crust. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper and mustard powder. Pour the egg mixture over the crust and vegetables. Scatter the shredded cheese on top.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F, until eggs are set.
Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Spinach, Bacon, and Shiitake Quiche
Crust
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 stick butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, cold
1 large egg
2-3 tbsp cold water
Filling
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 package baby spinach
6 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
2-3 slices bacon
1/4 c aged gouda, shredded
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper and mustard powder, to taste
For the crust:
Blend flour, salt, and sugar in processor. Add butter; pulsing until coarse meal forms. Whisk 1 egg and the cold water in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Pulse again just until moist clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and knead with your hands until the dough forms into ball. Butter a round tart pan. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan, then chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter large square of foil and press, butter side down, onto crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Using fork, pierce bottom of crust all over (about 10 times). Bake until golden, about 10 more minutes.
For the filling:
In a skillet, sauté the spinach until wilted then remove it to a cutting board a roughly chop. Set aside. Add the shallots, garlic and mushrooms to the pan with a little olive oil and sauté until the shallots are translucent. Remove from pan and set aside. Cook the bacon until crisp then crumble into small pieces. Scatter the spinach, mushroom mixture, and bacon on the cooked crust.
In a medium bowl, mix the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper and mustard powder. Pour the egg mixture over the crust and vegetables. Scatter the shredded cheese on top, then bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
jumbo lump crab cakes
Don’t those big, fat lumps of crab look amazing?! Just totally mouth-watering?!
I love crab cakes but lately I’ve had so many bad ones in restaurants that I have sort of gotten out of the habit of ordering them. I always ended up disappointed when they came to the table and the waiter stuck a lump of breadcrumbs down in front of me. I felt like I was digging for the elusive piece of crabmeat.
So after a few bad crab cakes in a row, I decided to make them at home, tinkering with them until I figured out just what I wanted. These crab cakes, with no filler and full of huge pieces of crabmeat, are perfect.
Start by whisking an egg and 3 tbsp. of mayonnaise in a bowl. I have something important to say about mayonnaise. I consider myself a connoisseur of mayo, and so if you care about the people that you are serving these to, use Duke’s mayonnaise. If not, use the Kroger brand or whatever. I’m telling you, Duke’s makes all the difference.
Okay, and then mix in 4 tbsp. bread crumbs, lemon juice, and the seasonings. Add the cleaned crabmeat to the bowl and fold it in gently. Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for ten minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp. bread crumbs on a plate. Divide the crab mixture into four portions and gently form each portion into a loose ball. Press the ball onto the bread crumbs and let it spread into a loose patty. Flip it over and cover the other side in bread crumbs too. Repeat with remaining crab, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to several hours.
In a skillet over medium heat, warm about ½ inch of canola oil shimmering hot but not smoking. Carefully add crab cakes and turn when nicely colored, about 3 or 4 minutes. Continue cooking second side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately with mustard sauce.
Crab Cakes:
1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
1 egg
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
6 tbsp. fresh bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
mustard sauce, for serving (recipe follows)
Whisk the egg with the mayonnaise, and then 4 tbsp. bread crumbs, lemon juice, and the seasonings, mixing well. Add the cleaned crabmeat to the bowl and fold it in gently. Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for ten minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp. bread crumbs on a plate. Divide the crab mixture into four portions and gently form each portion into a loose ball. Press the ball onto the bread crumbs and let it spread into a loose patty. Flip it over and cover the other side in bread crumbs too. Repeat with remaining crab, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to several hours.
In a skillet over medium heat, warm about ½ inch of canola oil shimmering hot but not smoking. Carefully add crab cakes and turn when nicely colored, about 3 or 4 minutes. Continue cooking second side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Mustard Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. half-and-half
4 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. A.1. Steak Sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
Whisk mayonnaise, half-and-half, mustard, Worcestershire, and A.1. sauce in a bowl until smooth; season with salt and pepper and chill.
We gave my mom a 700-page (!!) Greek cookbook for Christmas and spent hours oohing and ahhing over the recipes on Christmas morning. When we went to Baton Rouge last week, she suggested we pull it out and make a Greek dinner, which started us on the journey of comparing meatball recipes and discussing the best Mediterranean dips and spreads. Here’s what we came up with – these recipes are definitely keepers!
Bonus: Mom went to a local Greek restaurant and picked up baklava for dessert!
p.s. Leave a comment with your favorite ethnic cuisine and I will make a dinner and post recipes with foods from those regions!
Greek Meatballs (adapted from The Meatball Shop Cookbook):
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 lb. ground lamb
2 large eggs
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 c pitted, chopped kalamata olives
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
3 tbsp. crumbled feta
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 quick preserved lemon, chopped (recipe follows)
In a bowl, combine the ground lamb, ground bread crumbs, eggs, olives, feta, herbs, garlic, salt, and preserved lemon. Mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-sized meatballs, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Drizzle olive oil into 9×13″ baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish. Roast at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes, then turn the broiler on for 3 minutes. The internal temperature of the meatballs should register 165 degrees F. Cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving. Serve with Freda’s White Bean Dip and (store-bought) tzatziki sauce.
Freda’s White Bean Dip:
1-2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. quick preserved lemon (recipe follows)
1 tbsp. orange juice
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt, to taste
1 (14-oz) can cannellini beans, drained
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
In a food processor or blender, pulse together the garlic, preserved lemons, juices and salt. Add the beans and a little more salt; puree until smooth. Taste and add more orange juice, lemon juice, garlic and salt, if necessary. With the blender or food processor running, add the olive oil and mix until combined.
Quick Preserved Lemon:
1 lemon
1/2 c salt
Bring 2 quarts water to a roiling boil. Add the lemon and salt and bring back to a boil for 15 minutes. Remove the lemon from the water and allow to cool. The inside of the lemon will be very soft. The preserved lemon will keep for a week in the fridge and can be used in vinaigrettes with white beans, or as a rub for steak or chicken.
Greek Roasted Vegetables (adapted from Vefa’s Kitchen cookbook):
2 eggplants, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces
8 oz. haricot verts or green beans
2 carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red onion, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 jalapeño, diced finely
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
4 portobello mushrooms or 8 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2/3 c olive oil
1 1/2 c tomato juice
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Sprinkle the chopped eggplants and zucchini with salt and let drain in separate colanders for an hour.
Place all of the vegetables in a roasting pan. Pour the olive oil and tomato juice over the vegetables, then add the chile, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with your hands until combined.
Bake at 350 degrees F, stirring twice, for about two hours, until the vegetables are lightly browned and the cooking liquid has reduced. Cover the dish with aluminum foil if the vegetables brown too quickly.
i’m back!!
I missed y’all! And I missed using this space to share recipes, meals, and stories.
It has been a crazy few months and I just couldn’t seem to find time for everything, including cooking and blogging. I seemed to have lost my inspiration but thanks to some time off and two very sweet gifts, I’ve got my kitchen mojo back and I am excited to fill this space up with delicious food again!
Over the next few weeks, I will share some great food that we ate in Paris, Carmel, the Bahamas, and at home in Houston, as well as new recipes I’ve been working on lately.
But without further ado, I have to show y’all these super cool gifts that two of my cooking / eating “mentors” (Mom and Aunt Kathi) gave me recently!
Mom had this apron made for me (and a set of matching kitchen towels) at Jan de Luz, our favorite shop in Carmel. Recognize the embroidered wording?! It makes me so happy each time I slip it over my head. I love the French ticking, but I especially love that she was able to get the font and logo replicated so perfectly. Isn’t it the coolest?!
And check out this fabulous cookbook collection from Aunt Kathi! She picked out five classic cooking manuals and had them bound with personalized covers! Each one is a fantastic resource, but I especially love the James Beard and Amanda Hesser ones.
Coming up soon – a Greek feast with lamb meatballs, white bean dip, and roasted vegetables!
xoxo
best appetizer ever: crabmeat over boursin
I speak in absolutes. On a regular basis, I say things like “I am dying of heat exhaustion” (when I start feeling sweat on my brow) and “I am literally pulling into the parking lot” (when I am leaving my driveway).
So I am sure I sound like the girl that cried wolf when I say this is “the best” appetizer ever.
But it is.
And really, how could it not be when its main components are butter, cream cheese and crabmeat?
You have to use fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, which can be kinda pricey, so this isn’t an everyday dish. But for special occasions, there’s really nothing better in my mind.
Start by making the Boursin cheese mixture.
Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor. With the machine running, add the Greek seasoning, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil, dried dill, dried thyme, and black pepper, and process until smoothly blended. Check and season to taste.
I normally always use fresh herbs but this is one instance in which dried herbs are better. They have a stronger flavor and won’t get mushy, soggy, or gross in the cream cheese mixture.
Spread the Boursin on a platter about 1/4″-1/2″ thick.
Put all of the crabmeat in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water. Carefully pick through the crabmeat for shells.
In a medium bowl, combine the cleaned crabmeat, lemon pepper seasoning, and diced green onions. Fold carefully so that you don’t break up the lump crabmeat.
Spread the seasoned crabmeat in an even layer over the Boursin. Sprinkle a few more green onions over the top of the crabmeat.
You can cover the dish and refrigerate for up to 8 hours before serving. Pull it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so the Boursin softens.
Serve with water crackers and be prepared for many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from your guests.
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
8 ounces whipped butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. garlic salt or Greek seasoning
½ tsp. dried parsley
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. dried dill
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. dried thyme
Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a food processor. With the machine running, add the seasonings, and process until smoothly blended. Check and season to taste.
3-4 green onions, sliced
To arrange:
Spread Boursin on platter about 3/4″ thick. Gently pour and arrange the seasoned crabmeat over the Boursin. Garnish with curled green onions and lemon halves. Serve with melba rounds.
grilled zucchini salad
I love zucchini. It is my favorite, favorite, vegetable. Even more than green beans.
I don’t love it more than tomatoes. But since they are technically fruits, I feel okay saying I like zucchini best of all the vegetable family.
But it kind of throws me to say that tomatoes are not vegetables.
Anyway, when I was a kid, I always wanted zucchini with dinner. But Jenny hates it. She likes broccoli, the one green thing that I hate. Though I should mention that at the time, I hated all green things except for zucchini. Thats a whole other story.
All that to say, this salad combines my favorite things. It is good. Hearty. It could easily be a filling lunch. I don’t think it could stand on its own as dinner. But that is because I am not a vegetarian.
So to make this awesome salad, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the zucchini slices in salt, pepper, and olive oil. Grill the zucchini on each side for 3-4 minutes, until slightly softened and browned. Remove the zucchini to a cutting board and cut the slices into 1/2″ wide pieces.
Coat the red onion slices in salt, pepper, and olive oil and grill each side for 1-2 minutes in the cast iron skillet. Remove from the pan and roughly chop.
Combine the zucchini, red onion, tomatoes, basil and feta in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper well then pour over the vegetable mixture. Toss to coat and serve immediately.
The last few bites of this salad are the best since the veggies have been soaking in the vinaigrette. Fight your husband for these bites.
Grilled Zucchini Salad
2 zucchini, sliced vertically into 1/4″ slices
1/2 red onion, sliced into thin rounds
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2-3 tbsp. feta cheese
2-3 leaves of basil, torn into pieces
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the zucchini slices in salt, pepper, and olive oil. Grill the zucchini on each side for 3-4 minutes, until slightly softened and browned. Remove the zucchini to a cutting board and cut the slices into 1/2″ wide pieces.
Coat the red onion slices in salt, pepper, and olive oil and grill each side for 1-2 minutes in the cast iron skillet. Remove from the pan and roughly chop.
Combine the zucchini, red onion, tomatoes, basil and feta in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper well then pour over the vegetable mixture. Toss to coat and serve immediately.
Serves: 2-3
Time: 20-25 minutes
GEAUX Tigers!
stanton’s, houston
Sometimes I am driving along minding my own business and I notice a bunch of cop cars gathered together and I am overtaken by an urge to pull over and ask what’s going on. I’m nosy like that.
So the other day, I was driving up Houston Avenue from downtown and saw a ramshackle old building surrounded by police cars and I wished I knew what was going on. In fact, I was still thinking about what could have happened later that afternoon.
Then about a week later, I drove by the same building and there were another four or five police cars parked there. That’s when I noticed the sign on the side of the building advertising Houston’s Best Cheeseburger.
So mystery solved. The cops were all just getting a bite to eat. This place is just a few blocks from the Houston Police headquarters.
Good news = discovery of a new great burger place.
Bad news = no fascinating crime scene. But… maybe this is actually good news.
Anyway, I grabbed Whitney for lunch earlier this week and we went to Stanton’s to see if it really is the best cheeseburger in town.
Short answer: probably not the best. But very, very good.
We both ordered bacon cheeseburgers and split an order of fries. I have a major pet peeve about flimsy bacon on a burger. Stanton’s bacon was crunchy but not overcooked. The cheese was a regular slice of American, but there was nothing fancy about this burger, so smoked gouda would have been weird. It was just plain good. Also, the fries were extra-crispy, which I loved.
Don’t be put off by the appearance — its an old convenience store. But inside are some really great burgers and they’re worth the stop.
Stanton’s City Bites
1420 Edward Street, Houston, TX 77007
713.227.4893
www.stantonscitybites.com
simple sunday: balsamic roasted vegetables
This method of cooking vegetables is so delicious, but more importantly, it is really easy. You can do as many or as few as you’d like, so its a good way to make a bunch of vegetables for a crowd, or you can scale back on the number and type of veggies for a dinner for two.
So chop up whatever veggies you have — I like eggplant, peppers, zucchini, red onions, and mushrooms — and toss them in a really large bowl with just enough olive oil to coat them, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, torn basil, and thyme.
Place them in a large roasting pan and cook them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, or until desired tenderness.
Serve immediately.
Is there any wine left? 