Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Appetizers

  • Sweet Potato and Leek Gratin – Solid Winter Side Dish, But Not a Main Course

    For my December holiday party, I intended to have a vegetable side dish to complement the baked pasta I served.  Unfortunately, while prepping food for the party, time became my enemy and I decided to shelf my intended vegetable side – a baked sweet potato and leek gratin – to another day.

    Sweet Potato Gratin Baked 

    (fully baked gratin)

    When I made the dish a week later, I definitely wished I had prepared it for the party.  While the gratin would have been a great side dish for a large party, it did not equally suit to a dinner main course.  While the sweet potatoes and leeks made for a nice sweet and salty contrast, the flavors did not feel complex enough for a main course that one would go back to again and again.

    Sweet Potato Gratin - Without Breadcrumbs

    (partially baked gratin without breadcrumbs)

    I did make a number of modifications to the Vegetarian Times recipe while putting it together.  First, I substituted 2 jumbo sweet potatoes for the 2 lbs, which probably made for more sweet potatoes than intended.  Second, I used water instead of vegetable broth which did not seem to reduce its flavor.  Third, I substituted Parmesan for the Romano cheese.  Fourth, I used homemade breadcrumbs from white bread instead of the dried Italian breadcrumbs.

    Sweet Potato Gratin - with unbaked breadcrumbs

    (with breadcrumbs, unbaked)

    I think a future modification would be to add some other herbs to the dish (e.g., thyme, sage) to add more complexity than just the rosemary.  But otherwise, I think this will be a repeat recipe, but for a large winter gathering instead of a week night meal.

    Sweet Potato Gratin Baked and Cut

    (interior cut of gratin, to see potato/leek layers) 

  • Treat Yourself! Salted Rosemary Garlic Butter

    Leftover rosemary and dinner rolls – what to do?  Impromptu salted rosemary garlic butter!

    Rosemary Garlic Butter

    I cannot emphasize how simple and easy it was to make this butter, which made a huge difference to both our leftover takeout dinner rolls and my mood the day I put it together.   It was really flavorful and light with the salt and fresh diced herbs, and felt amazingly indulgent while eating.  Definitely a great way to make a weeknight dinner or brunch feel special!

    Rosemary Garlic Butter on Bread

    Salted Rosemary Garlic Butter

    Ingredients:

    • 2 tbsp. butter, room temperature
    • 1 small clove garlic, minced
    • Approx. 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, diced
    • a few pinches of sea salt (to taste)

    Directions:

    • Mix ingredients together.  Either form into your preferred mold or shape, wrap in wax paper, and place in fridge to firm up; or just place in a small container and refrigerate.

     

  • Fall Apple Gorgonzola Salad – Great Brunch Accompaniment or Simple Lunch

    For a recent post-Thanksgiving brunch, we had to figure out what kind of side salad to bring.  Should we do a fall roasted vegetable salad, a simple green salad, or something else that would be light and yet tasty?  

    While driving to the grocery store, I was struck by inspiration that I should make a salad with crisp red apples to fit the tremendous apple growing season in NY this time of year.  A salad with apples quickly led me to think about adding in some blue cheese, a bit of shallots or red onion, and maybe some sort of hard crunch (I am allergic to walnuts and pecans, so maybe something else?).  Below is the final salad I assembled, which I later prepared a few more times later in the week for fantastic work lunches.  

    The great thing about this salad (actually with all salads) is that you can customize the ingredient ratios to meet your needs, and it can still be a great seasonal salad that works as a main lunch dish or a side for a large brunch.  And the preparation time is all of five minutes, so even better for a large event or a weekday lunch.

    Apple Gorgonzola Salad

    Apple Gorgonzola Salad

    Salad Ingredients:

     

    • 4 cups spring lettuce mix
    • 1 apple, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
    • 2 tbsp. crumbled gorgonzola
    • 2 tbsp. chopped red onion

    Vinagrette Ingredients:

    • 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 – 3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
    • 1 tsp. finely chopped red onion
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • salt (to taste)
    • pepper (to taste)

    Directions:

    • Toss the salad ingredients together in a large serving bowl.  If you would like, you can also just layer the ingredients for presentation, with the lettuce on the bottom of the bowl and then apple, gorgonzola, and red onion on top.
    • Blend the vinagrette in a small bowl with a fork or whisk, and toss with salad immediately before serving.

     

  • Standard Cornbread Two Ways – All-Purpose and Serrano-Spiced

    For Thanksgiving, I was charged with making cornbread in addition to a macaroni and cheese and side green dish.  I decided on a simple Cook's Illustrated recipe because unlike most CI recipes, it seemed easy to construct and somehow seemed even less onerous than other online cornbread recipes.  In picking the simple All-Purpose Cornbread recipe, I also hoped to avoid the disappointing result of the CI Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread recipe.

    Cooks Illustrated All Purpose Cornbread

    (All-Purpose Cornbread)

    Unfortunately, while the cornbread turned out fine (one cornbread was made to the recipe as is, and another with one diced serrano), it wasn't really the best or even one of the top cornbreads I have ever consumed.  It was slightly too dry (and I don't think it was due to potential over-baking) and didn't have that strong of a corn flavor.  Although cornbread is not necessarily the most exciting food, and even less exciting than corn muffins, hopefully I will find a better recipe moving forward.

    Cooks Illustrated Cornbread with Jalapenos

    (Serrano-Spiced Cornbread)

  • A Winter Keeper – Braised Kale

    Need a quick winter meal side, to complement otherwise hearty winter or holiday meal?  Look no further than Cook's Illustrated's simple braised winter greens recipe (or the heavily modified version that appears below).  

    Super easy to prepare, takes almost no time to cook, and is an easy way to make a heavy meal feel healthier than it ever should.  I made this dish 15 – 20 minutes before we had to leave for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and was really pleased with how great it turned out.  The kale was still just slightly bitter but had a nice salty and hearty taste.  My modified recipe appears under the picture of the completed dish below.

    Braised Kale v2

    Braised Kale

    For a side dish for approx. 4 people

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp. olive oil
    • 1 bunch dinosaur kale, washed and ripped into 2-inch pieces
    • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
    • 1/2 onion, chopped
    • 1 – 2 tsp. dried red chili flakes (to taste)
    • 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
    • 1 – 2 tsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice (to taste)
    • salt and pepper

    Directions

    • Heat a wok or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat with olive oil.  
    • When hot, add onion, garlic, and red chili flakes and saute for 30 seconds – 1 minute, or until fragrant.
    • Add greens, and toss with mixture in pan, and saute for 2 – 3 minutes or until greens are wilted.
    • Add water or vegetable broth, cover pot, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occassionnally.  If you used unsalted broth or water, add one or two pinches of salt.
    • Cook until greens are to your desired consistency, add lemon juice (starting with 1 tsp.), salt and pepper to taste.

  • Sour Cream Onion Dip – Homemade is Definitely Better!

    I've never thought about making homemade sour cream onion dip before (completely unclear why), but when I had an unopened family size bag of Ruffles and a nearly whole 16-oz. container of sour cream in the kitchen, it just made perfect sense.

    I ended up cobbling together a recipe from two different Mark Bittman approaches, to fit the ingredients I had at home.  I decided to cook the onions, instead of using raw onions, for a softer flavor though I probably didn't caramelize the onions as much as other recipes I found on the internet (20 minutes of cooking v. 40 minutes to 1 hour).  Regardless though, the result was completely amazing and I definitely think this dip will be a must-serve for future casual parties or weekend snacking – and no chemicals or preservatives unlike the store-bought version!

    Onion Dip

    Sour Cream Onion Dip

    Ingredients:

    • 16 oz. container of sour cream
    • 1 small onion, peeled and minced
    • 1 tbsp. grapeseed oil (approx.)
    • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
    • pinch of sugar
    • salt and pepper, to taste

    Directions:

    • Heat grapeseed oil in a wide saucepan on medium-high heat.  When hot, add onions with a pinch of salt and sugar.  Stir for 30 seconds, and then lower heat.
    • Cook on low heat for approximately 20 minutes, stiring occassionally.  Add a bit more oil if onions start to brown (goal is carmelization, not burning).
    • When onions are lightly browned/caramelized, remove onions from heat and let cool.
    • Stir together sour cream, parsley and onion.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
    • You can serve immediately or leave in the fridge for flavors to blend more.  Serve with chips or vegetables.

    Onion Dip with Chip

     

  • Quick and Healthy White Bean Cilantro Dip

    As MadhuKnitsandCooks.com readers already know, I love white bean dips.  I've made white bean dips with garlic and parsley, rosemary, and multiple fresh herbs.  Continuing with this experimentation, I recently made a white bean dip with cilantro to use up some extra cilantro in the fridge.  

    Thankfully, the recipe required minimal prep work – just chopping some cilantro and garlic.

    White Bean Cilantro Dip Chopping

    And then throwing all of the ingredients in the food processor.

    White Bean Cilantro Dip in Blender

    The full recipe follows the image of the completed dip, which turned out wonderfully well.  Creamy; lots of flavor from the cilantro, garlic, cayenne and lime juice; and almost completely guilt free!  I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe if serving this dip for multiple people – the recipe below is perfect for one or two people though.

    White Bean Cilantro Dip Completed

    White Bean Cilantro Dip (Modified from Sunny Anderson's Food Network Recipe)

    Ingredients:

    • 1 can white/cannellini beans, washed and drained
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1/4 bunch cilantro, washed
    • 1 tbsp. olive oil
    • 1 tsp. lime juice
    • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
    • 1 tbsp. reduced fat sour cream
    • salt, to taste
    • ground black pepper, to taste

    Directions:

    • Chop the cilantro and garlic.
    • Add all ingredients to a food processor, and process using pulses until you reach your desired consistency.
    • Add salt and pepper to taste.  Recommend letting the dip rest for 20 – 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.  
    • Serve with pita chips, toasted bread wedges or vegetables.

  • Delicious Summer Squash Soup – Easy Weeknight Meal

    While I love zucchini, and cook with it frequently, I haven't really thought about making it the true centerpiece of a soup.  I only decided to do so recently after searching the internet for new zucchini recipe ideas, having been gifted a huge zucchini and yellow squash from someone's garden.  

    After settling on making a pureed zucchini soup (with a yellow squash addition), I customized a recipe based on several on the internet.  I had no idea what to expect when I was making the dish, especially because I put together the ingredients and proportions as I went, but the result was shockingly good.  

    Zucchini Soup in Pot

    While so, so simple to make, the squash soup had such a rich flavor that really emphasized the vegetable itself.  The soup was also so creamy that it seemed like I used a lot more dairy than I actually did.  So this recipe seems like a good way to feel like you are indulging in something unhealthy even when you aren't 🙂

    Zucchini Soup

    Zucchini or Summer Squash Soup

    Ingredients:

    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
    • 3 – 4 medium summer squash (approx. 11 cups of 1-inch roughly chopped squash)
    • 2 tbsp. butter
    • 1 vegetarian bouillon cube (optional)
    • 3.5 cups water or vegetable broth
    • salt and pepper, to taste

    Directions:

    • Melt butter in large stock pot on medium heat.  When melted, add the garlic and onion, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent (approx. 5 minutes).
    • Then add squash, stirring to coat squash with onions, garlic and butter.  Cook for 4 – 5 minutes.
    • Add water and bouillon cube, and bring heat up to medium high.
    • After mixture is brought to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 14 – 15 minutes until squash is fully cooked.
    • Puree the soup in batches in a blender or magic bullet, leaving plenty of room in each batch so the mixture doesn't explode.  Alternatively, use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
    • Bring mixture back to stovetop and heat back up, adding salt and pepper to taste.

     

  • Simple Roasted Broccoli – Very Easy Weeknight Side Dish

    I've been recently simplifying my cooking attempts.  These new, quick meals have been inspired partly because of time and partly because I want a new set of weeknight staples to avoid ordering out.  My first new simple recipe attempt was roasted broccoli, to accompany a simple pasta-and-marinara-sauce main course. 

    Roasted Broccoli Served

    The inspiration for trying roasted broccoli, as opposed to re-using my beloved roasted cauliflower, is the amazing version that The Little Beet, a restaurant by work, produces.  The Little Beet seriously chars their vegetables, but somehow not too much to destroy the essence of the vegetable flavor.  

    My roasted broccoli attempt, while not to The Little Beet-levels, was really fantastic.  The broccoli pretty well browned (though an additional 4-5 minutes in the oven probably would have been nice), nicely salted from the parmesan, and the lemon juice really helped make the dish feel light as well.  My recipe follows the picture of the seasoned raw broccoli, ready for the oven, below.

    Raw Broccoli for Roasted

    Weeknight Roasted Broccoli

    Ingredients:

    • 2 small heads of broccoli (one bunch), chopped into large bite size pieces
    • 2 tbsp. olive oil, with additional olive oil available if desired
    • crushed red pepper flakes, optional/to taste
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
    • sea salt, to taste
    • black pepper, to taste
    • 2 tbsp. grated parmesan

    Directions:

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees, and line one baking sheet with aluminum foil
    • Toss broccoli with olive oil, minced garlic, few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes (to taste), and salt and pepper (to taste).  Recommend starting with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.
    • Spread broccoli on lined baking sheet, so that the broccoli makes an even layer across the sheet.
    • Place in oven, and roast for 10 minutes.  
    • Stir broccoli on pan, while ultimately retaining an even layer, and turn pan around so front of pan is now in the back of the oven.
    • Turn off oven, but keep broccoli in the oven for another 5 – 10 minutes (to desired browning).
    • Remove broccoli from oven, and place in a serving bowl.  Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes, then add lemon juice, parmesan and another 1/2 tsp. salt.
    • Let sit for another 5 – 10 minutes for flavors to blend before adjusting flavors to taste.  At this stage, you can also add more olive oil for more moisture if you prefer.  Note: if you adjust the flavors too soon after the broccoli comes out of the oven, you may over spice the broccoli, particularly with the lemon juice, because it takes a bit for the flavors to combine.
    • Serve warm or cold.

    Roasted Broccoli

  • Five-Minute Mexican-Inspired Layer Dip

    I love dips.  I particlarly love bean-based dips, no matter what they are comprised of – white/cannelini beans, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, etc.  And so for our small Super Bowl get together, I knew I would make a dip – the only question was which one.

    In preparation for our pre-game trip to the grocery store, I decided I would make a Mexican-inspired layer dip (not a surprise for the Super Bowl!).  My usual go-to layer dip recipe is from a many-years-old Cooking Light magazine, and it calls for baking the dip for a warm served result.  I thought a baked dip would be a bit iffy for the Super Bowl though, both because the dip would get cold relatively quickly during this multi-hour event and because the I haven't quite figured out how to bake the sour cream without it getting an unpleasing consistency.  

    I ultimately decided to forge my own way with the dip, and made some game time decisions at the grocery store (pun intended).  I purchased a can of vegetarian refried black beans, jarred organic salsa on sale, light sour cream, scallions, cilantro, and a block of cheddar cheese.  To make the dip itself, I mixed the black beans with a bit of chile powder and minced garlic, and made this mixture the first layer.  I then added some sour cream to make it at least appear as a coherent layer, did the same with the salsa, cheddar cheese, and sprinkled some cilantro on top.  I added the chopped scallions as a side addition to the dish because one of our guests does not like scallions, but that would have otherwise gone on top of the dip as well.

    The dip turned out as one would expect – rich, flavorful and maybe a bit acidic because of the jarred salsa.  In the future, I will probably spend an extra five minutes to make a fresh pico de gallo salsa to reduce both the acidity of the dip and create a more fresh, light taste.  Otherwise though, I think this is the perfect five-minute dip to throw into an otherwise busy party preparation process.

    Mexican Layer Dip Top