Author Archives: jacky grace

About jacky grace

I grew up in an Italian house with big meals, big flavors and big voices. My husband comes from an even bigger Greek and Armenian house with even bigger food and voices. Here in our tiny city kitchen, we adapt our family recipes for our small space without sacrificing any of the flavors, traditions or love.

Cucumber, Avocado, Shrimp Salad

Posted on by

I had so much fun bumming around at my parents’ house, eating mom’s cooking, watching TV with dad, shopping with mom.

But I was stoked to get back to my own kitchen and whip up a yummy dinner.

Except for the heat.

I love summer, but oh my goodness is it hot in the city! I had zero desire to turn on my oven today.

So a no-cook dinner it had to be.

I remembered something in Alex Guarnaschelli’s cookbook, Old School Comfort Food, that I had been waiting for the right night to try out. Tonight, fellow city dwellers melting in the heat, was the perfect night for Alex’s shrimp, avocado and cucumber salad. I tweaked the recipe a bit to fit the ingredients I had on hand.

I also bought pre-cooked shrimp and just defrosted them, because, like I said, it’s way too hot to cook. Anything.

So here’s a no-cook, one bowl dinner, to help you beat the heat in your itty bitty city kitchen.

You will need

  • 2 avocados
  • 1 cucumber
  • shrimp (I got like 3/4 pound for the two of us)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • black pepper

Chop up the cucumber and the avocado and toss them into the bowl. Remove the tails from the shrimp and either toss in the bowl whole or chop in half. I chopped mine so everything would be relatively the same size.

IMG_0606

Add the olive oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lime juice and black pepper and toss the shrimp and vegetable to coat. You can adjust the amounts depending in which flavors you want to come through more.

Cover with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for an hour.

A delicious, refreshing, cooling dinner. You can serve over brown rice if you like.

IMG_0607

We grabbed some from the Chinese restaurant again.

I went light on the rice because I had overindulged a little this weekend. This salad is great to help get you back on track. It’s also great for a Sunday night because it’s so easy and takes so little time that you can make the most of the last hours before the work week starts again.

And it means you can watch Michael Symon battle Jose Garces on Iron Chef!

 

Have Hope, Kitchen-Challenged Sisters

Posted on by

I’m visiting my parents this weekend.

For most twenty-somethings living in the city, a trip back to the parentals’ house in the ‘burbs is a groan-inducing event.

But, most twenty-somethings don’t have parents like mine.

I was blessed with the cool parents.

Me and my cool parents at a friend's wedding

Me and my cool parents at a friend’s wedding

My house was the one everyone came to and sometimes I’d even come home to find my friends hanging with my parents without me.

My parents are just. Chill. Relaxed. Easy.

You can tell my mom was a hippie. She was too young to have been a real hippie, but she’s still a flower child. And my dad’s just… my dad. I don’t know. He’s comfortable. He claims he hates people but he’s warm and friendly and talkative. He calls himself a freak. And we affectionately call him one too.

My parents had the open door policy. Some of my friends would quite literally open the door of our beach house, run to the kitchen, grab a soda and run off to work.

And mom didn’t care who came over for dinner.

She didn’t say a word when a friend who was… er… feeling the effects of a mood altering substance… kept his sunglasses on through dinner. He really needed those Spaghetti and Meatballs. Mom just laughed. Dad just shook his head.

I’m lucky.

The only complaint I have in going to my parents, yes I get to hang out with them and have my mom’s home-cooked food, but, it is her food and her kitchen. Get out.

My mom is a true Italian woman. The kitchen is her domain.

Don’t try to help her clean up the dishes. Don’t try to help her prepare anything.

Out.

She has a system. She has her way.

(Mom and I are both Sagittarius – independent and stubborn. Poor dad).

Which is probably why for years my friends and family made fun of me for my lack of domestic skills. Domestically challenged. That was me.

I couldn’t cook, I couldn’t clean, I couldn’t do laundry.

I could bake though. My mom hates baking, so I always got that job.

Looking back, I wasn’t challenged, I was just barred from the kitchen!

Once I got my own kitchen, I was free! Tiny though the space is, it is mine. All mine. And I can make whatever I want, however I want. I can experiment. I can create. I can cook.

You need a level of freedom to cook.

I never could have made dinner in my mom’s kitchen, with her watching over my shoulder and telling me where things were. I spent 23 years of my life in that house, but she still would tell me where things were.

But now that I have my own kitchen with my own pots and my own ingredients, I cook up a storm. You have to feel comfortable and you have to accept the fact that you will probably burn something, or overcook something, or mistake the sugar for the salt at some point.

But in the privacy of your own itty bitty kitchen, no one needs to know but you.

And I think the small space even helped me. It’s not small, it’s efficient. Everything is within reach. Forgot to get the milk out to pour into your pudding that’s now bubbling on the stove? No problem. The fridge is a mere foot away. Disaster averted. Need another bowl because you underestimated just how much pasta you actually made? In the cabinet right over your head. No problem.

So, all you kitchen-challenged gals out there, have hope.

When you have your own itty bitty kitchen, you will find your inner domestic diva!

Almost No Cook Spicy Peanut Veggies Over Noodles

Posted on by

Hello heat wave.

Here in New York, we’ve got those 3 H’s in town.

Hazy, Hot and Humid.

When they’re around, the last thing I want to do is cook.

But a girl (and her boyfriend) has got to eat.

So here’s an almost-no-cook dinner to help you beat the heat.

Spicy Peanut Veggies Over Noodles.

This is my own spin on some of my favorite Thai flavors.

For some reason, summer makes me think vegetarian. Piles of vegetables and fruits in the grocery make me wonder why I would ever need meat in my diet (then I think about mom’s meatballs or a burger from The Smith and I forget about my vegetarian conversion).

This is also one of my favorite kinds of meals to prepare because it all just goes into one big bowl and then gets dished out.

You will need:

  • 3 tbsp Peanut Butter
  • Chili oil (or hot sauce) to taste
  • 2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • Egg Noodles
  • Veggies (We’re using cabbage, broccoli, cucumber and scallions)

We’re going to start with the cook part.

Bring a pot of water to boil.

I don’t want the broccoli to be raw, so I’m going to toss the florets, chopped up into bite-size pieces, into the boiling water for a minute. Not even a minute.

While the water is coming to a boil, pull out a large bowl and combine the peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and chili oil. If the mix is a little thick, don’t fret. We’re going to toss hot egg noodles in and the heat and the water that is bound to make its way into the bowl will thin it out some.

IMG_0602

When the water’s boiling and the peanut sauce is mixed, toss in the broccoli.

You want to have the sauce done because the broccoli is going straight from the pot into the bowl.

Just cook enough to take away the rawness. If you want, you can leave your broccoli raw. I’m just not a fan.

Scoop out the broccoli and transfer to the bowl. Pour the egg noodles into the water now vacated by the broccoli. Why waste water? Why dirty two pots?

Cook according to the directions on the package.

While they cook, add your other veggies to the bowl. I used a few handfuls of the bagged coleslaw mix with cabbage and carrots, some chopped cucumber and some sliced scallions.

IMG_0603

Toss the veggies with the peanut sauce.

When the noodles are cooked, add to the veggies mixture.

IMG_0604

The heat from the noodles will melt the peanut butter and will warm the veggies.

Scoop heaping spoonfuls into bowls.

IMG_0605

Top with some chopped peanuts if you like.

IMG_0600

The bowl goes in the dishwasher, making this a one pot to wash dinner.

Which is necessary in this heat.

Who wants to stand in an itty bitty kitchen, scrubbing a stack of pots on a lazy summer city night like this?

Grams, Liters, Milliliters? Help!

Posted on by

Getting ready for work in the morning, I usually watch Cooking Channel.

My new favorite is Bill of Bill’s Food.

Have you ever seen him?

Adorable Australian accent and even more adorable daughters!

And he cooks simple, delicious, healthy foods.

Like this. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bill-granger/apple-dried-cherry-and-almond-loaf.html

I need to make his Apple, Dried Cherry and Almond Loaf ASAP!

I know I can easily find the recipes online, but sometimes I jot them down as the episode plays. Bill is so easy to follow. Same with Nigella. I feel like I can cook along with the two of them.

Except when it comes to measurements.

Grams? Mills? Oven at 175? That can’t be right!

Help!

Here’s a link to an awesome conversion chart I found no StumbleUpon. Thank you Everest for doing the kitchen math for me!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Ad3mx/:1RRVEJ5X:npLm+j$n/www.everest.co.uk/PageFiles/4280/kitchencheatsheet.gif/

Lightened Up Stove Top Rice Pudding

Posted on by

In keeping with last night’s theme of leftovers repurposed-

Oh, who am I kidding, I wasn’t going for a theme, I just had a craving.

But seriously, I don’t like to throw out food, so I was intentionally trying to use up the leftovers.

So theme night.

Sort of.

We had some brown rice in the fridge from our deconstructed tuna roll night.

What to do with cooked brown rice?

The first thing that came to my mind was, of course, rice pudding.

I’m starting to see where those extra six pounds the scale flashes back at me have come from…

With bathing suit season approaching, and with rice to put to use, I channeled Bobby Deen and worked on a lighter version of rice pudding.

My boyfriend’s meme (grandma in French – his mom’s side is Armenian, but they fled to France during the Armenian genocide, so they’re French Armenian. Meme’s cooking is a blend of French cuisine and middle eastern favorites – dolma (stuffed grape leaves), kefta (ground meat mixed with spices and bulgur – a sort of middle eastern meatball), Coquilles St. Jacques. All of it delicious, and all of it packed with butter. Meme takes a page out of Paula Deen’s book.

But then, so did my grandma. Crisco. Butter. Shortening.

They didn’t know all the things that we know about fats. They just knew it tasted good and that their mother’s had done it that way too.

So, I thought about the principles Bobby employs on Not My Mama’s Meals and eliminated the fat (most of it) by getting rid of the whole milk, the cream and the eggs. I also reduced the sugar.

This is my Lightened Up Stove Top Rice Pudding.

You will need:

  • 1 cup cooked rice (white or brown is fine, I had brown leftover from the weekend)
  • 1 cup 2% milk
  • 1 pat of butter (I used just a nub of butter to give the pudding the hint richness that would make you feel like you weren’t being deprived)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • A mess of cinnamon (yes, a mess. I don’t measure cinnamon. I love it, so I just pour it on)

Dump all the ingredients in a pot and cook over a medium flame.

IMG_0592

This is the only work involved in this recipe.

You have to stir constantly so the milk doesn’t burn and so the rice doesn’t stick.

IMG_0593

(I started out with a metal spoon, not thinking about how hot it would get. Use a wooden spoon!)

This is a good time to call your mom, or your meme. Or to catch up on the last episode of your favorite show, or to listen to some music.

You will be at the stove for about twenty minutes, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens.

IMG_0594

This recipe makes enough for two, so double or triple as needed.

When the pudding has thickened, pour into serving cups. Enjoy warm, or pop in the fridge and eat cold. It’s a hot night here in the city, so cold it will be for us.

IMG_0595

On serving, I have these sundae glasses, but you can use coffee mugs, or you can make dainty servings and use demitasse cups.

This kitchen may be small, but our servings are not. So, demitasse cups are out for now. They would be great though if you’re having a dessert party. That way people can try small bites of lots of things.

Mmmm. Dessert party.

I may have to see when my friends are free.

IMG_0597

Leftover Veggie Crustless Quiche

Posted on by

Friday night’s calzones left me with a half a bag of spinach and a container of mushrooms in my fridge.

Much as I wanted to stop at the store and peruse the produce section ( I like grocery shopping. I know. I’m strange), I knew I had food to use in my fridge.

I hate having food go to waste.

Usually when I have leftover veggies, I sautee them up and toss them over pasta.

Unfortunately, we just had pasta last night.

So I racked my brain.

And came up with this.

Leftover Veggie Quiche.

This is a crustless quiche so it’s super quick to prepare and needs only a few ingredients:

  • some veggies (I’m using spinach and mushrooms and some scallions)
  • parmesan or another shredded cheese (optional) (I also scooped in some ricotta because the sell by date’s approaching)
  • 4 eggs
  • milk
  • butter (to grease the pan, you can use cooking spray too)

Sautee the veggies in some olive oil and black pepper over medium heat. Remember they will cook some more in the oven, so don’t cook them all the way.

Meanwhile, grease a pie pan or a baking dish. You can use whatever you have on hand – glass pyrex casserole, a brownie pan – I’m using a pie pan because I have one and because it’s dishwasher safe. One less pot to wash!

When the veggies are cooked, dump them into the greased pan in an even layer.

IMG_0589

I, for whatever reason, cooked the spinach first, put it in the pie pan as my bottom layer, then cooked the mushrooms and laid those on top of the spinach. I tossed the chopped scallion over.

In a bowl, crack four eggs, pour in some milk, sprinkle in some cheese, scoop in a spoonful of ricotta, add a few grinds of black pepper if desired and whisk away.

IMG_0588

When the yolks are broken and well combined, pour the egg mixture over the veggies.

IMG_0590

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs are set. About 30 minutes.

IMG_0598

Slice, serve with a side salad and some crusty bread.

IMG_0599

I’m starting to notice just how often I type the words crust bread, and, subsequently, just how often I eat crusty bread.

I think I have a problem.

Is there a crusty bread eaters anonymous?

Wait.

This is a crustless quiche.

No crust means no bread. An otherwise breadless meal.

And I need carbs.

I did have yogurt today for lunch. And fruit.

Totally healthy. And totally breadless.

So, I’m perfectly entitled to my crusty bread tonight.

What say you, Rachael Ray, is that the correct girl math?

I was always bad at math. I’m an English major.

Oh well.

The math I can handle? Dinner ready with only five minutes of prep + a nice long hot shower during the thirty minutes while the quiche bakes + only one pan to wash = a very calm and relaxed girl ready to settle in for some Game 7, Blackhawks vs Red Wings old school hockey!

#Becauseitsthecup

Forbidden Fruit – Peaches

Posted on by

Bible scholars have it all wrong.

In the garden of Eden, it wasn’t an apple with which Eve tempted Adam.

No, it was not a bright red apple that grew from the Tree of Knowledge.

No, sirs. No. I say.

The forbidden fruit that caused the ejection of our ancestors from paradise was a juicy, summer ripe peach.

For what is more sinful than biting into a plump, golden peach and licking your fingers as the juices drip down your arm. Sensual. Seductive. It surely was the peach that drove Eve to sin.

Exhibit A: in China, the peach is the fruit of the gods and is a symbol of longevity (http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/flowers_symbolism.htm)

When I opened the weekly circular for my local grocery store and saw that peaches were on sale this week, I felt that little thrill you get when you do something you know you shouldn’t.

Why do peaches conjure these feelings?

Perhaps it has to do with their tantalizing scent and sweetness.

Or maybe it’s just the association of peaches with steamy summer nights, languid beach days and standing in the fridge with a spoon eating peaches out of the bowl.

Going back to the weekly circular. Yes, I check out what’s on sale that week.

Firstly, because well, who doesn’t like saving money and who, with a city kitchen especially, doesn’t need to save money?

Secondly, things are usually on sale when they are in season. Fruits and vegetables are cheaper when the cost of transportation etc is cheaper, meaning when they are able to be obtained locally.

I try to support local growers when I can.

And I am more than happy to take those peaches off your hands Mr. Local Farmer Man.

Growing up, I spent my summers at the beach. My parents have a beach house in the small town of Fenwick Island, Delaware (12 streets. There are 12 streets in the town).

My dad’s family has always rented a cottage a few blocks over, and one or other of his siblings is there most of the summer with some or all or an assortment of cousins.

But the best week was always when my aunt Ann Marie was there. Because Ann Marie cut up peaches.

It’s such a simple thing really, ripe peaches cut up in a bowl.

Ann Marie would always buy pounds and pounds and bags of ripe, fresh peaches and she and my grandma would sit in the tiny kitchen of the cottage cutting up the endless piles of peaches. The smell would overwhelm the beach side cottage. It would overpower the salt air wafting off the ocean.

The peaches would be tossed in a bowl with some sugar and put into the fridge overnight. Overnight, the sugar worked its magic, drawing out the juices and making a natural syrup surrounding the peaches.

We’d clamor around the big bowl, spoons diving in, no time to scoop out into our own servings.

We were all family.

The first time I brought my boyfriend to the shore to meet the family, we walked into the cottage and my aunt said “I cut peaches!”

I was thrilled. He didn’t know what she meant.

He had never had cut peaches.

Well he had eaten peaches before, but not like this.

He couldn’t understand my excitement. Until he had his first bite.

Now he gets just as excited as I do about peach season.

Admittedly, it’s a little early. August is really when they’re best. But if Mother Nature is going to give us peaches in May, I am not going to say no.

This isn’t really a recipe. More of a suggestion. One you won’t be sorry to follow.

Buy a pound of peaches. You want nice firm fruit that waft peach scent into the air.

Wash and dry them.

Break out a cutting board and start slicing. You can cut in wedges. I go for chunks.

Drop the peaches into a bowl. Or a glass jar. I use a jar because I love opening the fridge and seeing a jar full of gold and pink peaches dripping in their own juices.

IMG_0584

Sprinkle the cut peaches with sugar. Or drizzle with honey. I actually prefer honey, but my aunt and grandma always used sugar. I just like the extra sticky syrupyness the honey provides.

IMG_0586

Resist the urge to eat these right away. Refrigerate overnight. You won’t be sorry.

I love having a jar of peaches in the fridge all summer.

You can eat them right out of the jar.

Or you can top some Greek yogurt with peaches and granola for a healthy snack or breakfast or a light lunch.

Warm toast, slathered with ricotta cheese, piled with cubed peaches and topped with an extra drizzle of honey is a sweet bruschetta for a 3 O’clock pick me up.

A bowl of peaches topped with a dollop of whipped cream is a virtuous dessert on a hot night.

So go, off to the store with you.

And ask as T.S. Eliot did,

Do I dare to eat a peach?

From The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

“Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.”

Linguine in Clam Sauce in a Flash

Posted on by

I thought the song was Manic Monday?

Well, today’s Tuesday and boy was it manic.

Why is it that the day after a long weekend is always crazy? Shouldn’t everyone be coming back into the office nice and calm and relaxed?

Well, that’s unfortunately never the case.

So after a long weekend of lazily preparing meals and relaxing with wine, I’m coming home from a busy day, ravenous and in need of an easy dinner.

This is also what comes to mind when I’m in need of comfort food.

Comfort food is different for everyone. It totally depends on what you grew up eating and what will transport you back to mom or grandma’s house. For you it may be meatloaf or mac and cheese or spanikopita.

For me, it’s a big bowl of pasta. Comforting, warm and easy.

This dinner is so easy, I even have the time to make a quick appetizer.

Linguine in clam sauce.

The real world way.

Yes, if I had the time, I’d prefer to use fresh clams. But I don’t have the time to stop at the store, nor do I have the patience right now to cook clams.

I didn’t get to eat lunch today, and I know that if my day were that hectic, then my boyfriend’s was probably at least three times worse. And he’s probably hungry. And he gets cranky, and a little angry when he’s hungry.

Like his dad says, an angry man is a hungry man.

Hangry. That’s what men are when they’re hungry and angry from the hunger.

You don’t want a hangry boyfriend on your hands after a long day.

Get this recipe started by bringing a pot of water to a boil. While the water starts to bubble, make the sauce.

This sauce is a great friend of the itty bitty city kitchen because 1. it’s made entirely of pantry staples and 2. it doesn’t take a lot of assembly – chopping garlic then the rest happens in the frying pan.

IMG_0573

  • 1 can minced clams, drained of juices (this is the real world way to make the sauce, replace with fresh clams if you have time)
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • olive oil
  • white wine
  • black pepper

This is the easiest sauce you will ever make.

Drizzle a pan with olive oil and add the chopped garlic; turn to medium heat and let the garlic start to brown.

IMG_0574

Add the drained clams, pour in the white wine and cook until the alcohol is gone. Or cook just a little and leave some of the alcohol if you had that kind of day.

Add a few grinds of black pepper and let the sauce hang out on the stove over a low flame. Odds are, the sauce is done and the water hasn’t boiled yet.

IMG_0577

Which gives you the perfect amount of time to make an appetizer. Also known as something to hand to the hangry man at the door to quell the hanger.

Bruschetta is one of those highly versatile and highly underrated foods.

There’s nothing better than crispy bread in my book. Crispy bread topped with some fresh and yummy accouterments (you like that word, don’t you?) is even better.

For a really quick bruschetta, slice a baguette and toast the slices at 400 for a few minutes. If you don’t have time to preheat the oven (or forgot like me) throw the slices on a foil-lined cookie sheet and pop under the broiler for a few minutes. Just watch the bread because it can burn quickly.

IMG_0569

Peel a garlic clove and slice in half.

When the bread is toasted, pull from the oven and rub with a garlic clove half. The heat from the bread will melt the garlic, and the crusty texture will provide an abrasive surface that will rub the garlic flavor off onto the bread.

You can sprinkle with some olive oil and parmesan cheese and pop it back in the oven for a minute and, ta-da, garlic bread.

IMG_0575

You can also take it a step further and chop up some tomatoes, toss them in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and set on the table with the garlic bread for a make your own tomato bruschetta station.

IMG_0572

This should keep your hangry man occupied while you cook the linguine.

IMG_0582

Linguine takes like four minutes to cook, so it’s the best option here.

A side salad with a simple dressing, tomatoey, garlicky bruschetta and a steaming bowl of linguine topped with the winey, oceany, peppery clam sauce. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Dinner on the table in under ten minutes.

IMG_0581

And there’s nothing more satisfying or comforting than a steaming bowl of pasta.

Hangry man be gone.

IMG_0583

Taco Taco Taco

Posted on by

Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer.

It’s also the official start of grilling season.

Dads start rolling out the grills from the garage. People gather for backyard barbecues. Food Network has Grilling Week, a whole week dedicated to specials and shows and recipes centered around the grill.

There’s nothing better than a juicy burger, hot off the grill and tasting of open flames.

Except, if you have an itty bitty city kitchen, there’s nary a grill in sight.

Yes, I know, there are grill pans for indoor use. But I don’t know if it’s just us or if any of you had the same problem, we totally smoked our kitchen out using one. We have to go college-smoking-in-the-dorm style and bag our smoke detector to grill chicken or a burger.

Then the whole apartment smells like smoke.

Seriously. I showered the next day and when I dried off with my towel, I was basically rubbing smoke all over my newly cleaned self.

So for us, the grill pan is out. And anyway, the grill pan doesn’t mimic the char that you get on your burger when you cook over an open flame. And if I can’t have it the right way, then I’d rather not have.

So instead of trying to concoct ways to participate in the ultimate day for grilling, we went a different route.

Beef wasn’t optional.

But the bun was.

Who says you can’t celebrate Memorial Day with taco night?

I will admit that taco night is one of the more challenging nights in the life of an itty bitty city kitchen, but if you’re prepared and organized, it’s totally doable.

I’ll share with you our ingredients, but feel free to add and subtract toppings to suit your tastes.

  • romaine lettuce
  • tomatoes
  • black olives
  • shredded cabbage
  • taco cheese
  • salsa
  • Greek yogurt with a squeeze of lime (in place of sour cream)
  • flour tortillas

So here’s what I mean by being organized. We’re going to set up a make your own taco bar, which means each topping will be chopped up, put in its own bowl and lined up on the counter. It could easily overwhelm a little kitchen. But we’re going to be methodical.

First, pull out enough bowls for each topping and stack them up on the counter.

Get the cutting board and a knife.

Okay, here’s the key. Start with your least messy ingredient and then work your way to the messiest.

Think about it. You cut the tomato first and then move onto the romaine and you either have to rinse the cutting board and knife first or you wind up with tomato juice all over your romaine.

So, start with your romaine. Chop, place in bowl and then move the bowl out of the way, either off to the side or into the fridge to keep cold. I did the olives next, followed by the tomato. Then the cutting board went into the sink.

Spoon out a couple tablespoons of Greek yogurt into a bowl and spritz lime juice  over.

IMG_0564

When everything is assembled, it’s on to the meat.

For the meat, I used ground beef, chorizo and half a yellow onion. But you can use just ground beef, chicken breast, steak, whatever you like. Taco night is all about taste and tailoring it to your tastes and cravings.

Drizzle olive oil in a pan and add in the chopped yellow onion and some chorizo, diced. I’m using the chorizo in place of taco seasoning here, mostly because it’s on hand and because the flavor is so much more complex than what you get from a seasoning packet.

IMG_0565

Cook the onions and chorizo over medium until the onions are translucent and the chorizo starts to brown.

IMG_0567

Add in the ground beef and brown.

Pour the meat into a bowl and add this to the taco assembly line.

Grab a plate, grab a tortilla and build your taco.

IMG_0568

It’s not the traditional Memorial Day celebration, but it works for us.

We’ll start a new tradition.

Cheers!

IMG_0562

Deconstructed spicy tuna roll salad

Posted on by

One of my favorite foods to go out to eat is sushi.

In general, I don’t like going out to eat.

After working all day, I want to come home to the peace of my kitchen and the comfort of my sweatpants.

I don’t want to go to a restaurant where it’s crowded, it’s loud, it’s expensive, and I always feel like I could make the same plate in front of me at home.

Sushi is an exception.

I don’t see me busting out the bamboo sushi mat and picking up sushi grade ahi tuna at the market any time soon. (Though, you never know. My boyfriend recently decided he wanted to learn how to make Chinese food and so went out and bought a wok. Yes. He woks on occasion. Yes, I will try and sneak a video next time.)

If we wanted sushi, we’d have to venture out.

Trouble is, we were both really set on a weekend of sweatpants.

So I started thinking about sushi as components rather than rolls and came up with this deconstructed spicy tuna roll salad. The tuna is cooked, but the flavors are about the same as the roll you’d get at your favorite sushi restaurant.

The best part? This is a one bowl dish. That’s right. Bowl. Not pot. This is an almost no cook meal. Just assembly required.

Really, you’re going to do three steps.

1. Make the dressing

2. Make the salad

3. Cook the tuna.

So first the dressing.

You will need:

  • 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • 1 tbsp siracha
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • juice of half a lime
  • a pinch of sugar

IMG_0553

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients.

IMG_0554

We actually always have all of this stuff on hand. Like I said, he started woking recently and went out and bought a bunch of Asian ingredients. Even if you don’t have them or don’t think you’ll make that many Asian dishes, consider getting them. I’ve made some amazing marinades with soy sauce. And sesame oil adds a really nice deep flavor to sauteed vegetable. And if you don’t have siracha or don’t want to buy it, use whatever hot sauce you like or have on hand.

To the bowl of dressing, toss in your salad ingredients.

We used:

  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 3 scallions, sliced
  • 1/2 cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 handful shredded cabbage (like the bag of coleslaw mix)
  • 1 large handful baby spinach
  • 1 large handful spring mix

IMG_0558

These can easily be adjusted. Arugula would be nice to add a peppery kick, or even romaine if you want a real cold crispness to cut the hot sauce. I recommend the avocado and the cucumber if you want that sushi roll taste, but really the salad ingredients are up to you.

Toss to coat the veggies with the dressing.

IMG_0559

Pop into the fridge so the flavors can, in the words of my dad, fester.

Anytime a recipe calls for something to hang out in the fridge, dad calls it festering.

Now, while the salad festers, it’s onto the tuna.

You will need:

  • 2 tuna steaks
  • vegetable oil
  • juice of half a lime
  • black pepper

Turn the broiler on high and line a baking sheet with foil. The foil gets balled up and tossed in the trash later, making the bowl with the salad the only cleanup for the night.

Place the tuna steaks on the foil-lined sheet and drizzle with vegetable oil and lime juice and a few grinds of black pepper.

IMG_0555

The tuna will cook under the broiler pretty quickly, about 4 minutes per side.

This meal is complete with just the salad and the tuna, but we added brown rice on the side to give it the real sushi roll taste.

I confess, I didn’t make the rice. Our favorite Chinese take out place is literally steps from our door (the joys of city living) so while I watched the tuna, he ran down and got a container of brown rice. And maybe two egg rolls. Shih Lee has the best egg rolls. Hands down.

Plate the salad and tuna and add a scoop of brown rice on the side.

IMG_0561

When you get a bite of lettuce, avocado, rice and tuna, all coated in the spicy dressing (our version of the spicy mayo of sushi restaurants) your taste buds will be convinced they are down Second Avenue at your favorite sushi place.

But, no. You are at your table, with a huge plate of spicy tuna salad.

And most importantly, you’re still in sweatpants.