Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

A recipe we stole from an incredible dinner we had at Mado (thank you again, Groupon):

First, we fried slices of deli-fresh pancetta in a saucepan.

We took the pancetta out, dried it on a towel and chopped it.  Meanwhile, we sautéed a couple chopped shallots and a clove of garlic in the pan, adding a tiny bit of olive oil to the pancetta drippings.

As the shallots cooked, we pulled leaves off the sprouts, leaving out the hard (more bitter) cabagey innards.

 
Once the shallots were translucent, we tossed in the sprout leaves, cooking only a minute or two until they were at that sweet spot between crunchy and tender.

Added in the chopped pancetta, and voila:

I'm not sure how brussels sprouts got the "grossest vegetable" reputation, because I think they're phenomenal.  I love their meaty flavor and firm texture, and the pairing here with the salty pancetta and sweet shallots is just fantastic.  This is a dish that is spectacular as a side dish, but hearty enough to stand on its own for dinner.

And THAT, my friends, is what I call "mostly plants."

Dim Summers

(Couldn't resist.)

I have (shall we say) a weakness for greasy Chinese food.  I've spent far too many cheat-meals this year on feasts of crab rangoon and fried rice, inhaling that pungent bouquet of fry oil and MSG.  So I figured it was high time I learned to cook a whole foods approximation.  

And, as I imagine happens with so many strokes of genius in the world, this particular masterpiece came into life on an otherwise perfectly ordinary Saturday night.

That's pot stickers with a sweet chili dipping sauce, and a huge pile of zucchini lo mein.

I discovered the pot sticker recipe idly watching Guy's Big Bite instead of reading for Federal Jurisdiction.  If you don't mind a couple steps, they really are remarkable simple, and taste just like the best dim sum you ever had. 

For the stuffing: chop two green onions and two cloves of garlic.  Mix with a pound of ground pork, a pinch of salt, a splash each of soy sauce, sesame oil, and red chili sauce.  Note: if you're trying to do this whole foods style, it may take some searching to find a soy sauce that doesn't contain things like caramel color #4.  Interestingly, though, the little packets that come with your take-out only contain soy oil and water.   

After mixing the stuffing, beat one egg with a splash of milk to make an egg wash.  Take a pre-made won ton wrapper (with a little searching, I found some at Whole Foods that didn't have any strange ingredients), and coat one side of the wrapper with the wash.  This will keep the pot stickers from unfolding themselves and spewing out stuffing as they cook.  

Put a pinch of stuffing on the egg-washed side of the potsticker, then crimp the edges to fold it shut. 

Stage one of the cooking process is a boiling water bath.  Throw the pot stickers in for just one minute.

You can eat them after boiling alone -- they're fully cooked -- but to put the amazing crisp edges on them, you're going to need to go on to step two: the fry pan. 

You don't need much oil in the pan, but what's in there should be sizzling.  Let the pot stickers fry, flipping them occasionally, until they're golden and a little crisp on each side.  

I made an incredibly easy sweet chili dipping sauce to go with them from a combination of soy sauce, chili sauce, and honey to taste.  And I know that sounds like a lot of steps for these little guys, and I guess it was, but oh, sweet heaven, they came out absolutely amazing.  

We paired them with an easy lo mein recipe using the same ingredients in different proportions.  I match-sticked a zucchini and boiled it with some soba noodles I found at whole foods -- the whole thing cooks in less than five minutes.  I cooled it with a cold water rinse, then tossed with the sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili sauce.  

People, the greatest thing about this whole foods regimen have been these unexpected, restaurant-quality ethnic masterpieces.  If I'd never set out on this journey, I would have continued ordering greasy take-out my entire life ... 

INSTEAD I'M MAKING IT MYSELF.

Whole Food BLTs

I know, I know, I've been terrible at posting this summer...  And I know you've heard this before, but I'm back in Chicago now, where (once this absurdly intense workshop is through) I'll be back to my own routine, cooking and photographing...

In the meantime, please enjoy some whole-food-style BLTs:

I know I did.

The tomatoes and lettuce were organic farm fresh, the bacon nitrate- and preservative- free (from the charming Iowan?  I can't remember), the bread from my friendly local Great Harvest, and the slathering of mayonnaise (most important part) Spectrum brand.

I never remember to make BLTs, but whenever it does happen once in a blue moon, it makes me wonder why I don't eat them ABSOLUTELY EVERY SINGLE DAY because they are the GREATEST OF ALL SANDWICHES.

Spaghetti for Liza and the Badger

Sometimes on blogs of this sort, people will post photos of the cooking process.  Usually during the cooking process I'm busy going BLAHHHHITISBURNING and OHSH*TWHEREDIDIPUTTHAT and the like.  But while whipping up a Thursday late night meal for my little sis Liza Nan and Jefferson a.k.a. The Badger, I realized that the onions I was about to chop looked like this:

The camera, obviously, had to come out.  

And as long as it was out, I shot a couple of the recipe in progress. 

Simple marinara with Italian sausage: onion, garlic, thyme, oregano, crushed red pepper, a bay leaf, and a big old can of tomatoes.  Pour over spaghetti.  Top with cheese.  Easy as that. 

Everyone was pleased.