Basics: Homemade Granola

Yogurt has become more and more popular in the US over the last several years (although still substantially behind France and many European countries in daily consumption per person).  The most recent craze is Greek-style yogurt, with its thicker, more dense consistency.  Brands such as Fage and Chobani are now commonplace in supermarkets, Targets, and even many convenient stores.  And also my fridge.  I usually buy Fage, but I'm hoping that Whole Foods starts making the Greek-style yogurt in its 365 brand soon. 

Aside from its breakfast appeal, Greek yogurt is a wonderful ingredient in the kitchen (just make sure to buy the plain variety and not one of the flavored/sweetened varieties).  Try subbing it in recipes for your favorite homemade salad dressings and dips, which commonly rely on mayonnaise for that creamy texture.  Also think of Greek yogurt for meals that call for sour cream (e.g. chili, tacos, etc.).  It's not really all that different from sour cream in terms of absolute calories/fat, but it does offer its probiotic benefits.  And like sour cream, yogurt is available in full fat, low-fat (2%), and fat-free.  What's great about fat-free Greek yogurt is that because of its thick texture, it makes you think you're eating something deliciously fatty even though you're not.

Onto the actual topic for this entry.  Granola!  Delicious, decadent granola.  The perfect topping for yogurt, granola is a combination of oats, baking spices, sugar, nuts, and raisins/dried fruit.  A blend of very nutritious ingredients that offer a great, natural balance of carbs, fat, sugar, and other nutrients.

The first step is to buy quality ingredients. King Arthur (link) offers the best rolled oats I've ever tasted.  From there, it's all about personal preferences.  I love adding almonds, cashews, and pecans.  You could toss in walnuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, or any other favorite nut.  The one thing I would probably leave out would be peanuts.

For the sweetener, I love agave.  It's a great sugar substitute made from the agave plant (the same source as tequila), and it doesn't boost your blood sugar levels as dramatically as cane sugar.  Also, it's a liquid, so it makes for easier mixing/stirring in many recipes. Other options include honey and maple syrup (the real stuff...none of that sugar-water with maple syrup flavoring), which each offer a unique flavor and texture for the granola.

I love tossing in unsweetened shaved coconut and dried raisins.  Feel free to skip the raisins, or add a different dried fruit, such as cranberries, currants, chopped figs, blueberries, etc.  The dried fruit offers a nice sweet, chewy texture, different from the crunchy granola and nuts.

Last tip - make sure to stir every 15 minutes while baking.  You don't want your granola to burn, and with the added sugar, it does tend to stick to the baking sheet.  Enjoy some freshly baked granola on a bowl of Greek yogurt tomorrow!

-Jeff

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup cashews, slightly crushed

1/2 cup pecans, slightly crushed

1/2 cup shredded sweet coconut

1/4 cup agave

2 T real maple syrup

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 250 F.

2. Combine all ingredients, except raisins (or other dried fruit), in a large bowl.  Stir well.

3. Pour into a single layer onto a large baking sheet (preferably one with ridges to prevent the granola from spilling onto your oven).  You might need two baking sheets.

4. Bake for at least 1 hour 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours (until it smells delicious and has a nice roasted color & texture; sampling is encouraged).

5. Place in a large bowl and let cool, then add raisins. Place into an air-tight storage container(s).  Can be stored at room temperature for quite a while (I've had mine in the cupboard for over a month before).

Recipe inspiration: Food Network - Alton Brown's Granola Recipe

Easter Dinner - Southern-style BBQ

Beautiful Tulips in DC - Easter Weekend 2009

Living in New York, far from my home in Wisconsin, there are certain holidays that are always celebrated with family, namely Christmas and Thanksgiving.  Everyone flies or drives home to be with one another, enjoying home-cooked dinners, a bottle of wine or two, and of course sharing stories, both old and new.

For one reason or another, other major holidays do not hold the same place as Christmas and Thanksgiving.  Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and other great American holidays are hard for people living a flight away from their home.  While I become a little down that I'm not home, firing up the grill with my family or childhood friends, there is a bright side to these holidays.  In places such as New York, there are many others also not able to make it home.  As a result, little "families" are formed, coming together to share their individual family traditions, foods, and stories.  

Starting last year, we have hosted a couple of our good friends in New York for a Midwestern style Easter dinner.  We baked a honey ham and buttermilk biscuits, steamed green beans, and of course served a cheesy casserole (diced potatoes, cream sauce, and cheese).  Another Midwestern tradition was the twelve layer Jello salad, which is six different Jello flavors made two ways (one plain, one with either a dab of sour cream or evaporated milk), and poured onto one another in a 12" x 9" glass pan.  It takes time and lots of patience...but it's beautifully delicious.

This year, we had the same little "family" over for Easter dinner, except one of the two friends was traveling in Europe for work...so he had to celebrate from afar.  The three of us enjoying a Southern-style BBQ meal.  Our friend brought over a refreshing spinach salad, served with a creamy poppy seed dressing, with fresh strawberries and red onions tossed in.  

Pork Shoulder Braised with Apples, BBQ Spices, and White Wine

I slow-roasted a lovely cut of pork shoulder, which I later shredded and coated in a homemade smoky barbecue sauce.  I served the BBQ pork on kaiser rolls with a creamy cole slaw.  On the side, we enjoyed another classic America holiday dish (common in the Midwest), green bean casserole and a healthy grapefruit-red onion-cucumber quinoa.  And like any good BBQ meal, we had homemade BBQ baked beans and cold beer. 

BBQ Pork Sandwich topped with Creamy Cole Slaw; sides of green bean casserole & quinoa

For dessert, we served angel food cake, topped with my mom's classic cinnamon cream sauce.  Yum!

Happy Easter and Passover (belated at this point) to everyone!  I hope you were able to enjoy a meal with your friends and family, either at your childhood home or wherever you call home.

Recipes

BBQ Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder Sandwiches

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lb. boneless pork shoulder, brined, rinsed, & dried

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 bay leaves

1 medium onion, sliced

1 apple, sliced

1 cup water

1 cup dry white wine

BBQ spices: 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 T chili powder

1-2 cups barbecue sauce, or more to taste

1 cup cole slaw or fresh red onion slices

4 kaiser rolls

Directions:

1. If you have time, brine the pork for 3-4 hours; remove from brine, rinse, and pat dry.  If not, it will be okay...but brining will produce a more moist final product.

2. Preheat oven to 275 F.

3. In a large round casserole dish, place onion on the bottom.

4. Mix BBQ spices together, then rub into the pork.

5. Place the pork onto the onions in the dish.

6. Pour water & wine into the dish, careful not to pour it directly onto the pork (this would wash off some of the BBQ spice rub).

7. Add the garlic, apple, and bay leaves around the sides of the pork, placing them in the liquid.

8. Cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 6-8 hours, or until the pork is very tender and falls apart easily.

9. Remove from the oven, and place pork in a large bowl.  Using a fork, shred the meat.  Remove any large pieces of fat while shredding.

10. Place shredded pork into a large pot, add 1/2 cup of the liquid in the roasting dish.

11. Add 1 cup barbecue sauce.  Mix well.  Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.

12. Add more barbecue sauce to taste.  Add salt or other spices (e.g. cayenne for more kick) to taste.

13. Serve on kaiser rolls, topping with cole slaw or fresh red onion slices.

Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

1 slice bacon, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. tomato paste

2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. dry mustard

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder

1/2 tsp ancho chili pepper powder

1/2 tsp ground oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Salt, to taste

1 T. Olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat a large sauce pan to medium; add oil

2. Add bacon; fry for 1-2 minutes

3. Add onion

4. Saute for 4-5 minutes, or until onion softens

5. Add tomato paste; stir into onion-bacon mixture

6. Add vinegar; stir

7. Add all the other ingredients; stir very well

8. Simmer on low for 25-30 minutes

9. Taste the sauce and adjust to your taste

10. Once its to your liking, turn off the heat and place in a food blender

11. Puree until smooth

12. Place in a glass bowl and refrigerate until chilled

Creamy Cole Slaw

Ingredients:

6 cups shredded cabbage

2 cups shredded carrot

1/2 cup mayo

2 T. vinegar

1/2 T. brown mustard

1/2 tsp celery seed

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl

2. Taste and adjust mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt & pepper to taste

3. Chill for at least an hour before serving

Green Bean Casserole (French's recipe)

Ingredients:

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can Cream of Mushroom Soup

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 lb. fresh green beans, cut in 1" pieces and steamed

1 1/3 cups French's Fried Onions

Directions:

1. Mix soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2-qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.

2. Bake at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.

3. Stir. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.

A Roast to Remember

Christmas Roast - A Sirloin Tip Roast

On Christmas Eve, Rachel & I were back in Wisconsin in my hometown of Sussex staying with my parents for the holidays.  This December, there has been plenty of snow in the Midwest, so it definitely looked like (and felt like) winter outside.

My mom and I were thinking about what to cook for dinner for the four of us, and she found a boneless sirloin tip roast in the chest freezer, weighing about 3 1/2 pounds.  When you're only two people in a household, it's hard to find an occasion or the appetite to cook up such a large cut of meat.  And with the chilly weather and the holiday, a deliciously cooked roast sounded perfect!

The roast itself was from Kummrow Farms, a beautiful small farm near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin (the town's name was derived from coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for "waterfall").  Kummrow Farms feeds their cattle (and bison) almost entirely on grass and hay, and does not use hormones nor antibiotics.

Roast from Kummrow Farms

Back to the cooking.  Normally, I would bake the roast in one piece until its center is a beautiful juicy, deep red color.  However, my parents prefer their beef medium to medium-well.  To tailor dinner to all four of us, I cut the roast in half.  The first half (for my parents) went in the oven about 20 minutes before I added the second half. 

The seasoning for the roast was simple.  I used a combination of salt, fresh ground black pepper, and Penzey's Italian Herbs (rosemary, oregano, and thyme).  The spice mixture was rubbed onto all sides of the roast pieces.  Then I let the roast sit out on the counter, allowing it to warm to room temperature (about 25-30 minutes).

Once the meat was prepped, I added my potatoes, onions, and celery to the roasting pan.  Since the roast was quite lean (almost all the excess fat had been trimmed off), I added some rendered pork fat to the vegetables to ensure there was enough fat in the roasting pan to keep the beef from drying out and to give it that extra boost of flavor.  I placed the pan in the oven while the roast sat on the counter because I wanted to make sure that the potatoes would be cooked through by the time the roast was done baking.

Before adding the roast to the pan, I always brown/sear it.  I feel it seals the juices inside the roast, and ensures a juicier end product.  But you can skip this step if you're pressed for time.

For side dishes, I cooked up some delicious cinnamon-honey glazed carrots, using the recipe from Food & Wine (carrot recipe link).  I also baked my buttermilk biscuit recipe, which I posted last month (biscuit recipe link). 

For wine, we chose a 2007 La Linda Malbec and a 2003 Proemio Cabernet Sauvignon, both from Mendoza, Argentina.  These are big, full-bodied red wines with plenty of spice, acidity, and tannins to handle the pepper and herb flavored roast.  Other great options would be a full-bodied Syrah or Merlot.  If we had a nice red Bordeaux on-hand, it would have been another good option.




The British Empire


I looked briefly at the history of the roast.  While I'm sure humans have been roasting cuts of bison, pigs, cows, and woolly mammoths for millennia, the modern 'roast' seems to be a British invention.  I read somewhere that roasts were a common Sunday meal because the bakery ovens, which were used for baking bread throughout the week, were available on Sundays because the bakeries were closed.  It is interesting to look at a map of British influence and where roasts are most commonly served.  Today, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada, which were all at one time under the control and/or influence of the British, are places you'll likely find roasts on the family menu.



Merry Christmas everyone!  Enjoy the holiday season and the time spent with friends & family.

Sirloin Tip Roast Recipe

Ingredients:

One 3 to 4-lb sirloin tip roast (or similar beef roast)

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 to 3 lbs. potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 stalks celery, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

3 cups beef stock (you can substitute chicken or mushroom stock)

1/2 cup red wine

2 T. olive oil or rendered meat fat

Dried herb mixture (combination of rosemary, oregano, and thyme)

Dash of cayenne

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F

2. Prep roast by rubbing salt, pepper, and herb mixture all over the outside

3. Leave roast on counter at room temperature for 25-30 minutes

4. Place vegetables in a large roasting pan, add salt, pepper, herb mixture, cayenne, and oil/fat.  Stir and place in the oven.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.

6. Add about 1 cup of stock to the pan (make sure there's always enough stock to fill the pan about 1/2" to 1" high)

7. Turn the oven down to 275° F8. Brown all sides of the roast in a large skillet, then add to the roasting pan.
8. Cover and bake for about 45-60 minutes.  It might need more time if it's a larger roast or if you prefer medium or medium well beef.  Use a meat thermometer, placing in the thickest part of the roast.  145° F for medium-rare, 160° F for medium, 170° F for well-done.

The Potato Salad Debate

Like a spicy homemade chili or a carefully crafted pasta sauce, potato salad is something everyone makes slightly differently.  People have made these dishes time and time again, passing recipes onto their children (and grandchildren).  This conditioning results in passionate debates of using or not using certain ingredients. 

“Oh, you need to use cider vinegar to make a good potato salad.”

“No, no…you should use white wine vinegar…it’s sweeter.  It’s better.”

“Vinegar?  Yuck.  Lemon juice is the best ingredient.  It’s not as overpowering.”

These debates can never be resolved…the loyalty to a mother’s or grandmother’s recipes is immune to challenges.  That being said…I’ll give you my recipes for potato salad.  But feel free to play with these recipes and make them your own.  Adjusting recipes to your taste is the best way to start advancing your cooking skills.  And everyone’s tastes are different, so I would encourage you to add more pepper, reduce the level of salt, or even add some new ingredient, such as paprika or fresh horseradish.

To take the idea of potato salad a bit further, I am going to touch on my favorite three variations on this classic side dish.  The first will be a traditional recipe…mayo, vinegar, potatoes, and a few other ingredients.   This variation is served chilled.  And it’s what you’ll find at almost any grocery store, restaurant, and cafe around the country.  I enjoy it at a good BBQ, with a grilled sandwich, etc. 

The second potato salad is also somewhat traditional but I’m guessing its popularity varies by region.  From my Wisconsin roots, I have come to love a well-made German potato salad, and enjoy it as an alternative to the traditional mayo-based recipe.  The German potato salad removes the mayo, but adds delicious, delicious bacon.  Yes, bacon.  Yum.  It’s frequently served warm, although it can also be served chilled.

The third variation was one that I came across at a restaurant called Plein Sud, located off Chambers Street in Tribeca (NYC).  Their brilliant chef, Ed Cotton, decided to add truffle to a traditional potato salad recipe.  Quick side note…Cotton has worked at a variety of amazing restaurants in Boston, Las Vegas, and New York, and he was the runner-up in Top Chef, Season 7.  Back to the food, the combination of the pungent truffle with the creamy, slightly tart potatoes was delicious.  I did my best to recreate the recipe at home, and it turned out very well.  It’s actually easy to make if you already have truffle salt or some other truffle flavoring in your spice cabinet.  And it’s delicious (if you like truffle that is…the flavor is a bit polarizing).  I have served it with roasted chicken or braised pork chops.

Truffles, if you're not familiar with them, are a fungus, similar to mushrooms.  They grow underground, often in wooded areas, dependent on trees for their existence.  More specifically, truffles and similar types of fungi have developed a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with the roots of vascular plants (i.e. trees).  Another interesting aspect of truffles is how people find them.  Hogs, and sometimes dogs, sniff the forest floor, searching for these delicious fungi.  Apparently, female hogs (sows) are naturally talented at this task since there is a chemical in truffles similar to the pheromones of the male hog (boar).  

Try one, two, or all three recipes.  And when you disagree with one of my ingredients, please, post your comment and we’ll debate it. 

Enjoy!

Traditional Potato Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes (or other potato if your choosing), cut into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup mayonnaise, or to taste

1 to 2 T white vinegar, to taste

1 tsp yellow or brown mustard

1 celery stalk, diced (optional)

1 T. parsley (optional)

Dash of cayenne (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until soft, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain.

2. In a large bowl, mix  together all ingredients, stir well.

3. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

German Potato Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. baby red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

¼ lb. raw bacon, sliced into ¼” pieces

2 T. olive oil

2 T. white rice vinegar, or more to taste

4 T. freshly grated horseradish (optional)

¼ cup onion, minced (preferably Vidalia or red)

1 T. parsley, minced

1 tsp caraway seed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook bacon in medium skillet until cooked through, but not too crispy.

2. Boil potatoes in salted water until soft, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, olive oil, vinegar, parsley, caraway seed, and horseradish (if using).

4. Add potatoes and bacon, stir.

5. Add salt & pepper to taste, stirring well.

6. Serve warm or cold.

Truffle Potato Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes (or other potato if your choosing), cut into bite-sized pieces

¼ cup mayonnaise, or to taste

1 to 2 T white vinegar, to taste

1/2 tsp brown mustard

1 celery stalk, diced (optional)

Truffle salt, to taste (or other truffle flavoring ingredient)

Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until soft, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain.

2. In a large bowl, mix  together all ingredients, stir well.

3. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

Rocoto Relleno (Stuffed Pepper)

Colca Canyon, near Arequipa, in southern Peru

A couple weeks ago, I was in the Union Square farmer's market, picking up some fresh produce, when I spotted some beautiful peppers.  I knew they were not bell peppers by the shape, which was very exciting because I had been seeking the incredibly hard-to-find rocoto for months.  

Arequia, Peru

The rocoto is a red, mid-sized, spicy pepper, primarily grown and consumed in Peru.  During my travels there in May 2008, I stumbled on a dish called rocoto relleno, or stuffed pepper, in the mountain town of Arequipa.  It was particularly cold that night, and the rocoto relleno, with its spicy pepper shell and the warm, somewhat creamy beef mixture inside, was perfect to warm me up.  

Ever since that trip, I have been hoping to recreate that meal.  But rocoto peppers, or even a reasonable substitute (i.e. mid-sized, spicy pepper), were very hard to find.  Bell peppers were big enough, but not spicy.  Almost every spicy pepper I found offered the heat, but they were too small to stuff.

Spicy peppers, prepped for stuffing

Finally, on that fateful day in Union Square over two years later, I found peppers that would work!  While the nice woman working the table didn't know the name of the peppers, I knew they would work for the dish.  About the size of an orange, they were big enough to stuff, and the woman promised the peppers would be spicy.

Back at home, I set to work.  When prepping the peppers, it's key to scoop out all the seeds.  The seeds carry a lot of the spice, and while spice is great for this dish, too much would overpower it.  Also, be careful when cutting the "hats" of the peppers.  Make sure you keep them big enough, allowing you to easily scoop the meat into them, but not too big so that the meat spills out during cooking.

Next, focus on the meat.  I recommend using ground beef, but if you had some ground pork or lamb, it would work.  It might sound odd, but the boiled eggs are key to the meat recipe.  They add an essential creaminess to the dish.  Also, try to find a really smoky paprika.  Follow the recipe (posted below), and let the meat sit for about 5-10 minutes before placing into the peppers.  

Finished Product - Rocoto Relleno, with roasted potatoes and steamed peas

When roasting the stuffed peppers in the oven, keep an eye on the pan.  It should always have about a 1/2" of water.  This will keep the peppers from burning and drying out, giving the pepper a nice steamed texture.  For sides, I served roasted potatoes and steamed peas, but I think almost anything would do, such as rice, other green vegetables, etc.

Enjoy!

To serve two people:

Ingredients:

4 mid-sized rocoto peppers (or other spicy varieties)

1/2 lb. ground beef

2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled, and diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp paprika (preferably smoked)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried Ancho chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 T. fresh parlsey, minced

1 T. vegetable oil

2 T. cream cheese (optional)

Salt

Pinch of sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F

2. Prep your peppers by carefully cutting out the tops (saving for later...these are called the "hats"), and scooping out the seeds.  If you have sensitive skin, you can wear gloves to protect you from the spicy capsicum oil contained inside the peppers.

3. Heat a large sauté pan to medium; add vegetable oil.

4. Once hot, add onions, and sauté until soft, about 5-10 minutes.

5. Add garlic, stir.

6. Add beef, sugar, salt, and all the spices and herbs, except the parlsey.  Stir well, let sauté for about 10-15 minutes, or until the beef is cooked through.

7. Turn heat to low, add the diced eggs and parlsey, then stir.

8. Turn off the heat, and let rest about 5-10 minutes.  Season with additional spices and salt, to taste.

9. Next, place your peppers in an oven-safe roasting pan, far enough apart so they do not touch.

10. Scoop the meat mixture so that it almost fills the peppers, leaving room for the cream cheese (if using) and the peppers' hats.

11. Place a small scoop of cream cheese on the meat of each pepper (if using), then place the hat on top.

12. Add water to the pan so it's about 1/2" up on the sides.

13. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the peppers are slightly browned and a bit shriveled.

14. Serve and enjoy!