Tiana's Red Beans and Rice

I purchased "Tiana's Cookbook" after noticing it had good reviews on Amazon.com. My daughters both love Tiana, so it was a no-brainer to pair it with a Tiana doll and a Tiana pillowcase for Christmas. Tiana, Tiana, Tiana! (Of all the princesses, I like her the best... She has better writers than most of the others).

The cookbook is full of simple recipes that you can do with kids, and they've given them a real cajun or creole flair. We made the "red beans and rice," and it has andouille sausage and peppers in it. I used chicken andouille sausage and turkey bacon, and it came out delicious!

Lamb and Feta Burger

Did I say I was doing these burger posts beginning July 4th? My, how time flies! Well, it might take me until next summer, but I'll get the rest of these alternative burgers up. I'M BUSY. In fact, the dedicated reader will spot the backdrop in this next picture: the kitchen I moved out of in January of 2008. But I remember how good these burgers were!



This ground lamb burger is based on a recipe I have printed in Bob Sloan's wonderful book, "Great Burgers." I based it on his "Lamb and Feta Burger with Cumin-Yogurt Dressing." I'd reprint it here for you, but A) I'm not sure I have permission to do that, and B) I didn't really follow it closely anyway. I found ground lamb at Joe Caputo's (but any real butcher is likely to have it, just probably not "the Jewel's," as Dad would say). I seasoned it simply, added a packet of crumbled feta, some toasted pignolis, and dried Italian seasoning. The yogurt dressing was greek yogurt with cumin and lime juice, and I sautéed the spinach with some simple seasoning, and finished it with some red wine vinegar at the end. And I didn't measure anything.



I served them on pitas as Bob recommended. They were a bit rich (the lamb has a rich flavor), but nice for a new option.

Artichoke Cream Pasta

Chris recently brought a regular sale to my notice through Amazon.com. You can get subscriptions to lots of magazines, many times, for $6-$10 for the whole year (or sometimes two years.) I treated myself recently to a dirt-cheap subscription to Cooking Light. I really like it. I've read many foodie periodicals over the years, starting with my father's old addiction to Gourmet magazine. Cooking Light is one part lifestyle mag (like Gourmet), and the second half has most of the recipes. I've already tried several, and they've all turned out well.

This one is an artichoke, lemon zest and pea pasta that is based on a recipe that they had. Of course I took my usual cursory look at the recipe, but I put onion and garlic in a liberal amount of oil first. Then I added drained and rinsed artichoke hearts, and peas, a little white wine and the zest of a whole lemon. Then I seasoned the mix. Lastly, you add cooked pasta and about a half-cup of ricotta cheese, and just stir until mixed.



It was good, but I must say, I have never eaten a dish that so BEGGED for bacon. I think if I had started the mix with a little diced pancetta, it would have been so much better. As it was, it tasted a little flat. Either that, or leave out the ricotta, and I think the zippier flavors (like the lemon) may have come through more. Quick way to make a cream pasta, though!

Easy Galumpki Bake

Recently, I was at my friend Beata's baby shower. She and her husband are Polish, and they had lots of Polish friends, who brought quite a bit of Polish food. And when I say, "they brought quite a bit," I mean in the way that Sitting Bull brought quite a bit of Cheyenne to a small party with Custer. It was astounding. After we all ate our fill, Beata announced, "And now, we eat dinner!" Holy crap. That's when the meat really came out. Dear lord, the meat! If meat makes for a healthy baby (and I think I'm a testament to that), then this kid is gonna be Herculean.

One of the many tasty, meaty items was galumpki, which I think most people have had at one time or another. They're also called cabbage rolls, and that's just what they are: rolled cabbage leaves with rice and pork in the center, and tomato sauce on top. All through my childhood, my father made them, and mistakenly called them "pigs in a blanket," which they are not.

They're great, but not so easy to make. The cabbage leaves have to be blanched, and the rice pre-cooked, and then of course there's all the rolling. I made a sort of "deconstructed" galumpki in the slow cooker, which is also a bit healthier because it uses turkey. It tastes great (much like the original), and utilizes a much simpler "open package, dump contents" sort of technique.



Ingredients:
1 carrot, peeled and broken up
1 celery stick with leaves
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
(if you made the Turkey Chili Mac, then you already have these in your fridge)
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 bag of cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
1 lb. ground turkey
1 cup water
1 29 oz. can tomato sauce (puree)
salt and pepper

In layers, place half the bag of cabbage mix, then half the mix of the first four veggies, which you've pulsed to a fine chop in the food processor. Add half the rice, then tear half the turkey up into chunks to complete the first layer. Make sure you season the meat. Then repeat each layer once more, and season again. Add the sauce to the top, and the water. Cook on low for six to eight hours.



Serve with crusty bread, with parmesan cheese on top. Mm!

Portobello-Eggplant Burgers

While I was in Portland, I visited Powell's City of Books, an amazing multiple-story used and new bookseller downtown (and apparently, the largest of its kind in the world). One of the books I scooped up was "Great Burgers: 50 Mouthwatering Recipes" by Bob Sloan. The first recipe I tried was the vegetarian burger. Aren't I silly?



This burger is called the "Portobello-Eggplant Burger with Smoked Mozzarella and Tapenade." In the book, there are instructions to grind your own olive tapenade with anchovy dressing, but I lazily got the jarred tapenade from Trader Joe's. I also like their smoky Jack cheese, and I used that instead of the smoked mozzarella the recipe called for. The recipe recommended a "sturdy roll," and that was good advice. However, I had some whole wheat pitas I wanted to use up, and they worked just fine, though the ingredients were practically busting out of them.

I grilled the portobello caps, and melted the cheese on them. Then I added a slice of grilled eggplant. I also changed the recipe by adding basil leaves, and a shmear of roasted red pepper and eggplant dip (also from Joe's.) We added sliced tomatoes, and having no room for the recommended grilled onions, we were done! It was delicious. The flavors went together perfectly, and it was one filling, monster burger. Next time I will use the sturdier roll that was recommended, so I can pile them high like Dagwood!