Tag Archives: Everyday Food

EVERYDAY FOOD TO THE RESCUE

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Pork, Side dishes by

Last week, on a very busy day in which I had zero inspiration for cooking dinner, the daily email from Martha Stweart’s Everyday Food was a life saver.  It arrived mid-morning as usual,  and featured a grilled pork tenderloin with a simple soy-citrus marinade.  I had a tenderloin in the fridge, and all ingredients needed for the marinade.   Side dish?   Orzo sounded great, so I searched for recipes on the same website, and one of the top choices was “Toasted Orzo with Olives and Lemon”.   The clouds left the horizon,  blue skies announced that my dinner blues were gone.  And you’ll get both recipes in a single post!  😉


PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SOY, GINGER, AND LIME
(adapted from Everyday Food)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), trimmed of excess fat and silver skin

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, oil, and ginger. Add pork to the marinade, turning to coat well on all sides. Marinate in the fridge for several hours to overnight.

Remove meat from marinade, and pat it dry.  Season it very lightly with salt, and grill for 7 minutes on a hot grill.  Turn the meat to grill the opposite side, and grill for 6 minutes more.  Without opening the grill, turn the heat off and let the meat stay inside for 5 minutes.   Remove the meat from the grill, tent it with foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

to print the recipe, click here


TOASTED ORZO WITH OLIVES AND LEMON
(adapted from Everyday Food)

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound orzo (1 + 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt and ground pepper
1/4  cup slivered black olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add 2 cups of water and lemon zest, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover, and simmer until orzo is al dente and liquid is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in olives, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining tablespoons of olive oil, if desired (I omitted this step).

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  What a great dinner this was! Ready in less than 30 minutes, all I had to do was make the marinade at lunch time (but you can do it in the morning, if you don’t go home for lunch), and by the time we came home from work, dinner was a cinch to make.

I used the 7-6-5 grilling method for the pork tenderloin, because it works well with pretty much any type of marinade or dry rub.  It is easy to take care of the rest of the meal when all you have to do is set a timer and move the meat around when it goes off.

Toasting the orzo is what makes this side dish so special.  I’ve used a similar method before in one of the simplest and greatest recipes I’ve made last year, the “Carrot Nib Orzo”.  If until now you’ve only treated orzo as a normal pasta, boiling in salted water, please try either of these recipes, you will be more than pleasantly surprised by the improvement in taste and texture.

ONE YEAR AGO: Weekend Pita Project

TWO YEARS AGO:  Mandioca Frita 101 – Fried Yucca Root (Brazilian Food at its best!)

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EVERYDAY FOOD FOR A QUICK AND EASY DINNER

Posted in Pasta & Noodles by

I don’t buy every single issue of Martha Stewart‘s Everyday Food, but often grab it for a quick browsing at the grocery store. Depending on what catches my eye, I’ll bring it home.  Even though I’ve been reading the publication for years, only last week I noticed they offer free online newsletters, which I subscribed to. If you want to check them out, jump here and choose the ones that appeal to you.  I signed up for “Dinner Tonight” and “Everyday Food”. Once a day I get an email from each with a recipe title in the subject. If it seems interesting, I open it, otherwise I  delete it right away, no time wasted.  Last week, one of these emails was a big teaser:  “Whole-wheat Spaghetti with Vegetables and Peanut Sauce.”   There’s no way I could “skip the click.”  😉

WHOLE-WHEAT SPAGHETTI WITH VEGETABLES AND PEANUT SAUCE
(adapted from Everyday Food)

8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 ounces sugar snap peas, tough strings removed, sliced
3 medium carrots, shaved with a vegetable peeler
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, 1 to 2 minutes less than specified in the package.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add the sliced sugar snap peas and the shaved carrots to the pot with the pasta and cook everything together for a minute.  Drain the pasta and the veggies and set aside.

In the same pot you cooked the pasta, mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, combining them well.  Add the pasta and veggies,toss gently, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a thin sauce that coats spaghetti. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and serve right away.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  I could not stop thinking about soba noodles while I savored this dish.  It would be a natural match for the sauce and veggies, but whole-wheat wasn’t bad at all.  As to the grilled chicken, couldn’t be simpler:  I made a quick marinade with olive oil, lime juice, tequila, and a touch of agave nectar.  Placed boneless chicken breast filets in the mixture for 15 minutes, seasoned with salt and pepper, and grilled them while the pasta cooked.   A delicious, healthy dinner, ready in less than 30 minutes!
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TWO YEARS AGO:  Lemony Asparagus
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OVEN-BAKED RISOTTO

Posted in Rice and Grains by

The purists will twist their noses at this one…  I gave it a try because it came from  Everyday Food, a publication I am very fond of.  With Martha Stewart backing it up, it could not be a complete and utter failure.  😉   Obviously, you can adapt it for a “regular type” risotto, just continue cooking on the stove top – stirring gently – until done.   However, it was nice to be able to stick the dish in the oven and forget about it for half an hour, then enjoy a risotto with almost the exact qualities of the traditional kind.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BAKED RISOTTO
(adapted from Everyday Food, November 2010)

1 T olive oil
1/2 T butter
1 shallot, very finely diced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup Arborio rice
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 + 1/2 cups diced butternut squash
1 + 3/4 cup vegetable broth
spinach and baby arugula leaves (2 cups total)
grated parmiggiano reggiano

Heat the oven to 400F.   Saute the shallots in olive oil and butter until translucent, add the fresh thyme, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes. Add the wine, cook until almost absorbed, a couple of minutes more.  Add the vegetable stock, and the butternut squash pieces, season again with salt and pepper, bring the mixture to a full boil.

Transfer to an oven-proof container (preferably with a lid), stir the spinach and arugula leaves.  Cover with the lid (or with aluminum foil), and bake until the rice is cooked but there’s still some liquid in the dish.  Add fresh parmiggiano reggiano before serving, and a little more black pepper, if you are so inclined.

(Makes 4 substantial servings)

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My only issue with the recipe was the oven cooking time, which, according to the magazine would be around 20 minutes.  That was definitely not enough to cook the rice and absorb enough liquid.  In our oven it took slightly over 30 minutes. You might want to play around with the amount of stock added, but keep in mind that risotto should not be rushed, better not make it if you have rigid time constraints.

I don’t think I would serve oven-baked risotto for guests, because the traditional method delivers a creamier texture. But,  for the two of us, it was perfectly fine.  Leftovers were enjoyed the following day, warmed in the microwave.  Still very tasty, even with the significant loss of moisture.

ONE YEAR AGO: Potato Roquefort Cakes

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POPEYE-PLEASIN’ SALAD

Posted in Salads, Vegetarian-friendly by

Watching Popeye wolf down can after can of spinach wasn’t enough to tickle my taste buds for it.  Picky eater that I was when I first tried it, only in my early twenties,  it required a few encounters to  appreciate it.   I suppose that one might say that spinach is an acquired taste:  we now consume a couple of bags of baby spinach per week, and maybe more.   In this salad it’s the leading man, with just two supporting actors: slivered almonds and shaved parmiggiano cheese. I adapted the recipe from one I found in Everyday Food, that lovely Martha Stewart publication that’s always peeking at me in grocery stores, next to the cashier.    😉

SPINACH SALAD WITH ALMONDS AND PARMIGGIANO
(adapted from Everyday Food,  June 2010)
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1/3 cup slivered almonds
3 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bunch baby spinach
1/3 cup shaved parmiggiano-reggiano cheese

Toast the almonds in a 350 F oven or on a dry, non-stick skillet, until fragrant and light brown. Do not let them burn.  In a large bowl, combine almonds, oil, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper.

Add the spinach  and half the cheese, toss well to coat them with the dressing. Add the remaining of the cheese on top, and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  Spinach is the basis of this salad, but the almonds take the flavor to another level, from good to great.  It’s all about how you toast them:   if they’re just dark enough  you’ll get an intense, popcorny flavor, without  bitterness.   This time I hit the jackpot, and I hope that you do too!

We enjoyed it with salmon but it will complement many other dishes:  roasted chicken, grilled pork, a juicy T-bone steak, or even a panini.  The original recipe used arugula instead of spinach, so keep that in mind as an alternative.

ONE YEAR AGO: Watermelon Granita

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