Allrecipes Recipe Test: Mick's Thai Beef Salad

Recently, I posted about how much I dislike most of the recipes on Allrecipes.com.  The recipes that people there rate five stars baffle me.  It's a culinary wasteland of Velveeta and bland, overcooked food.  This recipe is one in a million on that site...it's actually amazing.  This recipe was absolutely fantastic with only one change to the ingredients and one change to the preparation.

Here's the recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thai-Beef-Salad/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=thai%20beef%20salad&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe&soid=sr_results_p1i1

I followed the recipe exactly, except I omitted the added sugar.  I didn't think it was necessary because the sweet chili sauce gave enough sweetness.  And anywhere you can reduce your refined sugar consumption is healthful.

In the preparation, Mick suggests cooking the steak 4-6 minutes on each side.  My steak was not thick enough to cook it this long and expect a juicy, tender medium-rare result.

You can follow along with Mick's recipe above, or here's how to make it:

You'll need:

2 green onions, chopped
1 lemon grass stalk, chopped
1c fresh cilantro
1c fresh mint (I used slightly less)
1c lime juice
1/3c fish sauce
1T sweet chili sauce (such as Mae Ploy)
Steak (I prepared one large strip steak)
1 head of leaf lettuce (I used petite Romaine), torn to bite sized pieces
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 pint Cherry tomatoes, halved
Optional: thinly slices of jalapeno or Serrano peppers


Prepare the dressing by combining the green onion, lemongrass, cilantro, mint, lime juice, fish sauce, and chili sauce in a medium bowl.  Not a small bowl--you'll be adding the steak after you cook it.

Season steak with salt and pepper and broil or grill to your desired doneness.  Allow to rest to reabsorb juices, then slice into thin strips against the grain.  Add meat to the dressing and chill for about three hours.

When ready to serve, tear the lettuce and place in bottom of bowl.  Top with cucumber slices, tomato halves, and steak and sauce.  The recipe calls for the tomato to be on top of the steak, but I actually prefer the steak and sauce on top of the tomatoes so the dressing flavors the tomatoes.  Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, and if desired, thin slices of jalapeno or Serrano peppers.  I love peppers, so I added these to give some extra heat.

The recipe did not yield 4-6 servings as Mick suggests.  This made three large entree salads.

This Thai beef salad is such a winner!

This recipe has lots of freshness, sweet heat, and juicy steak.  All winning components for me!  The lemongrass really adds a delightfully aromatic component.

This one will definitely be a favorite, just in time for summer!

Easy Asian-Inspired Lettuce Wraps

With the weather warming, it's a great time to start lightening up your menu selections.  The hotter it is outside, the more I crave fresh dishes that don't weigh heavily on my stomach.  I want to eat dinner then be able to ride my bike or go for a walk.

This recipe is a great way to lighten things up.  It isn't a fussy recipe, either.  You can prep all the ingredients ahead of time so all you have to do is cook them.

You'll need:

3 skinless chicken breasts
1 red pepper
1 package of mushrooms
1/3 c. peanuts
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. Thai sweet chili sauce (such as Mae Ploy)
1 head of baby Romaine lettuce
2 scallions
optional: thinly sliced jalapeno peppers or cilantro

Yield: four to five servings


To prep ahead of time, use kitchen shears to quickly cut the chicken into small pieces.  To expedite the process, I cut the chicken into long strips, then cut the strips across to make small, chopped pieces.  Dice the red pepper and mushrooms.  Place the peanuts in a Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin or heavy serving spoon.  Cut the scallions crosswise on the diagonal into diamond-shaped slices.

Prepped ingredients ready to cook.

Be sure to wash each leaf of baby Romaine lettuce.  My favorite is the Costco baby Romaine.  It is always very fresh and keeps a long time.  Each petite leaf is perfect.  Pat dry.

If everything is washed and chopped ahead of time, you can have this dinner ready in less than 20 minutes.  To prepare the wraps, place a wok or heavy skillet on the stove and heat to medium high.  Wait for the pan to be hot before adding the chicken.  When you add a hot droplet of water to the pan, it should sizzle.  Once pan is hot, spray pan with non-stick spray and add the chicken.  Keep the chicken moving in the pan so it doesn't stick.  Once the chicken is no longer translucent, reduce the heat to medium and add the soy sauce, pepper, and mushrooms.  Cook for two minutes before adding the Thai sweet chili sauce and peanuts. Cook an additional minute and taste to adjust seasonings and moisture level.  For more sauce, add more Thai sweet chili.  If you prefer less crunch to your vegetables (I like mine lively!), cook to desired softness.

If someone in your household isn't a fan of soy sauce or has a reduced sodium diet, mix the soy sauce and sweet chili sauce in a small bowl and reserve.  Serve on the side of the wraps so sauce can be added to individual wraps.

To serve, spoon chicken mixture into a bowl and top with sliced scallions.  Place bowl on a larger plate and arrange lettuce leaves around the bowl.  Be sure to include a spoon for adding the chicken to the lettuce.  I like to make a plate for each person, but you can also make a large serving platter size presentation to share.

If you like more heat, add thinly sliced jalapeno or Serrano peppers before serving.  If you like more herbaceous freshness, include fresh cilantro leaves for garnishing.

The finished Asian-inspired Lettuce Wraps.

Food and Wine Magazine Recipe Test: Green Pea and Fava Bean Salad with Sliced Speck

I'm still working my way through the August 2014 issue of Food and Wine magazine. The next recipe I'm testing captured my attention because it had a huge photo that looked really fresh and bright. I was a little leery of a salad that doesn't have any lettuce or spinach...it seems like a lot of strong flavors and no where for my palate to rest. Nevertheless, I was ready to try this recipe. It wasn't a slam dunk like the Grilled Skirt Steak with Fruit-and-Green-Tomato Salsa. This salad was an interesting mix of flavors that made sense together, but I'd tweak slightly next time.


The recipe calls for:

3 cups shelled fresh English peas (about 3/4 pound)
4 pounds fava beans, shelled (4 cups)
1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
Pepper
1/3 cup snipped dill sprigs
1/3 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup snipped chives
1/3 cup small basil leaves or torn basil
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage
20 thin slices speck (1/2 pound)
4 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled (1 cup)

For how to prepare, check out the original recipe from Food and Wine magazine here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/green-pea-and-fava-bean-salad-with-sliced-speck

Like usual, I had to make a few substitutions based on what was available. I couldn't find fava beans and speck at the Broad Ripple Fresh Market, so I substituted white beans and serrano ham. I prepared the recipe as instructed with one exception--I didn't measure the ricotta cheese. I just liberally dolloped it on the plate to make sure my husband would eat it. "Salad" to him means meat, cheese, and ranch with a side of lettuce. I wanted to make sure there was something that he'd like to bait him!

The finished product...my salad with the salad pictured in Food and Wine.

I took a bite, and the taste was really fresh and bright. The salty of the ham worked with the sweet of the peas and the boldness of all the herbs/aromatics. Occasionally, I'd get a bite that was heavy on the parsley. These bites were bitter and unpleasant. To make this recipe really tops, I'd reduce the amount of parsley to just a dusting of chiffonade and add a handful of arugula. With all the distinct flavors like basil, sage, and chives, it would be nice to have a little break from time to time.


I enjoyed this recipe. I'd make it again with the reduction in parsley and perhaps a handful of arugula. This probably isn't one to experiment with the more picky eaters in your circle. The bold flavors may come across as disharmony. Not bad, but not one that drew highest accolades.

Food and Wine Magazine Recipe Test: Grilled Skirt Steak with Fruit-and-Green-Tomato Salsa

I'm still enjoying the Food and Wine magazine subscription my husband gifted to me.  Although I'm starting to think it wasn't a gift for me, it was a gift for him.  I've been working my way through the recipes, and he gets to be the taste tester.  Definitely a gift for him.

Next in the queue, a recipe that caught my eye because it's by Stephanie Izard.  Izard is the chef of Girl and the Goat, where I dined last summer on a trip to Chicago with friends.  My favorite girlfriend's husband had a job interview, so I tagged along for a day of shopping and gastronomy.  Dinner at Girl and the Goat was great, minus having to take her husband outside and babysit him on the sidewalk after he drank too much.  Our group of friends took turns sitting with him so no one would have to miss the meal.  It ended up being funny fodder for a wedding toast!  Anyway, it was the first time I ate goat or pig face.  I can't wait to go back.  By the way, if you're from the Girl and the Goat and reading this, my friend is still apologetic about the glass he broke, and the nap he took at the table until we shepherded him to the sidewalk so you wouldn't kick us out.  A bad job interview and double-fisting Manhattans will do that, I guess.  His loss since he's the first of us to go foodie, and he missed the meal!

Back to Stephanie Izard.  I have endless respect for women who brave traditionally men's jobs, and a woman like Stephanie who schooled the boys on Top Chef.  Sometimes I feel the challenge of being an attorney working in the tech sector--it's not always easy making your way in the boys' club.  Good for Stephanie for being a strong woman and a Midwestern culinary superstar.

Izard's recipe in the August 2014 recipe is for Grilled Skirt Steak with Fruit-and-Green-Tomato Salsa.

Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-skirt-steak-with-fruit-and-green-tomato-salsa

The recipe calls for:

2 lbs. skirt steak
olive oil
red wine vinegar
soy sauce
sambal oelek
scallions
green tomato
plum
sweet cherries
nicoise olives
basil
cilantro
parsley
sorrel
salt and pepper

Like the Piment d'Espelette of a few entries ago, I had to read up on some of these ingredients.  Sambal oelek is a staple of Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian cooking.  It's chili pepper paste without seasonings like garlic.  Read more here.  Sorrel is a leafy herb used in cooking around the world.  It is rich in Vitamin C and has an acidic, even bitter taste due to the oxalic acid content.  According to Gourmet Sleuth, some spinach or arugula and lemon juice are an adequate substitute.

I went to three grocery stores and couldn't find the sambal oelek or sorrel, so I substituted Dynasty brand Thai Chili Garlic Paste for the sambal oelek, and arugula and lemon juice for the sorrel.  Since I love arugula, I used this is an opportunity to turn the salsa into more of a salad.  I used a handful instead of two tablespoons.  This gave the meal more bulk without having to prep a separate side dish.

I could not find sambal oelek at Kroger or Marsh, so I substituted Dynasty brand Thai Chili Garlic Paste.

Next up, I had to substitute for the cherries.  Cherries are in season in May, June, and July.  I went to two Marsh stores, one Fresh Market, and one Kroger hoping they had some anyway.  No dice.  I called Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme, they said they didn't have any.  I even enlisted the help of the local police department to see if an officer friend had seen cherries anywhere!  I ended up buying a can of cherries in water.  I opened the can, and they were really mushy, so they couldn't work as a substitute.  They were not firm enough to cut.  I ended up substituting black grapes.

Of note, I also used some manzanilla olives I already had.  These olives are firmer and milder than nicoise olives, but still brought a briny flavor.  I'm not an olive snob.  I love olives in all forms.

Unfortunately, by the time I had made all these substitutions, this preparation was more "inspired by" Izard's recipe than an actual test of it.

I started this recipe on Sunday afternoon.  I chopped all the ingredients and stored them separately in cups since I knew I'd be home late on Monday (and Dallas would be on, so I didn't want to spend a long time prepping!)  It took between 20 and 30 minutes to wash and chop all the ingredients, then mix the vinaigrette.  I tasted the vinaigrette to see if the garlic would be noticeable--the sambal oelek would not have added garlic to the mix.  I didn't notice the flavor of the garlic, but the vinaigrette was heavy on the soy sauce flavor.  This ended up working out well--the salsa needed the salt.  This is why Stephanie Izard is a chef and I'm a wannabe food blogger.

Since everything was chopped and the green onions had already been sauteed and cooled, all I had to do was hit the steak with a little salt and pepper.  While it cooked, I mixed the vinaigrette and all the prepped ingredients.  As mentioned above, instead of two tablespoons of sorrel/arugula, I used a handful to make more of a salad.

The fresh ingredients about to be combined to top the steak.  In this moment, as I looked at the black grapes, plums, basil, green tomato, and a soy and pepper paste vinaigrette, I thought to myself that there was no way this would work together!

The steak was to medium-rare in about six minutes.  I let it rest to get the thickest parts a little more done--one placed looked a little raw, which unfortunately caused the ends to go to medium.  Select a piece of steak that it as uniform in thickness as possible to prevent this from happening.

The final product.

A closer look.

Admittedly, I was nervous when I presented the plate to my husband.  I thought this was going to taste bizarre.  Instead, it was surprisingly fantastic!  The basil and the sweet notes from the grapes and plums really harmonized with the cilantro and spicy zing of the vinaigrette.  This was so fresh and unlike anything else I'd tasted.  The basil was the superstar ingredient for me since it enlivened the sweet plum and grape elements while melding with the spicy pepper for something exotic.  I think he loves this dish more than he loves me.  He was that impressed.

I realize that Izard's recipe would taste differently because of all the substitutions I made due to product availability, and wanting to use up manzanilla olives I already had.  Nevertheless, I'd make this again just how I did it this time because it was so tasty.  This was by far the best recipe I've tested from Bon Appetit and Food and Wine.  It's also a steak recipe that won't leave you feeling weighed down.  Instead, you'll feel revitalized by all the fresh ingredients.

You. Must. Make. This.

Enjoy!

Bon Appetit Recipe Test: Thai Chicken Soup

I'm kicking the tires on another recipe for you today.  I found this one in a Bon Appetit magazine Tweet--27 ways to make boneless chicken not boring.  This recipe is a hit!

My husband doesn't do ethnic food.  He has the stomach of a child sometimes--after a trip to an Indian restaurant, he ate something spicy and laid on the sofa for hours moaning and rubbing his tummy.  When I'm craving Vietnamese or Thai food, I call up girlfriends and have a girls' night out.  I didn't tell him this was Thai-inspired until afterwards.  He ate it up, proclaimed how fantastic the broth was, and didn't have a stomachache at all.  Then I told him it was Thai and he looked surprised.

By the way, I fully believe in "Jewish Penicillin"--chicken noodle soup--when you're feeling unwell.  This soup might replace the simple chicken noodle or matzo ball soup though.  It's that good.

I followed the original recipe closely, but not exactly.  The original recipe can be found here:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/thai-chicken-soup

My changes were mostly out of convenience and to cut down on miscellaneous leftover produce in my fridge.  For example, instead of measuring out the mushrooms or sugar snap peas, I tossed in a whole package.  The more veggies, the merrier, right?

Here's my rendition:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 chive pieces (five bulbs, each with about four stalks of green onion on it)
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 in. piece of fresh ginger (consider using more if you like more zing)
handful of baby carrots
1 jalapeno (consider using two if you like heat)
1 package of sliced white mushrooms (about 8 oz.)
1 package of organic, boneless chicken tenderloins (there were no 1 lb. packages so I used 1.3 lbs.)
1 can coconut milk (this can was 13.5 oz.)
1 quart organic chicken broth
1 package of sugar snap peas (I think it was about 8 oz.)
Fish sauce to taste (I used about 2-3 tablespoons)
2-3 oz. lime juice
2 handfuls of cilantro

Outside of all the washing and chopping, this is very easy to make and has minimal clean up.

Wash all produce.

Put large soup pot on stove on medium heat.  Add the oil and the garlic.  As garlic becomes golden, chop up the scallions and carrots, add to pot.  I used one handful of baby carrots, next time, I'll consider using two since I really like carrots.

Use carrot peeler to scrape the skin off the ginger, then grate into the pot.  I couldn't find out grater, so I was using a serrated knife.  My patience wore off at four inches of the ginger.  I wish I'd used more, so if you like zing, keep grating away.  The original Bon Appetit recipe calls for 1 inch.

Next, I added the a tablespoon of fish sauce, chicken broth, and coconut milk, then all the chicken tenderloins.  Just toss the chicken pieces into the soup pot whole.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer, and set timer for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is simmering, slice the jalapeno thinly.  I de-seeded it to keep the spicy level lower for my husband, but next time, I'll use two jalapenos.  Chop the sugar snap peas into small pieces--they'll look like over-sized rings of green onion.  I always chop mine across or slightly diagonally to make sure I cut across where strings could be.  I tend to find strings, even if the bag says the peas are string-less.

At the 20 minute mark, remove the chicken tenderloins and place on large plate.  Add the pea and jalapeno to the soup pot.  Using a fork and knife (it's hot!), pull the chicken into pieces that will fit on a spoon.  The chicken was really tender and came apart very easily.  Return the pulled chicken to the pot.  Add 2-3oz. of lime juice (I used half of a little green plastic reconstituted lime juice container).  Stir and taste.  At this point, I wanted more salt.  Instead of adding salt, I added another tablespoon or two of fish sauce to get that salty/umami taste I needed.

Taste it to check for the right balance.  Need saltiness or umami?  Add fish sauce.  Need zing?  Add lime juice and or grated ginger.

Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems.  Now you're ready to serve.

For best presentation, use a slotted spoon to scoop up the right balance of chicken and veggies.  Then ladle the broth around the chicken and veggies so you can see them peaking through the surface.  Top with fresh cilantro and serve immediately.

The delicious finished product--Tom Kha Gai inspired Thai Chicken Soup.

Don't add the rest of the fresh cilantro to the leftovers.  It will wilt when sitting in the liquid then during reheating.  Top each reheated bowl with fresh cilantro.