Covid Cooking II: Trust Your Instincts!
Before it was interrupted by the Pandemic, I was taking a really fun cooking course at a place called Cookspace in Brooklyn. Run by a very hip group of women in a very hip, loft like kitchen and dining room on the border of Fort Green and Clinton Hill, I was really enjoying the laidback chef instructors, interesting menus and friendly participants. The main goal behind the five-part course I enrolled in was building confidence in home chefs, which is to say, "trust your instincts!" After we'd cooked a menu together, the recipes sent home with students consisted of the basic structure of the dish, leaving lots of room for substitution and creativity.
This Covid era of cooking requires the same flexibility and trust in your own convictions about which ingredients that you have on hand go well together, and how you can use what's in your fridge or pantry to make something delicious and satisfying. The recipes below allow for lots of substitutions and should be a starting point for your own ideas and tastes.
The restaurant dish I miss most since Lockdown, is a burger and fries. Home delivery just doesn't cut it. I don't eat much red meat, but I allow myself a burger or steak once per month. I was about to use the ground turkey in my freezer for meatballs when my daughter clamored for turkey burgers. We had no rolls, but a package of frozen English muffins. No large tomato for slicing, but a box of grape tomatoes. A few slices of pancetta leftover in the fridge from the last pasta dish-- bacon turkey burgers! No French fries, but spicy, oily sauteed red peppers and onions on the side. Turkey burgers can be seasoned a million different ways depending on what you have on hand and what you have a hankering for. My recipe below is pretty basic.
Turkey Bacon Cheese Burgers
1 lb. ground turkey
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 onion diced
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 T. bread crumbs
1 t. lemon zest
fresh ground black pepper
4 slices of a good melty cheese, such as cheddar, Jarlsburg, fontina, mozzarella
4 slices pancetta or 8 slices bacon
4 English muffins or brioche rolls
sliced tomato
Saute the diced onion in the olive oil until just beginning to brown. Remove from heat. Cook the bacon on a griddle or in the same fry pan until the desired level of crispness. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine turkey, bread crumbs, mustard, lemon zest, pepper and onions. Stir well to combine. Form into four patties, not too thick. Cook the burgers in a grill pan, fry pan, on a griddle, or in the broiler. Cook at medium heat about 7 minutes per side. You want the turkey to cook through but not get too brown on the outside. Once you have turned the burgers, put the cheese on top of the cooked side. Meanwhile, toast the English muffins or brioche rolls.
Place finished burgers on one side of the roll with sliced tomato or any other garnishes you like.
Sauteed Peppers and Onions
This is so easy to make. Delicious. Use leftovers with goat cheese to make a tasty sandwich or wrap.
3 T. olive oil
2 large red, yellow or orange peppers (or a mix of colors)
1 large onion
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
Slice peppers lengthwise as thinly as possible. Slice onions as thinly as possible. Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add peppers, onions and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, allowing peppers and onions to brown slightly. Reduce heat to medium until everything softens and begins to carmelize. Done.
Colorful All-Season Salad
The idea for this salad came from the Cookspace cooking class. Here's my take. Feel free to make substitutions in the additions to the salad and the dressing, depending on what you have on hand. Personally, I'd rather eat this than potato chips.
1 head of radicchio
2 heads of Belgian endive
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 T. white wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil
1/4 c. neutral oil such as safflower, canola, soy
1/2 c. crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/2 c. toasted almonds, roughly chopped
In a large salad bowl, whisk together garlic, red pepper, mustard and vinegar. When combined, drizzle in the olive oil, whisking till emulsified. Then slowly add the rest of the oil, whisking till a nice thick dressing forms. Taste and adjust. Roughly chop the radicchio and endive, removing the tough cores. Add to the bowl with the dressing and toss to combine. Add almonds and cheese and toss again.
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers can be made with infinite variety. They are a great way to use up small amounts of leftovers. I'm not even going to give you a recipe. You need two or three large peppers (I prefer red, orange or yellow). For the stuffing, there are a few elements:
If you're not a vegetarian, any small amount of leftover meat works well, such as chicken, meatballs, sausage, pork, ground beef, or anything you can mince up.
For flavor, use onion, shallot, scallions or garlic.
Use any leftover herbs-- even if they're wilted and sad, mince them up and you'll still get their flavor.
For a starch, use any leftover rice, quinoa, breadcrumbs, bread ends toasted and cubed, mashed or diced potato.
Toasted, chopped nuts for crunch and texture-- almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pepitas, pignole, etc. You can add raisins if you like a hint of sweetness.
Cheese for even more flavor-- goat, parmesan, jarlsberg, crumbled feta or gorgonzola.
And to bind the filling, if needed, you can use a beaten egg, or some olive oil, or soft goat cheese.
Mix your filling ingredients together in a small bowl. Use one of the binders above if necessary to keep the filling together. Season with salt, pepper, spices such as cumin or nutmeg. Cut peppers in half lengthwise; remove core, stem and seeds. Stuff generously with the filling. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in a lightly oiled pan. Roast at 400F for 15-20 minutes.
Cardamom Corn Muffins
I've written about muffins before, but these are made mostly from pantry items and came out so good, I thought I'd include. Make substitutions in the mix of flours that you use and the spices. These formed a nice crunchy exterior and a soft crumb within. No jam or butter necessary. They freeze well and when warmed up in the toaster oven..... need I say more?
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil (soy, safflower, canola, etc.)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. graham or whole wheat or spelt flour
1 c. cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. cardamom
3/4 c. milk
Preheat the oven to 375F. Use a bit more oil to grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Beat together the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat. Add the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the milk and stir. If the batter seems the consistency of a good layer cake batter, then beat for a minute. (If the batter is too stiff or thick, add more milk.) Divide into the muffin wells. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Allow to cool by opening the oven door and pulling out the rack with the muffins on it.