At the end of my last post, I promised another “Thai” recipe. And yes, I know, tacos are not Thai but just hear me out.
Our first day in Thailand, we were excited to get out and experience the town and eat real Thai food. We walked around searching for the perfect first meal. There was a ton of street food and hole-in-the-wall type places to eat, but with the kids in tow we thought we’d better stick to a place that looked a little cleaner. After walking around for quite a while and determined not to let our first meal be McDonald’s (yes, they really are everywhere!) We finally settled on an American BBQ place. Go figure. My husband and son decided to split the ribs platter and M and I decided to split the Baja tacos.
The ribs were as authentic as any I’ve ever had. But the tacos were anything but. Yes, it was pork in a warmed tortilla, but they had all of the flavors ofThailand. And while we had some AH-MAZING Thai food while we were there, I still think back fondly of those tacos!
The ribs were as authentic as any I’ve every had. But the tacos were anything but. Yes, it was pork in a warmed tortilla, but they had all of the flavors of Thailand. And while we had some AH-MAZING Thai food while we were there, I still think back fondly of those tacos!
| Thai Pork Tacos with Peanut-Cabbage Slaw |
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Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1lb Lean ground pork
- 1 red onion, finely diced and divided
- 1 teaspoon green curry paste (more or less depending on your heat preference)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce, divided
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce, divided
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- A few dashes of sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 small head of red cabbage, shredded
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- 3-4 radishes cut into match sticks
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- Tortillas and Lime wedges to serve
Preparation
- To make the pork: Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the onions. Sautee for 2 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add the ground pork, and cook until browned, about 10 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break up into pieces. Add the curry paste, ground ginger, half the fish sauce, half the soy sauce and toss until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- To make the slaw: Make the dressing by combining the remaining fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil, and brown sugar. Allow the mixture to sit at least 10 minutes for the flavors to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. Mix together the cabbage, carrot, green onion, radish, and cilantro. Toss the dressing and add the peanuts last.
- To serve: warm tortillas and place a few table spoons of the pork and the slaw in each tortilla.
Notes
The dressing can be made up to three days a head of time, but the slaw should not be tossed with it until just before serving.
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When we were inThailand, my husband and I gorged on Tom Yum soup. We ate it al almost every Thai restaurant we went to. I have to say, at first it didn’t sound very appetizing to me. Hot and sour….and shrimp? But two bites in, I was hooked! Most times when we ordered it, we were asked if we wanted it mild. When we told them no, make it HOT, I loved seeing the big smile spread across our server’s face. Hey, we’re no wimpy tourists, I wanna sweat! If you haven’t wiped the sweat from your face at least a dozen times before you finish your bowl, you just haven’t had Tom Yum.
I read dozens of recipes to find one that would taste similar to the ones we tried inThailand, but in the end, I just sat over the pot, tweaking ingredients until I liked the flavor. So although I’m providing a recipe, I would encourage you to do the same, start with the basic recipe and add ingredients per your pallet. If you like just a little bit of heat, I would go easy on the peppers and Tom Yum Paste or add more coconut cream; if you enjoy the sour and fishy taste, go a little heavier with the fish sauce; and so on.
| Tom Yum Goong {Thai Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp} |
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Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2-4 tablespoon tom yum paste
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 stalks lemon grass, chopped
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 cup ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2-4 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1-2 fresh Thai chili peppers, finely diced
- 1/4 cup lite coconut cream
- 2lb shelled, deveined large shrimp
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Preparation
- Add the first 9 ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust ingredients (for more spice, add more tom yum paste, if it’s too spicy, add more coconut cream)
- Add the shrimp and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Add lime juice and stir. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro leaves.
Notes
Tom yum paste, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves can be found at most Asian supermarkets.
If you can’t find kaffir leaves, you can omit, but they do add a subtle and distinctive flavor.
The soup is supposed to look like it’s seperated.
The lemon grass and lime leave are not edible. You can remove them if you wish when serving the soup, but every Thai restaurant served them in the soup.
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Finally, I’m back with a real post! I always have such a hard time getting back into the swing of things after time away. And it didn’t help that I’ve also had a few kitchen and camera mishaps (think: making a meal, taking pictures, eating the meal, accidentally deleting pictures.) But I can’t wait to share my next “Thai” recipe, so look out for that post soon!
Recipe greatly adapted from Thai Hot and Sour Soup.
Hi Guys! I’ve been away for a while and I’m sure you missed me (just kidding, I bet no one even noticed!) My husband took some time off of work this last month. We had been planning his time away from work for almost the last year and I had big plans for blogging. However, a few days into his leave, he decided to turn off his work cell phone (which usually rings at all hours of the day and night) if I turned off the computer. No facebook, no blog, no twitter, no email. At first I may have gone through a bit of withdrawal, but we both quickly realized that life isn’t happening on a screen. We disconnected to reconnect as a family.
And that’s certainly what we did! We’ve spent the last few weeks inDubaiandThailandhaving the time of our lives. InDubaiwe went on a desert safari (complete with dune bashing and a Bedouin style bbq) and played in the snow at Ski Dubai. I love that that the first time my kids have seen or played in snow was in the middle of the desert. InThailandwe rode elephants, visited a temple, traveled by Tuk Tuk and enjoyed some of the most amazing food.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, but at least we return to reality refreshed and reconnected!
p.s. I was able to have some fun with my camera while we were gone aside from just snap shots of the family. If you want to check out some of my pictures, click over to my Flickr page!
Who likes breakfast for dinner??? I do! When I saw a corned beef brisket I knew I was going to make corned beef hash from scratch (one of my breakfast favorites) for dinner. After I spent hours cooking my “corned” beef and the house smelled so good I practically needed a bib to soak up the drool-ok, I’m over exaggerating-but it smelled good. Well, I sliced that big hunk of beef only to discover I had been had. My corned beef brisket was not corned. I did still make some breakfast potatoes and fried an egg, but I was disappointed. It was not corned beef hash. It was like slicing up a piece of pork belly, frying it and expecting to have bacon (sadly, I’ve done that before.) Without being corned (or brined) it’s not the same thing.
Since I still had a lot left over, I sliced it up and made the kids sandwiches the next day for lunch. M refused to eat it, so I took a big bite (parents: do you do the “YUM! This is so good. If you don’t eat this, I will” trick? No? Just me?) Well, it was so good and luckily there was enough that I didn’t have to resort to eating my four year old’s lunch. I made some pickled onions to dress it up a bit and counter balance the salt of the brisket and it was an amazing sandwich!
| Southern Brisket Sandwiches with Picked Onions |
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Ingredients
- For the Brisket:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 tablespoons Zatarains Creole Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup Jack Daniel’s Bourbon Whiskey
- 2lbs Beef Brisket Roast
- 4 cups Beef stalk
- For the Onions:
- 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds, toasted
- 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
- For the Sandwiches:
- Sesame Seed Buns
- Sliced pepper jack cheese
- lettuce
- Mayo (optional)
Preparation
- To make the Brisket:
- Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the Zatarains and cayenne and pour the Jack Daniel’s in the pot. Place the brisket on top and pour the beef stalk over and cover. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5-6 hours, or until the brisket is fork tender, checking the cooking liquid occasionally.
- To make the Onions:
- Combine the cumin seeds, vinegar, and agave nectar in a pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook 5 minutes more. Pour the onions and pickling liquid into a jar and bring to room temperature, then refrigerate 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour to chill. Stir in the cilantro.
- To assemble the sandwiches:
- Toast the buns and slice the brisket into one-inch cubes, adding a little of the cooking liquid if the brisket starts to dry out. Add the brisket to the buns, top with a slice of cheese and toast until the cheese melts. Add onions and lettuce and serve.
Notes
Brisket can be prepared up to three days before and stored with the cooking liquid. To warm, place the brisket with the cooking liquid into a pot and bring to a boil.
The pickled onions keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.
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Do you have a bucket list? I do. Well, actually a culinary bucket list: all of the things I would like to make before I die.
Homemade marshmallows have been on that list for a while, and for the fourth of July, I thought it’s about time to cross them off. Since we are currently living abroad, we won’t have fire works or parades. However, I still wanted to do something special, so I thought it would be fun to make s’mores with the kids.
M couldn’t wait. She helped make the graham crackers, which were actually pretty easy and turned out great.
However, the marshmallows…..they were another story. I’ve read recipe after recipe and each claims that making your own marshmallows is so simple, only a nincompoop could possibly mess them up. I’m a nincompoop.
It took three recipes and three attempts to get it right. You see, you can’t really omit or substitute ingredients. Omitting corn syrup is not an option. Veggie Gel (a vegetarian alternative to gelatin) is just that, an alternative, not a substitute. Oh, and Jell-O, also can’t be used in place of unflavored gelatin. I’ve spent the week learning each of these lessons the hard way (or should I say the soft, goopy, sticky way.)
But now that I’ve learned all the ways not to make marshmallows, I can finally cross homemade marshmallows off of my bucket list (it was probably a first and a last for me!)
| S’mores (homemade!) |
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Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour 40 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- For the graham crackers:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- About 1/4 cup raw sugar (optional)
- For the marshmallows:
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup of cold water, divided
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup (dark works, but makes brown marshmallows)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 egg whites
- Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- Cooking spray
- Confectioners sugar for dusting the pan and marshmallows (about 1/2 cup)
- For the chocolate ganache:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Preparation
- To make the crackers:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.
- Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide into quarters. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm (about 10 minutes.)
- Use a biscuit cutter to cut out the crackers and place on prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle raw sugar on top, if using. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until browned and crisp. Cool 10 minutes and set aside.
- To make the marshmallows:
- Spray a baking dish lightly with cooking spray, then dust with confectioner’s sugar. Set aside.
- Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup of the water in the bottom of a stand mixer to allow gelatin to soften.
- Combine remaining water, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil, without stirring and cook until the melted sugar reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the gelatin and mix until combined. Whisk the marshmallow mixture on high until it’s tripled in size, about 10 minutes. In another bowl, add vanilla beans to egg whites. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Mix egg whites into marshmallow mixture until just combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and dust the top with confectioner’s sugar. Chill at least three hours, but preferably overnight. Run a knife along the edges of the pan and invert onto a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut marshmallows into 1 inch cubes. Store in an airtight container.
- To make the chocolate ganache:
- Add about an inch of water to a pot. Bring to a simmer and place a glass bowl on top of the pot, making sure that the water does not touch it. Combine chocolate and cream in the bowl and mix until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.
- To assemble the s’mores: Get coals on a grill smoking hot. Place a marshmallow on the end of a skewer and place over direct heat until the marshmallow starts to brown. Immediately place marshmallow on a graham cracker. On another graham cracker, spread chocolate ganache. Sandwich the crackers together and serve immediately.
Notes
Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Graham crackers can be stored in an airtight containter for up to 1 week.
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Graham cracker recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart’s Graham Crackers
Marshmallow recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows
When my daughter was just about four months old we found out we were pregnant again (SUPRISE!!!!) It’s been three years since our little man was born and he hasn’t stopped surprising us.
Sometimes they are good, like when he runs up and gives me a big hug and kiss for no reason(although he usually follows by farting loudly and running away laughing. Boys.)
Sometimes they are scary, like when he climbs to the top of the playground and attempts to jump down (moms of boys, you know what I’m talking about!)
Sometimes they are funny, like when he makes up songs out of no where (ex: rub a dub dub/where’s my grub/ GOOOOOO MOOOOOMMMMMYYYY!!! while standing up on a dining room chair and pumping his arms up and down)
So I don’t know why I was surprised when he changed his mind about what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. Unlike M who decided she wanted an Angry Birds cake (that’s just her personality: once she wants something, her mind is made up) he changed it up on me. He said he wanted a pirate ship cake so I was all set to make a version of this (from pinterest, of course) But then he changed it up on me and said he wanted coconut cupcakes (his words, not mine. Seriously!)
Ok, I can do that. I was all set again to make coconut cupcakes with pirate cupcake toppers. Easy day. Ohhh no….then he changed his mind again. He wanted rainbow coconut cupcakes (again, his words, not mine. Seriously!)
So I did both. On his actual birthday I made some pirate cupcake toppers. Then with the left over’s, we tinted some flaked coconut for some rainbow “sprinkles” and had fun decorating cupcakes as well. Not surprisingly, he loved sprinkling these confetti type sprinkles on the cupcakes.
So to my sometimes stubborn, always sweet, and eternally loveable son, a very happy third birthday! We can’t wait to see what other surprises you have in store for us!!!
| Coconut Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Rainbow Coconut “Sprinkles” |
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Ingredients
- For the Cupcakes:
- 2 13-to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature
- Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon food coloring in red, yellow, orange, green, blue
Preparation
- To make the cupcakes:
- Put the coconut milk in a sauce pan over medium heat and cook to reduce to about half (about 30-45 minutes.) Stir occasionally. Cool the coconut milk to room temperature, and place 1/3 cup aside for the frosting.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
- Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.
- Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended.
- Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended.
- Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.
- While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting.
- Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from vanilla bean, and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to mediumhigh and beat until light and fluffy.
- To make the coconut “sprinkles”
- Divide flaked coconut into five small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl and mix well to coat the flakes. Heat the oven to 350 and spread the colored coconut in a thin layer on a lined, rimmed sheet pan. Toast 5-10 minutes until the flakes are no longer wet and slightly toasted (watch carefully though because it can burn easily!)
Notes
The reduced coconut milk can be made up to two days before. Store in an air tight container and refrigerate.
The coconut sprinkles can be made up to a week ahead. Store in a airtight container in a cool, dry place.
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Recipe adapted from Vanilla Bean and Coconut Cupcakes
Living abroad in theMiddle Easthas taken us on many adventures. From the cultural to the culinary, we have had so many amazing experiences thus far. While it is fun to try new foods, discover new ingredients and learn different cooking techniques; sometimes I still crave the familiar. I miss this time of year inFlorida(orVirginia, or D.C. orMinnesota-all the other places I’ve lived) when sweet corn is in abundance at every grocery store. I miss going to the grocery store and seeing the huge bins of corn, peeling back the husks to check the cob, and walking out with pounds of super sweet, super fresh corn for pennies on the dollar.
My nostalgia took over last week when I walked into the grocery store to buy some bread and milk and saw none other then fresh sweet corn from the good ‘ol U.S.A. While there was no large bin, the husks were already removed and the price was staggeringly expensive, I just had to buy it.
I’ve had this recipe for some time, but it really works best with super fresh and sweet corn; and with my new found prize, I could finally give it a try. The flavors are subtle, but the corn really shines through. This was the perfect summer pasta: light, fresh, and quick to pull together. And because it makes a good amount of pesto, it was perfect to put the extras into a freezer-safe container for the next time a craving for home hits.
| Fettuccini with Fresh Corn Pesto and Pancetta |
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pancetta, diced into cubes
- About 4 cups of fresh, sweet corn kernels (from about 5 ears of corn)
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for the pasta water
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup Pine nuts, toasted
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 lb fettuccini noodles
- Chopped parsley to garnish
Preparation
- Cook pancetta over medium heat in a large skillet until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
- In the pancetta drippings, sauté the corn and the garlic. Add the balsamic and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the corn is cooked through, but still crisp.
- Place 1 cup of the cooked corn kernels aside and add the remaining corn to a food processor.
- Add the pine nuts and parmesan cheese to the processor. Puree for 1 minute. Slowly pour the olive oil in while processing until a thick paste forms, about 3 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccini and cook5-7 minutes, or until al dente.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add 1/2 the pesto to the pasta and toss. Add cooking water 1/4 cup at a time to thin the sauce until it reaches its desired consistency. Add more pesto if needed.
- Toss the pasta with the reserved corn kernels and pancetta.
- Top with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Pesto can be prepaired and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
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Recipe adapted from Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto on Epicurious.com
as-salāmu ʿalaykum
wa `alaykumu s-salāmu. For delivery please?
Ah yes, Madam.
Chicken Tikka. Lamb chops, eight pieces. One hummus. One yogurt salad.
Is that it for tonight?
Yes, thank you.
Shukran.
And that is the conversation I have at least once a week with our favorite nearby hole-in-the-wall delivery place. It is inexpensive, hot, fresh, and delivered to our door in less than 20 minutes. It is definitely going to be one of the things I will miss most when we eventually leave Bahrain.
Just like hummus, I’ve felt like their chicken tikka marinade was something I had to master for myself. They serve this as cubes of chicken breasts which have been marinated and then grilled. I decided to give it a little twist and make them into chicken wings instead. They turned out with the almost the same flavor of the delivery version we have all come to love so much.
| Chicken Tikka Wings |
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Chicken Wings
- 1 Teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
- 1 Teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted
- 2 Cups whole-milk yogurt
- 5 Garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil plus additional for greasing pan
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
- 1 Teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 Teaspoon garam masala (Indian spice mixture)
- 1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon cayenne
- Chopped Cilantro and Lime wedges to serve
Preparation
- Put all of the ingredients (expect the chicken) into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer contents into a plastic bag and add the chicken.
- Marinate the chicken at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Prepare grill and grill chicken over direct heat 3-4 minutes per side until browned and cooked through.
- Top with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges
Notes
While this came out exactly like the version we have delivered, we like our wings with a little more kick, so I would add more cayenne if you like a kick too!
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And yes, that is the extent of my Arabic. I swore I would learn before we came, but everyone speaks English, so I had a hard time sticking to my conviction!
Recipe adapted from Chicken Tikka from epicurious.com
Hi, I’m Alyssa and I’m a secret hoarder.
(Hi Alyssa)
Not really like the, I have 352 cat in my house and I’m thinking of adopting another sort. More like the I have a really hard time throwing away leftovers and other small things sort.
I mean, who knows when I may need that issue of Good Housekeeping from 5 years ago or that belt that I haven’t worn in years but might look cute with just the right outfit.
This recipe is a hoarder’s justification: I still had a little bit of chive aioli from my salmon wraps that I just couldn’t throw out; and since I had planned to throw some stuff on the grill, I thought I’d put it toward good use it in a potato salad. See, it’s good to hang on to stuff…you never know when you’ll need it again!
| Chorizo, Habanero and Chive Potato Salad |
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Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby red potatoes
- 1 link chorizo sausage, chopped
- 1 small habanero pepper, diced and seeds removed
- 1/4 cup chive aioli
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- salt/pepper
Preparation
- Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water. Heavily salt the water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook the potatoes until they are just fork tender. Drain the water and cool them.
- While the potatoes cook, sauté the diced chorizo and habanero over medium high heat until the chorizo browns, about 2-4 minutes. Remove the chorizo mixture to a paper towel to drain and cool.
- In a bowl, mix together the aioli, onion, cumin and honey. Mix in the chorizo. Fold in the potatoes and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and chill.
Notes
The potato salad will keep up to three days, chilled in an airtight container.
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Recipe adapted from my Mom’s classic potato salad
Chive Aioli recipe can be found here
When I was in college, I got my first job waiting tables. There was a small Pub across the street from where I worked that had a great salmon BLT. At the time I thought it was the best sandwich I’d ever eaten in my life. While I think my tastes have matured a bit since then, I still remember what a great sandwich it was.
Fast forward several a few years later and I was going through the ‘fridge trying to decide what to do for dinner. I realized I had some “use-them-or-lose-them” items. You know, those things that are still good but give them another day and they will be freezer-burned, wilted, moldy, slimy, or just gross. As I pulled them out, I realized I had the makings for another great salmon BLT.
The best part of this dinner was that it come together like an easy weeknight, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am meal but tasted like it took hours to prepare.
| Salmon BLT Wrap with Chive Aioli |
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Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2lbs salmon fillets
- Juice and rind from 2 lemons
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 3 rashers of bacon
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups frisee lettuce
- 10 flour tortillas
- Chive Aioli:
- 1/4 cup chopped Chives
- 1 cup Mayo
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine lemon rind, garlic, Olive Oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Salt and pepper the flesh side of the salmon. Rub lemon rind mixture into the flesh. Add lemon juice and allow the salmon to sit 15 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place the salmon fillets and bacon on the sheet and roast 20 minutes, or until the salmon flakes with a fork and the bacon is crispy.
- Remove bacon to a paper towel to drain the grease and roughly chop.
- To assemble: flake the salmon fillets and in a bowl, combine salmon, tomatoes, bacon and lettuce. Spread chive mayo over the tortilla and top with the salmon mixture. Roll up into a wrap, securing with a toothpick or sandwich paper.
- To make the Chive Aioli:
- Combine the ingredients in a food processor and blend 2-3 minutes on high.
Notes
Chive Aioli can be made 1 day ahead of time and refrigerated in an airtight container.
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